National competitiveness is defined as the set of institutions, policies and factors that determine a country's productivity and prosperity. Regional competitiveness refers to a region's ability to offer an attractive environment for firms and residents to live and work, as measured by the European Union's Regional Competitiveness Index. Inclusive Competitiveness applies this framework to disconnected populations within a region to improve their performance in today's innovation economy. It borrows the factors that promote regional competitiveness to benefit disconnected communities typically excluded from such plans.

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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.