The Emerging Issues Forum brings together thought leaders, community builders and industry partners from diverse backgrounds, perspectives and geographies to find solutions to North Carolina’s emerging challenges and opportunities. It provides a space for people to come together across a variety of perspectives to embark on a shared path forward for our state.

Since 1986, the Emerging Issues Forum has attracted statewide, national and international leaders in business, education and public policy to examine issues with profound implications for North Carolina’s future prosperity.

Each year, the forum focuses on an issue that requires the attention of the entire state. Topics change from year to year, but they always work towards advancing North Carolina’s economic competitiveness, with special attention paid to education and workforce, infrastructure and the environment, health and wellbeing, and finance and the economy.

“I was continually impressed by the wealth of knowledge shared by every expert speaker. I came away with more information than I could have hoped for!”

– 2024 Emerging Issues Forum Attendee

The Emerging Issues Forum: More Than Just a Conference

The forum is more than a one-day event. Work begins approximately 18 months before the forum and continues well after the event is over, depending on statewide and local needs. 

Staff conduct in-depth research and stakeholder engagement on an identified issue that is projected to have a lasting impact on our state. Communities from the mountains to the coast are brought in and connected with state and industry leaders to develop real solutions that influence policy and investments, new partnerships and other connections that result in lasting impact on North Carolina communities. 

As part of the state’s largest land grant institution, IEI leverages NC State University’s statewide reach to connect with all 100 counties in North Carolina. After the forum, policy recommendations related to the issue space are released statewide, and we seek opportunities to partner with local communities to advance best practices related to the topic.

Creating Lasting Impact

IEI is a trusted statewide convener. For decades, the forum has brought people together to catalyze the policy reforms, public investments and other proactive responses required to build an enduring capacity for progress in North Carolina. By supporting the Emerging Issues Forum, you are supporting localized work in communities and regions across North Carolina.

Supporting State and Local Policy, Programmatic and Community Change

• Sponsors of our 2020 Emerging Issues Forum, ReConnect to Technological Opportunity, helped support the establishment of our ongoing BAND-NC Initiative, which distributed grants to support digital access during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in the distribution of devices, public Wi-Fi expansion and more throughout the state, including in our most rural areas. This work evolved beyond the pandemic. BAND-NC has helped North Carolina become the first in the nation to have local-level digital opportunity plans while providing implementation support, as well as influencing statewide strategic planning.
• Sponsors of our 2022 Emerging Issues Forum, Advancing Together: Enhancing NC’s Workforce Through Educational Attainment, made it possible for IEI to help organizations across the state advance or scale efforts to incease eduational attainment across the state through local needs assessments, peer learning, and support for targeted programs and expansion projects that directly improved access to educational opportunities for students and employers in their communities.
• Sponsors of the 2023 Emerging Issues Forum, Talent First Economics, made it possible for IEI and partners to pilot the Strategic Workforce Leadership Initiative and certification, a comprehensive professional development program designed for those engaged in workforce or economic development and nationally recognized by the Workforce Leadership Institute. To date, more than 50 graduates have received the designation of Strategic Workforce Leader (previously known as Certified Workforce Leader) through the program.

All Points of View

IEI has an established reputation for successfully breaking down silos to ensure our work is representative of the state. We intentionally invite folks from different sectors to participate in our leadership events, focus groups, advisory councils and more to teach us about an emerging issue, how North Carolinians are impacted, share promising practices and identify solutions. 

Your support enables us to engage a wide range of perspectives on the issue, ensuring that the solutions are comprehensive and more enduring.

Impact Beyond North Carolina

• Influenced the creation of West Virginia Focus Forward, an annual event designed to link education and economic development. 

• Served as a model for the creation of Georgia Forward, an engagement organization to promote a forward-looking and consensus-based approach to economic development in that state.

We know you care about North Carolina’s future as much as we do. As we enter our next 40 years, we hope you will join us in this vital mission for our state. To those of you who have supported our work in the past, we thank you for your continued commitment to helping us examine emerging issues critical to North Carolina’s future economic vibrancy and to supporting strategic initiatives that apply forum findings to strengthen our state. For those sponsoring for the first time, we encourage you to join a network of industry and philanthropic leaders who have supported this work.

Ready to Learn More? Let’s Connect.

JK

Julia Keith

Policy and Program Specialist

919-515-9257 jkardos@ncsu.edu

Charitable funds raised by the 2027 Emerging Issues Forum are collected and managed by the NC State University Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization, tax ID #56-6049503, to be used to host the forum and cover other general operating costs of the Institute for Emerging Issues. You will receive an official receipt for the tax-deductible portion of your sponsorship.