ScaleUp Partners LLC | 516 Southeast Morrison Street, Portland Oregon 97214 | partners@scaleuppartners.com

What is Inclusive Competitiveness?

National Competitiveness is defined by the World Economic Forum as the set of

institutions, policies and factors that determine the level of productivity of a country.

The level of productivity, in turn, sets the level of prosperity that can be earned by

an economy. The Global Competitiveness Index assesses the landscape of 144

economies, providing insight into the drivers of their productivity and prosperity

Regional competitiveness is defined by the European Union’s Regional

Competitiveness Index, as the ability to offer an attractive and sustainable

environment for firms and residents to live and work. The RCI is an economic

formula comprised of 11 pillars applied to 27 member states. It assumes a close

link between competitiveness and prosperity and factors in dimensions that

national indicators cannot capture: Institutions & Infrastructure, K-12, Higher

Education & Life-long Learning, Health, Labor Market, Tech-readiness & Local

Innovation Ecosystems.

Inclusive Competitiveness borrows from regional competitiveness and applies the

definition to a subset of disconnected populations within a targeted region. It is an

interdisciplinary framework to create community systems that improve the

performance of disconnected Americans within today’s Innovation Economy. The

same factors that promote regional competitiveness can be applied to disconnected

communities that are typically not included in regional competitiveness plans. This

paradigm is shifting. The Ohio Board of Regents last year unanimously adopted our

Inclusive Competitiveness policy report and recommended approach.

WHY #INCLUSIONMATTERS

Business productivity plays a major role in regional competitiveness. And the fastest growing business

startup landscape is among Black and Latino entrepreneurs at 60% and 44%

respectively, compared to the national average of 18%. Yet, all black-owned and

Latino-owned businesses combined produce less than 3% GDP and a mere 1% of

job growth. These two populations alone will comprise 42% of America’s

population by mid-century. Johnathan Holifield, architect of Inclusive

Competitiveness, says, “America simply cannot reach her highest

competitiveness goals with so much of the population producing so little.”

Portland is creating a regional competitiveness plan that prioritizes the

cultivation and inclusion of all its local talent. Still, efforts remain fragmented in

various isolated community sectors. ScaleUp Partners works with leaders across

community, business and government sectors in building shared vision, strategy and action

that create the opportunity for building Inclusive Competitiveness frameworks.