One of a kind resources for job creation. ICIC’s ongoing State of the Inner City Economies (SICE) research maps the economic performance, business vitality and resident prosperity of America’s 100 largest central cities, their inner cities and metropolitan areas. The only data set of its kind, SICE is an indispensable resource to assess local economic assets and set strategies for investment and equitable growth.

ICIC helps cities make the most of their competitive advantages, including transportation hubs and anchor institutions like medical centers and universities, which can be powerful engines for local economies. Sophisticated analytics discover which industry clusters will have the most energizing effect on overall urban prosperity. ICIC teams have helped shape economic strategies in Oakland, Philadelphia, West Louisville and Brooklyn. Nationally, ICIC research awakened major retailers to an $89 billion market opportunity in America’s inner cities, where income density is eight times greater than in surrounding suburbs.

Transforming challenges into opportunities. Successful urban economic development demands extraordinary collaboration and pinpoint focus: Regional solutions bypass the inner city; 10% regional growth translates to just 1% in the inner city.

ICIC ‘s Inner City Economic Forum brings corporate and financial leaders together with public officials, civic groups and foundations to focus on practical challenges like expanding access to capital for inner city companies.

ICIC has helped Bank of America and its private equity partners find investment-grade companies in 70 different inner cities. These companies have gone on to hire 55% more employees while posting annual revenue growth of over 20%.

Every year, ICIC identifies the 100 fastest-growing inner city companies. These firms represent the kind of innovative, diverse, 21st Century organizations that will replace declining legacy industries in our cities: Between 1999 and 2010, Inner City 100 companies nearly 70,000 new jobs – and 95% provide health benefits.

A bridge between public initiative and private enterprise. As the leading authority on inner city economies and the companies that thrive there, ICIC plays a unique role in urban investment and public policy decisions. In mayor's offices, in state capitols and in Washington, we are the public face of the urban private sector. Facts are our politics. In boardrooms, and among investors, we speak the language of business advantage. Through formal programs and countless ad hoc engagements, ICIC provides public and private decision makers with the knowledge and the know-how that lead to inner city investment, jobs and growth.