Released today by California Forward (CA FWD), the 2022 Roadmap to Shared Prosperity details the organization’s priority actions to help build more inclusive, equitable and sustainable economies that give more Californians the opportunity to thrive.
The Roadmap builds on a year of impressive advancements by CA FWD and its partners including the crafting and passage of the $600-million Community Economic Resilience Fund (CERF), a $6-billion investment in broadband and $1.5 billion to prevent catastrophic wildfires, among others.
“The accomplishments of this past year speak to the power of the collective action movement California Forward helps lead, yet we can’t afford to let our guard down,” said Micah Weinberg, CEO of CA FWD. “To fully maximize the opportunity provided by the upcoming budget surplus, we must reimagine and create an economy that works for everyone – one that centers region-driven solutions that balance equity, environmental sustainability and economic growth.”
The priorities in the Roadmap set the foundation for the work that CA FWD and its partners–including the California Economic Summit network and work groups, the California Stewardship Network and the Young Leaders Advisory Council will work to advance in the coming year. The work will be baselined, measured and tracked by the California Dream Index.
“We truly need to apply an equity lens in the work that we do, especially in the work that directly affects the lives of the people we are trying to help,” said Samuel Assefa, director of the California Office of Planning and Research during the 2021 California Economic Summit.
The Roadmap encompasses policy areas foundational to the California Dream – from housing and ecosystems and climate resilience to increasing connections across California. Highlights from the 16 priority actions include:
- Advance inclusive economic growth by supporting the equitable implementation of the Community Economic Resilience Fund (CERF)
- Advocate to ensure California builds on the state’s 2021 $1.5-billion investment for wildfire and forest resilience to reach the $3-5 billion that will be required annually, with a focus on developing the workforce, infrastructure, community capacity, partnerships and regulatory environment needed to address the size and scale of the crisis
- Advocate for the state’s historic investments, legislative actions and State Broadband Action Plan to be implemented swiftly, efficiently and effectively in tandem with new federal funding streams
- Support legislation that increases the overall supply of housing in the state
- Strengthen local capacity and support homeowners, community-based developers and contractors by bringing together a range of financial tools, partners and programs that will help scale efforts to create affordable, entry-level homes
- Support the recommendations of the Recovery with Equity Task Force report to drive meaningful change in the state’s workforce and higher education systems
You can read the full roadmap here.
