This is an excerpt from a piece published by the Harvard Kennedy School's Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation.
Cambridge, Mass., – February 12, 2012 – Today New York City’s Center for Economic Opportunity (CEO) was announced as the winner of the Innovations in American Government Award by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. CEO was established by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg to design, implement, and evaluate unique initiatives that combat urban poverty among New York City’s low-income workers, at-risk youth, and families with children. Over the last five years, CEO has collaborated with 28 city agencies to launch and scale up more than 50 programs and policy initiatives in the areas of asset development, employment and training, and education.
“Not only is the Center for Economic Opportunity innovative, it demonstrates a sea change in how a city can unite the disparate interests of previously siloed agencies, funders, providers, and businesses to tackle poverty, one of our nation’s major growing challenges,” said Anthony Saich, director of the Ash Center. “In honoring CEO’s efforts as an Innovations in American Government Award winner, it is our hope that jurisdictions across the country can benefit from best practices in financial literacy, education, and employment training to move the working poor up the economic ladder.”
CEO’s commitment to reducing poverty expands to key policy efforts: as a result of CEO’s work, New York City was the first jurisdiction in the country to introduce an alternative to the much-criticized federal poverty measure. The new measure of poverty for New York City is based on recommendations from the National Academy of Sciences. Informed by CEO’s work, the U.S. Census Bureau released its first report on a new Supplemental Poverty Measure for the nation in 2011.
To read more, please click here.