Replicable Solutions
We develop scalable, replicable solutions rooted in inclusive growth—from digital access to place-based strategies, investment, and procurement. Each initiative offers actionable models that communities and leaders can adopt nationwide, driving lasting impact and strengthening systems far beyond our direct reach.
Aspen City Action Lab (2021-2023)
Launched in 2021 in partnership with Drexel University’s Nowak Metro Finance Lab and Forward Impact, the Aspen City Action Lab was established to strengthen Latino business ecosystems in seven Latino-majority communities, fostering inclusive growth and building intergenerational and community wealth.
Over its three-year journey, the City Action Lab convened national and local leaders, organizations, and funders to address the unique needs of each community. The initiatives were designed to be scalable and replicable nationwide.
Each participating city was supported by co-anchor teams consisting of an established nonprofit organization and a city or county government, ensuring effective stakeholder engagement and successful implementation.
As a national convener with a focused, place-based approach, the City Action Lab empowered communities to take bold steps toward economic recovery, resilience, and sustainable long-term growth.
Explore our Impact Report for detailed city-specific outcomes and discover how the Lab delivered collective impact!
Participating Cities:
- Chicago
- El Paso
- Miami
- Philadelphia
- Phoenix
- San Antonio
- San Bernardino
Procurement Playbook for Success
Over three years, the Aspen Institute Latinos and Society Program, in partnership with Drexel University’s Nowak Metro Finance Lab, leveraged the growing procurement economy to drive small business growth, prioritizing socially and economically disadvantaged owners.
Fueled by unprecedented federal investments—such as the American Rescue Plan, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, CHIPS and Science Act, and Inflation Reduction Act—this initiative aimed to harness transformative resources to scale small and minority-owned businesses, building wealth for owners, workers, and communities.
To support these efforts, we developed Procurement Playbooks featuring data insights, policies, and strategic recommendations to address procurement challenges and promote systemic change.
These playbooks were applied and tested in two communities, first San Antonio and then El Paso. The results were the creation of two customized initiatives – Supply SA and Supply El Paso.
Investment Playbooks
The federal government is offering considerable funding to assist communities as they rebuild their economies in the aftermath of the pandemic. However, it is the responsibility of local stakeholders to ensure that these myriad funding opportunities result in an authentic and transformative outcome for their city and its residents.
Aspen Latinos, in partnership with Drexel University’s Nowak Metro Finance Lab, works with cities to produce Investment Playbooks that help local stakeholders create a comprehensive and integrated revitalization plan to catalyze community wealth building. The playbook serves as a blueprint for local business ecosystems to itemize concrete, costed-out projects and align them with federal, state, and private capital investments that can support their implementation.