Skip to main content
Institute for Emerging Issues

ReCONNECT NC

A three-year initiative to reconnect NC civically, socially and economically.

In 2017, the Institute for Emerging Issues (IEI) used its first-ever “crowdsourcing” effort to identify the biggest issues facing North Carolina. After reaching out to thousands of North Carolinians asking, “what’s the biggest issue facing our state over the next five years?,” there was one common theme: People in North Carolina were feeling more disconnected than ever and they wanted to do something about it.  

With the help – and voices – of citizens throughout North Carolina, IEI launched a three-year initiative focused on reengaging the state called ReCONNECT NC. Throughout the three years, IEI hosted six forums based on the specific needs that North Carolina residents and organizations identified.

reconnect nc forums

Man standing on a stage, speaking into a microphone

ReCONNECT to Community

The first ReCONNECT NC forum explored the rise of disengagement and provided strategies to re-energize citizens, focusing on solutions that work. 

View the ReCONNECT to Community Impact Report 
Two men sit at a table talking together

ReCONNECT Rural & Urban

The ReCONNECT Rural & Urban forum explored new ways to define, celebrate and leverage the interconnection of people, place and prosperity in rural and urban areas to build a more prosperous NC.

View the ReCONNECT Rural & Urban Impact Report 
Speakers on a stage addressing a crowd at the Emerging Issues Forum

ReCONNECT to Economic Opportunity

This forum focused on promoting one aspect of mobility: connecting people to higher-paying jobs.

View the ReCONNECT to Economic Opportunity Impact Report 
Male speaker addresses a seated crowd

ReCONNECT to Technological Opportunity

At the ReCONNECT to Technological Opportunity forum, participants explored what their communities can do to leverage high speed internet in an equitable way.

View the ReCONNECT to Technological Opportunity Impact Report 

ReCONNECT to Move Forward

This 3-part virtual meeting series included “Impact on Higher Education and the Future of Work,” “A Digitally Inclusive North Carolina,” and “Mental Health & Well-Being.”

ReCONNECT for the Future

This virtual forum concluded a six-event series focused on the “connections” our state struggles with. Over four days, we created a shared understanding of the many “whys” to reconnect, highlighted select big ideas that have the greatest potential to help us reconnect, and built our capacity to better work together in order to move forward. 

ReCONNECT NC: The Time is Now

Findings from IEI’s three-year ReCONNECT NC Project.

Read the report
People sitting at a table taking notes

Community Cohorts

As part of the ReCONNECT NC series, IEI chose five communities to highlight at each forum. These were community groups working at the local, regional, or county levels to solve the problems and explore the issues that were the focus of each forum.

This map shows the counties that the ReCONNECT NC community cohorts represented.

ReCONNECT to Community Cohort

ReCONNECT Rural & Urban Cohort

ReCONNECT to Economic Opportunity Cohort

ReCONNECT to Technological Opportunity Cohort

ReCONNECT to Move Forward: Mental Health & Well-Being Cohort