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Facts That Matter Blog

At the ncIMPACT Initiative, we ground our research in the challenges faced by North Carolina’s state and local leaders and their communities. Through compelling story telling, the Facts That Matter blog shares data and evidence about collaborative problem solving efforts that chart a path forward in communities across the state. We share these stories for the benefit of other communities in pursuit of our mission to improve the lives of North Carolinians.


May 7, 2019

Sticky Floors Impede Economic Mobility in North Carolina

One of the ways in which economic mobility typically occurs is through advancing one’s educational status. Although our study found a clear desire for more education and training opportunities, barriers remain.

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May 6, 2019

ncIMPACT Top Tweets on Inclusive Economy

@uncsog professor Jonathan Morgan @sog_c … Read more

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February 7, 2019

Women in Construction

Nationally, only about 9 percent of the construction industry is made up of women, while the North Carolina Department of Commerce estimated our state’s number at 4 percent in 2017.

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April 19, 2018

Best Practices in Place-Based Grantmaking

Place-based strategies should look to use multi-level analysis that tracks changes beyond the place.

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January 30, 2018

Education and Skills for Tomorrow: Is Your Workforce “Future Ready”?

The entire country is grappling with the changing nature of work and the resulting implications for educational and skills levels.

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January 10, 2018

What’s on Your Dashboard? Dialing up a Future Ready Community

In a recent series on this blog, Anita B … Read more

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December 14, 2017

Opioid Epidemic Ignores Boundaries in North Carolina

The opioid epidemic in North Carolina ignores boundaries and divisions, plaguing rural, urban, and suburban communities alike.

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December 7, 2017

Our Future Workforce: The Rise of the Individual

Enabled by new technologies, individuals are forging pathways to work that bypass the long-term institutional connections once required for career development.

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November 28, 2017

Our Future Workforce: The Rise of New Business Models

Disruption in business is not new. We can all think of companies from our past that ceased to exist some time ago. Remember Kodak? What is different today is the pace of change. Established companies are here today and gone tomorrow. New companies appear today, and dominate the market tomorrow.

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November 14, 2017

Our Future Workforce: Driven by Technological Disruptions

If you don’t already think automation, artificial intelligence, and all of our hyper-connected smart devices have transformed the world of work as we know it, wait just a few more years.

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