zero to ten with richmond brautigan of leading on opportunity

It’s likely you’ve heard of the 2014 report done by Harvard researchers stating Charlotte ranked last among 50 of the largest U.S. metro areas for upward mobility. The report has been the catalyst for a lot of change in the city by policy-makers and nonprofit organizations alike.

Leading on Opportunity is an example of that. Formed shortly after the report went live, Leading on Opportunity, or LOO, set out with a goal of becoming a “think tank” for nonprofits in Charlotte to tackle larger issues together rather than work in silos.

It’s complex work for complex problems, so we invited Richmond Brautigan, who works on the data policy side of the organization, to break it all down for us.

With a background in economics, it’s no surprise that Richmond loves data, which is perfect for an organization that relies so heavily on it to affect change. LOO has three primary pillars: strategy, policy and data.

The problem is, Richmond explains, that a lot of data is locked behind a paywall. If it is free for the public, it’s often complicated and not easy to use. LOO wants to make data accessible and actionable. That’s where their Opportunity Compass comes in.

There are four determinants on the Opportunity Compass which are common major factors in economic mobility: early care and education; college and career readiness; child and family stability; and impact of social segregation.

The idea is that there are a ton of nonprofits working to solve issues related to each of these determinants on their own. LOO gives them access to data related to these issues and let’s them see what other organizations are working on them as well so they can partner together and affect change at a higher level.

It’s all extremely cool, and we’re really only brushing the surface of what the LOO team does. Listen to our podcast for even more and visit Leading On Opportunity to see how you might get involved.