What is ReCONNECT NC from the Institute for Emerging Issues?

1. Together, we can help North
Carolina’s communities
reconnect to education, jobs,
neighbors and opportunity.
ReCONNECT NC
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3. A STATE OF ISOLATION
Declining social trust, eroding faith in public institutions, and a rise in
out-of-work, isolated North Carolinians all speak to a profound challenge
holding back our state.
The loss of connection — to work, to civic institutions, to one another —
has serious and measurable consequences for the state’s economy and
the individual wellbeing of every North Carolinian.
Without strong ties to employers, schools, local communities and
neighbors, people are far less likely to contribute to economic growth,
maintain their health, or participate in the social and civic activities that
define our shared quality of life.
“We don’t live in the communities [we grew up in] anymore. We just
sleep there.” —George Autry, MDC founder
Working together,WE can change this.
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4. DISCONNECTION HURTSTHE STATE
Socially, disconnected citizens are unable to tackle shared problems.
Fewer than half of us (44 %) report talking to our neighbors frequently.
Only 8 percent of us work with our neighbors to address community
challenges, and nearly three-quarters don’t volunteer in any club or civic
association. Small wonder that 40 percent of us report feeling “lonely”—
twice the rate in the 1980s.
Medically, disconnected individuals are far more likely to suffer
chronic health problems and acute health crises. Reduced social capital
reduces lifespans at about the same rate as smoking 15 cigarettes
a day, and many economists and demographers now believe social
isolation has directly contributed to the shocking decline in American
life expectancy over the past generation, as people die what some call
“deaths of despair.” This is a particular challenge in the state’s rural
counties, where a disproportionate share of the population experiences
social isolation, and where medical services are often harder to access.
Economically, disconnected workers constitute almost 40 percent
of the total potential workforce in North Carolina, and the numbers are
growing. Perhaps more importantly, about 768,000 potential workers
aged 25-54 in North Carolina were not in the labor force in 2017— a
substantial increase since 2000. Their absence is costing the state
billions in lost productivity and social service expenses.
North Carolinians already see these problems and are
ready to get to work to solve them!

5. 5

6. TAKINGTHE PULSE OFTHE STATE
Our citizens already feel and recognize the loss. During the Summer
of 2017, the Institute for Emerging Issues launched the NC Big Idea
Challenge in an effort to identify the biggest issues facing North
Carolina.
More than 150 ideas were submitted via NCBigIdea.org, social media,
and statewide leaders on IEI’s North Carolina Channel TV show and
podcast, First in Future.

7. We reached out to people in communities across the state in listening
sessions and discussions. And we asked the more than 31,000 people
on our mailing list: what’s the biggest issue facing our state over
the next five years?
While topics varied—one underlying theme emerged--—there was
remarkable consensus that North Carolinians, like many Americans,
are losing our sense of connectedness. We’re losing our ties to the
communities we live in, to the jobs we work in, to our neighbors and
acquaintances.
And we want to get them back.
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8. A CALLTO RECONNECT
As North Carolina faces the challenges of a fast-changing world,
reconnection is foundational: we can’t possibly win by fighting alone. To
make this state a better and more prosperous place for us, our children
and our neighbors, it is in our shared interest to reconnect.
And we can do it.
We have the traditions of our communities, our willingness to work,
and a history of coming together in the toughest of times to solve the
biggest of challenges.
For more than 30 years, the Emerging Issues Forum has served as a
bellwether for the state, identifying critical issues each year that are
important to our state’s future success. In 2018, for the first time in
our history, we will be focusing on a single cross-cutting issue that
we believe requires a three-year focus. We’re calling the initiative
“ReCONNECT NC.”
During the next three years, IEI will work with partner organizations
and communities across the state to identify and implement new
solutions that make us stronger, better equipped to succeed, and more
“connected.” We will accomplish this work using four key strategies:
Forums, Pioneering Communities, Partners and Findings.

