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Earlier this year, ������Ƶ’s Future of Work & Innovation Economy initiative and the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT)’s joined forces to expand on the mission of the Accelerator for Community Colleges in the Innovation Economy.��

Under this partnership, ������Ƶ and ACCT will undertake new national initiatives to advance the Accelerator mission with a deeper focus on community college capacity-building for workforce and economic development.

A core project under the partnership will involve a national study of the role community college trustees play in strengthening the institutional policies, processes, and systems of college governance for economic and workforce impact.��

The Accelerator was launched in 2024 as a strategic initiative between ������Ƶ and the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). The Accelerator advances research, technical assistance, and storytelling to build capacity across the community college sector for tech-based economic development and emerging technology-related workforce training.

Understanding the Role of Community College Trustees in Capacity-Building for Economic and Workforce Development

The community college sector is not a monolith. The “ideal” of a community college as a catalyst for economic development and opportunity is well understood, but the on-the-ground reality is that many colleges face barriers in reaching that potential.��

Chronic underinvestment, outdated workforce development practices, and an ossified system of incentives, culture, and policies all add to capacity gaps that community college leaders overcome to realize their full potential as workforce and economic development catalysts.��

Addressing this gap has been a core goal of ������Ƶ and ACCT for the past several years. We have supported colleges with institutional changes needed to create quality non-degree credentials to , improve employer partnerships, and support data modernization, financing strategies, and economic development partnerships. Our collaborations have focused on college-facing projects and work here in Washington, DC, ranging from to congressional testimony urging lawmakers to focus on college capacity-building with urgency.

As the Accelerator has found, when layering on the complexities of a labor market evolving due to AI and other emerging technologies, the need to look beyond program and credential creation and focus on building better community colleges has never been clearer.��

Trustees represent the communities served by their respective colleges and also influence decision-making and strategic direction for their institutions.

In this dual role, trustees bring insight into trends in the broader community to their work as college board leaders, and, conversely, can serve as a conduit into the community about the value and impact of community colleges. Trustees work directly with college presidents who can set programmatic direction for the entire institution. The additional value brought by the trustee is both his or her influence in the broader community and the ability to align regional socio-economic goals with college direction-setting.��

However, little is understood about the nature of trustee-presidential partnerships as it relates to strengthening a community college’s institutional policies and practices to be more successful in workforce and economic development initiatives, especially those relating to advanced industries or the impact of technology on the labor market.

The National Survey on Community College Trustees and Presidents

To address this gap, ������Ƶ and ACCT are conducting a first-of-its-kind survey of community college trustees and presidents to identify promising practices in governance leadership for institutional capacity-building related to economic and workforce development. The project aims to increase understanding of how community college governance can enhance college strategies and practices for partnering with employers, economic developers, research universities, state policymakers, labor leaders, and other community organizations.

The survey also assesses trustees’ needs for leadership development in institutional capacity-building, informing future research, technical assistance, and leadership development offerings that the two organizations will jointly develop to support the ACCT membership.��Findings from this survey will be published in a brief that shares insights on how community college trustees and presidents can be better positioned to support their institutions in meeting evolving workforce needs.

Community college trustees and presidents are invited to respond to the survey by June 12, 2026. The survey should take no longer than 10 minutes to complete. (A preview of the survey is available .)

Incentives to Respond

• An opportunity to be potentially spotlighted in the final publication, blogs, and articles published by both organizations
• Opportunity to be short-listed for speaking opportunities relating to the project, including for ������Ƶ events and the ACCT Leadership Congress
• Selected to speak with reporters and media covering community colleges and economic development
• Selected to speak with federal lawmakers and agencies focused on community colleges and economic development
• Shape the professional development offerings of ACCT and ������Ƶ as it relates to community college engagement and/or capacity-building with respect to regional economic development

������Ƶ and ACCT also invite community college leaders to indicate interest in staying connected to this project by filling out this .