On December 12th, LISC, City of Kansas City, MO, Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, Kauffman Foundation along with the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City hosted the Anchor Institution Summit: Moving Cities Forward. The summit focused on national, regional and local best practices of leveraging anchor institutions as key engines of community sustainability and economic growth. Keynote speaker Ted Howard, Co-founder and President of The Democracy Collaborative, explains anchor institution strategies like this:

“Anchor institutions are place-based entities such as universities and hospitals that . . . . areexpanding their public or nonprofit mission [and] . . . . consciously applying their long-term, place-based economic power, in combination with their human and intellectual resources, to better the long-term welfare of the communities in which they reside.”

Over 80 community and institutional representatives attended the summit to understand more how their organizations can support the local economy through procurement, employment and neighborhood stabilization. LISC Senior Vice-President for Economic Development, Bill Taft, was on-hand to illustrate what other LISC cities are doing in this space, such as the partnership with ProMedica health system in Toledo, Ohio. A series of follow-up sessions will be scheduled specifically for institutions of higher education, hospitals, federal agencies and others to explore anchor institution work in their sectors. You can watch the full recorded event HERE.