10. FORUMS
We will double the number of Emerging Issues Forums we do each
year, with three in Raleigh and three in other parts of the state. Each
Forum will bring together large, diverse groups in person, along
with a statewide TV audience, to focus on a single topic related to
reconnection. We will hear from the world’s—and the state’s—best
thinkers about what’s working. We’ll examine priorities for action. We’ll
highlight new initiatives with clearly-developed objectives. And we’ll
check in on progress from those moving the work forward.
PARTNERS
IEI will assemble statewide advisory committees and a team of orga-
nizations that are interested in working on each of these initiatives and
moving them forward in collaboration with communities. To be truly
successful, ReCONNECT NC must mobilize passion and sustainable
momentum.

11. PIONEERING COMMUNITIES
For every topic we take on, we will identify and collaborate with a
cadre of communities—five places that have brought together diverse,
energetic teams to address key community concerns. Each community
will gain expertise in talking across racial, economic and political divides.
They will also work with other participating communities, hold each other
accountable and mentor other communities interested in doing similar
work.
FINDINGS
We’ll publish findings of each Forum, highlighting key successes from
people moving the work forward on a variety of platforms. We’ll focus
on what’s working, what’s not, and how we can bring solutions to scale.
And we’ll update the findings as we go, culminating in a user’s manual
for policymakers and community members seeking reconnection, a
“book” outlining what we and our partners have learned. We’re also
creating a “North Carolina Engagement Index” to help communities
track progress and improvement in key areas.
ch Forum, highlighting key successes from people moving the work for
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12. RESTORING CIVIC HEALTH: GETTING AT ROOT CAUSES
Our work will focus on areas North Carolinians have identified as root
causes of our disconnection, and will rally communities and partners
committed to finding solutions. The people of North Carolina have helped
us identify three topics to begin with as we work to reconnect our state.

13. Reconnect to community—people across the state noted that they
have lost some of their connection to the communities they live in.
Addressing big community challenges requires new skills, strategies and
experience in working with people that we disagree with and working
better with people we agree with. A connected community will identify
new ways for people to connect to volunteer work, faith communities,
civic clubs, neighborhood projects and one another, and will have
experience moving a big project from concept to completion.
Reconnect rural and urban—people in North Carolina see a growing
divide between the (mostly) fast-growing urban areas and (mostly)
slower growth in rural areas. And they sense the importance of building
new bridges to solve job challenges, improve education outcomes and
preserve natural resources. Connected regions will identify shared
concerns and build new bridges to collaboratively address them.
Reconnect to job opportunity—employers look at our state and
see a skilled worker shortage; workers look at the market and see
an opportunity shortage. Either way, with the workplace changing
at lightning speed, we will need connected coalitions of employers,
workers and education and training agencies working with insight and
real-time data to match skills with opportunities and build new career
ladders
Reconnect to well-being and productivity—people in North Carolina
are increasingly experiencing chronic health. problems and acute health
crises associated with lonliness; many are also having a harder time
accessing medical services. To achieve a healthier population capable of
greater workforce particpation and productivity, we will need to better
connect individuals to healthcare and other resources that can imrpove
our physical and mental health and quality of life.
Reconnect to technological opportunity—access to 21st century
technology is mixed across the state. Infrastructure improvements can
solve part of the problem; currently only 13 percent of the population can
access gigabit speeds—the next generation standard. But communities
must also determine how to leverage this connectivity for economic
gain, how to improve educational opportunities for disconnected
students, and how to appropriately collect and use massive amounts of
newly-available data to improve the quality of life and work.
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14. THE ROADTO RECONNECTION STARTS NOW
We know the challenges our state faces.
Now we need your help.
We need community volunteers who can form the nucleus of our
teams, and reach across the lines of party, neighborhood, race and
income to address them.

15. And we need statewide partners willing to work together and with local
communities, identifying solutions and supporting community coalitions
interested in reconnecting.
Let’s work together to help North Carolina’s future.Together
we can ReCONNECT NC!

16. Want to learn more about how IEI will help ReCONNECT NC? Ready to
Want to learn more about how IEI will help ReCONNECT NC? Ready to
get connected with us to move North Carolina forward?
WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?
Find out more today: ReCONNECTNC.org