Aspen is a place for leaders to lift their sights above the possessions which possess them. To confront their own nature as human beings, to regain control over their own humanity by becoming more self-aware, more self-correcting, and hence more self-fulfilling.
Your support helps the Economic Opportunities Program advance research, partnerships, and solutions that expand opportunity and promote inclusion for low- and moderate-income people.
We would like to extend our deepest appreciation to the organizations and individuals who have supported our work over the years, including the following who have made contributions since 2020.
Gates Foundation
Walmart
W.K. Kellogg Foundation
JPMorgan Chase Foundation
Surdna Foundation
James Irvine Foundation
Prudential Foundation
Cognizant U.S. Foundation
Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation
Ford Foundation
Amazon.com, Inc.
The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, Inc
Panorama Global
SVB Private Bank
Sorenson Impact Foundation
Tides Foundation
Omidyar Network Fund
Annie E. Casey Foundation
Strada
Snap-on
Trellis Foundation
Lumina Foundation
The Urban Institute
Friedman Family Foundation (CA)
Amalgamated Charitable Foundation
The Walmart Foundation
Families and Workers Fund
Walt Disney Company
Disney Worldwide Services, Inc.
Bloomberg LP
Empower the User
World Resources Institute
Fidelity Investments
F.B. Heron Foundation
UBS
Zenas Wilson Household
Stacy Barnes Household
Mike and Ruth Lipper Household
About the Economic Opportunities Program
The Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program advances strategies, policies, and ideas to help low- and moderate-income people thrive in a changing economy.
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This publication examines how fragmented skills, credentialing, and workforce data systems limit the potential of skills-based hiring and advancement, and outlines a shared vision for building the interoperable infrastructure needed to create a connected skills ecosystem that benefits workers, employers, educators, and governments.
Economic security shouldn’t be a lottery. Yet for millions of working families, stagnant wages and precarious jobs collide with the daily grind of managing money on shaky ground — leaving stability feeling less like a plan and more like a gamble. Fixing that takes more than one lever. It takes structural reform and the tools people need to take control of their financial lives, working together.
This resource is designed to help colleges and universities become more employer-friendly and build the kind of institutional capacity that sustains and grows partnerships while simultaneously better serving working learners. It offers role-specific guidance for leaders across the institution, a self-assessment spanning five domains of practice, and a process for turning results into action, grounded in the conviction that institution/employer partnerships can become easier without compromising academic missions.
