Global Action Platform is working with the Young American Leaders Program at the Harvard Business School to prepare new regional economic leaders. The program grows out of a deep concern and hope concerning U.S. competitiveness. The concern is that the local, shared resources which drive American prosperity are not keeping pace with global standards. As a result, an unsustainable divergence has gripped the U.S. economy: working- and middle-class Americans who rely on such shared resources are struggling, even as firms and individuals who can tap global opportunities are thriving. Prosperity is being generated but not shared.

The Young American Leaders Program model at HBS is designed to help local leaders in urban areas create locally-based solutions for shared prosperity.  The Program aims to develop leaders who understand cross-sector collaborations for shared prosperity and, as a result, can implement such collaborations more effectively and spread them more rapidly than in the past.  Over time, the Program aims to develop a cadre of young leaders across the US who are able and eager to work across traditional boundaries to help their communities thrive.   We will keep the young leaders connected to each other, to HBS and Global Action Platform, and to future cohorts. In Nashville, the innovation campus at oneC1TY and regional economic programs of Global Action Platform keep local YALP leaders connected and engaged in solutions for Middle Tennessee.

Ten-person teams from Nashville and eight other selected cities attend three intense days at the Harvard Business School learning about cross-sector collaborations – best and worst practices from across the country and around the globe. Through case-method discussions and drawing on the experiences of the young leaders themselves, HBS faculty bring out: • insight into where America and American cities stand today; • examples of innovative cross-sector collaborations that improve cities’ standing; and • personal lessons about collaborative leadership. After the experience on campus, each city team will be encouraged to apply what they have learned to benefit their hometown.