Businesses for Inclusive Local Thriving Lab

The BILT-Lab is an action learning opportunity for business leaders who want to develop a future-ready talent strategy and accelerate regional innovation and resilience by making targeted place-based investments in regional workforce and innovation.

The course will bring together place-based “anchor” companies and large employers, along with their local partners, who want to develop a future-ready talent strategy and accelerate regional innovation and resilience by building diverse regional talent pipelines; reducing barriers to workforce participation; creating quality jobs; and boosting energy security and ecosystem health.

Ideal participants are invested in creating future-ready organizations and in building the prosperity of their local communities. Participants should be willing to approach problems with curiosity and share experiences openly with peers to support shared learning.

Led by experienced teachers, researchers and industry-tested professionals, the BILT-Lab will help participants identify and highlight impactful, place-based investments that produce measurable economic, social, and environmental outcomes. Participants will learn about and implement solutions for talent development and community health that companies can deploy inside their walls as well as outside in the communities where they operate.

Please note: This course is a blended format. Live Online: 3-4hours; Onsite (Cambridge, MA): Two-day in-person delivery, and optional virtual office hours 



NEW! Business for Inclusive Local Thriving (BILT) Living Library 

Mapping business-led, demand-driven talent development and inclusive regional growth initiatives across the United States.

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This course is delivered in a hybrid model with one in-person session on the MIT Sloan campus in Cambridge, MA; the remaining sessions will be online.

The BILT-Lab will guide company participants and leaders of community partner organizations through a process to 1) identify what elements of their company’s strategy tie into the region’s economic growth and sustainability strategy, 2) identify high-leverage moves to train and hire related sources of diverse, high-potential talent in the community and region, and 3) design appropriate long-term community engagement plans that advance company strategy and generate positive local benefit.

Participants will define and advance a performance goal that is aligned with their existing priorities and represents a challenge for their organization and for themselves personally. BILT-Lab faculty, coaches, and peers will support participants to make measurable progress on their goal and preparing a plan for continuation after the conclusion of the course. 

Participants will learn through a variety of formats including content delivered by guest speakers and academic experts, executive and peer coaching, session prework, dialogue and learning forums, and presentations that they will prepare and deliver onsite.

Participants will have access to an MIT faculty member and coach to support them in accomplishing their course objectives, plus support from MIT Sloan Executive Education to answer administrative or technical queries.

Please note: This course is a blended format. Live Online: 3-4hours; Onsite (Cambridge, MA): Two-day in-person delivery, and optional virtual office hours. 

The BILT-Lab will guide participants through creating the following:

• Strategic Alignment Analysis: Participants will examine their company or business unit’s strategy, as well as their talent and sustainability goals, and how they align with their region’s economic innovation and sustainability strategy. Leaders will identify one or more areas of opportunity for their companies and for their region.
• Performance Goal Identification: Participants will define and tell a clear story around a performance goal that represents a challenge for their organization and for themselves personally.
• Implementation and Stakeholder Engagement Plan: Participants will draft a 30-day action plan to advance the performance goal, including internal actions and external outreach as needed to build industry-wide and cross-sector collaborative partnerships. Because innovation, talent, and sustainability issues can rarely be tackled by one organization alone, this will include an assessment of the key external stakeholders who must be engaged and initial action steps to take in the next quarter. Companies are encouraged to bring leaders of partner organizations in their communities into the BILT-Lab.

Additionally, participants in this course will:

• Learn regionally-oriented sustainability and talent pipeline best practices, and identify those that could be adapted to achieve business and sustainability goals—including elevating workforce quality and future readiness, local resilience, and the economic strength of the company, sector, and region.
• Understand the hurdles in achieving talent and sustainability goals, or meeting regulatory requirements, and what stakeholder engagement means to those efforts. Critically examine and evaluate their own organizational strategies, and engage in peer learning on how to avoid common mistakes and reduce obstacles to reach intended outcomes
• Build productive working partnerships for a diverse workforce with public and non-profit sector partners, including state energy and economic development organizations, Workforce Investment Boards, labor unions, and impacted community groups
• Identify how your company can contribute to the design and implementation of community benefit plans required by many federal grantmaking organizations
• Learn best practices from peers across the country, and join a growing network of like- minded business executives and community leaders 
• Contribute to advancing national and regional strategic sustainability and energy transition, decarbonization, and workforce diversity goals where the company has operations