UNLOCKING REGIONAL + RURAL TALENT
We believe in the power of place.
Unlocking Regional + Rural Talent Ecosystems means designing more responsive regional systems that connect learners to meaningful work while strengthening local economies.
WHAT REGIONS NEED
In many regions, education, workforce, and employer systems operate in silos, making it difficult for learners to navigate pathways and access opportunities. Employers struggle to find local talent, while learners struggle to find pathways into available jobs. This fragmentation creates “leaky” pipelines where potential is lost because the shared data, common language of skills, and collaborative funding do not exist.
Unlocking Regional + Rural Talent Ecosystems focuses on strengthening how regional talent systems connect people to work by aligning partners around shared workforce needs.
WHAT CHANGES FOR LEARNERS
While specific solutions vary based on regional context, the goal remains the same: to create more aligned, responsive ecosystems that connect learners to meaningful work and support long-term regional prosperity.
Access to good jobs without leaving their community
Coordinated supports that enable persistence and completion
Direct connections to local employers and hiring pathways
WHAT WE DO
By working across community colleges, employers, workforce groups, K-12 systems, and economic development organizations, the Lab helps regions build coordinated ecosystems that create clearer, career-connected pathways into local jobs.
The Lab advances this work through the following programs.
Regional + Rural Talent Collaboratives
Designing the governance and operational frameworks that allow colleges and employers to work as one.
Tribal Community Partnerships
Tailoring ecosystem models to the unique cultural and economic contexts of tribal nations to ensure inclusive growth
Employer-Led Design Work
Facilitating “reverse-engineered” hiring models where rural employers define the exact skills they need for local roles.
EXPLORE RELATED PROJECTS
Texas Flywheel Initiative
How might we co-design skills-based pathways and training models with Texas employers so more Texans — without four-year degrees — can access and advance in high-opportunity digital economy roles like data center operations and AI-enabled industries?
Rural College Design + Data Academy
How might we empower rural community colleges to lead transformation across the learn-and-work ecosystem?
BRIDGES Rural
How might we strengthen the capacity of rural community colleges to serve as critical economic growth engines for their learners and communities?
Designers in Residence (Cohort 1)
How might we support higher education leaders to use equity-centered design to align regional stakeholders?
IMPACT
We don’t just design programs — we design for system-level impact.
We change systems by centering New Majority Learners in a collaborative process that results in a ripple effect of transformation across multiple levels, from individual programs and colleges, to regions and state systems.
We measure progress through four elements of change that signal system transformation:
Connect and sustain cross-sector partnerships that drive shared decision-making and ongoing alignment of regional workforce priorities
Build the regional infrastructure, data culture, and coordinated funding strategies needed to sustain collaboration, scale pathways, and support continuous improvement across the ecosystem
Enable alignment between programs, practices, and institutional policies across institutions and partners to create solutions connected to regional labor market demand
Shift mindsets from siloed efforts to shared ownership, so regions operate as coordinated ecosystems connecting learners to local opportunity