Reimagining Prosperity and Well-Being for All

Ascend at the Aspen Institute’s Family Prosperity Innovation Community (Family Prosperity) develops strategies and solutions to improve employment opportunities, economic security, and health and well-being for families with low incomes. By joining forces with parents and caregivers, employers, and policymakers, Family Prosperity removes barriers in order to create clearer, more equitable pathways for families and society to thrive. Each of the 20 Family Prosperity partners focuses on bold policies that support and protect families who are most impacted by cracks in our nation’s systems. Key economic pathways and strategies explored by partners include innovations in child care, health and mental health, paid leave, benefits cliffs, cash payments, and wraparound direct service models.

Ascend launched Phase I of Family Prosperity in late 2017 with the aim of answering a guiding question: How can we reimagine the supports that families need to thrive in these rapidly changing times? Bringing together leading thinkers from policy, research, private sector, nonprofit, and community organizations, this phase produced a wide range of research and resources to advance policy and practice on issues such as paid family and medical leave, child care, health insurance and health care, employment benefits, and social safety net programs. Learn more about the resources the Family Prosperity partners of Phase I created in our Family Prosperity Innovation Community Index.

The COVID-19 pandemic, with its mounting impact on the economic stability, health, and well-being of families as well as how it shifted state and federal policy, raised important questions for Ascend. Seeking answers, Ascend designed Phase II to explore:

• Opportunities for employers to better support families’ economic mobility and health while improving their bottom line through intentional workplace policies and benefits;
• Best practices that improve coordination between organizations committed to family stability, including community-based providers, government, and employers;
• Conditions that accelerate the adoption of community and state models and innovations at the national level; and
• In a divided political climate and uncertain economy, ways to bridge gaps and create fresh framing to engage partners across sectors and parties and move all families toward economic stability and good health and well-being.

Ascend launched Phase II of Family Prosperity in July 2020 after conducting extensive outreach for proposals. A select group of organizations was invited to submit proposals following an open-sourced request for letters of intent (LOI). Ascend received 195 LOIs from organizations in 42 states and the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico that reflected a range of innovative ideas and solutions. Fifty-five organizations were invited to move forward to the full-proposal stage. Of the 55 organizations, 20 were chosen to join Phase II of Family Prosperity as Action and Innovation Partners. The cohort, from 12 states around the country, represented a diverse range of sectors and political and religious ideologies.

Fourteen Family Prosperity Advisors — including experts from the business, government, academic, philanthropic, and nonprofit sectors — were invited to provide additional perspective, content expertise, and partnership to Ascend and the 20 Action and Innovation Partners. Collectively, Family Prosperity disseminates a portfolio of actionable approaches that are proven to dismantle discriminatory systems, improve the lives of parents and caregivers who work, and advance family prosperity.

Phase II's Action and Innovation Partners

Phase II's Expert Advisors