LAUNCH “Accelerates” Pathways Work in Six States Across the Nation

College and career pathways are growing, but we know challenges still remain. States need deeper collaboration across education and workforce systems to co-design innovative solutions that increase access to and strengthen the quality of these pathways. Since 2022, the LAUNCH initiative has brought together leading national partners and philanthropic organizations to support fourteen states that are working across systems and making “big bets” on youth pathways. As LAUNCH now transitions into its next phase, a Community of Practice has been established to foster a culture of bold thinking across states that addresses systemic barriers and connects state teams through learning events and shared resources.

LAUNCH Accelerator

Six states within the newly established LAUNCH Community of Practice were selected to “accelerate” their big bet on pathways through a 15-month grant allowing them to build critical infrastructure and pilot new ideas. From cross-system data tracking and monitoring toward shared goal to bringing together education and workforce partners to develop an appropriate continuum of staffing for advising, these states have proposed promising solutions to significant, shared challenges across the field that can help to achieve scale and sustainability in pathways.

The following states were selected for a LAUNCH Accelerator grant:

• Colorado
• Illinois
• Maryland
• North Carolina
• Rhode Island
• Tennessee

While the work looks different in each state, LAUNCH Accelerator will double down on improving the quality of work-based learning, credentials of value, advising, and seamless transitions into postsecondary education and training. Accelerator states will work closely with the national partners and receive deep technical support in addition to their grant dollars to support their work and capture learnings to share with the field.

What’s next?

Through LAUNCH, a shared learning space amongst philanthropic, national, and state partners will drive systems-level change that meets the needs of today’s learners and employers. In the first phase of the initiative, the partners identified five key levers to form the foundation of the work. In this next phase, the partners will continue to share cross-cutting topics, themes, and best practices from the field through publications, conference appearances, and on social media channels.