Regional collaboration can be an effective approach in responding to labor demands of local employers. Laura Chandler of the Southwest Alabama Workforce Development Council and Sam Covert of the Mobile Area Educational Foundation discuss how robust coordination among local workforce development players leads to more successful management of industry partnerships.

Disinvested areas of cities must often combine community and economic development efforts to achieve the goals of both. Rick Sauer and Lynn Martin Haskin of the Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations discuss how local institutions can support economic development at the neighborhood level.

How can the workforce development system better respond to people with disabilities? Kathy Krepcio, of Rutgers' Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, and Michael Morris, of National Disability Institute, discuss innovative programs and policies designed to ensure this sector is poised to meet employers' labor needs.

There is value for both the employee and employer in enhancing the skill sets of lower-wage workers. Mark Popovich of the Hitachi Foundation and Jenny Benz of the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research discuss findings of a recent study on this topic and implications for policy and practice.

Many cities support entrepreneurs as a way to create jobs, increase investment, and restore vitality, especially in the urban core. Ray Leach from JumpStart and Joe Marinucci of the Downtown Cleveland Alliance discuss how communities can create a thriving entrepreneur base through innovative approaches to support services and by reimagining partnerships among local organizations.

How can employers be effective partners in improving the local workforce ecosystem? Peter Cappelli, professor and director of the Wharton School's Center for Human Resources, discusses how firms can provide on-the-job training for skills needed within their organizations.

What are the current trends in female entrepreneurship? Alicia Robb, senior research fellow at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, discusses recent data on women-owned firms and the challenges and opportunities in expanding this sector.

Christopher King, director of the Ray Marshall Center at the University of Texas's LBJ School of Public Affairs, discusses how the country's shift to a knowledge-based economy has brought the fields of economic development and workforce development closer over the past 10 years.

How can workforce development programs achieve the greatest impacts with limited budgets? Elizabeth Weigensberg, senior researcher at Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, discusses her recent research on the most successful workforce development program components and provides recommendations for how existing programs can be more effective.

Maureen Conway of the Aspen Institute discusses the results of the Institute's Courses to Employment project, which analyzed how community colleges and nonprofits worked together to help low-income adults succeed in the classroom and labor market.