A New Foundation for Delaware's Future

BY KELLY BASILE AND HELANA RODRIGUEZ

As the challenges facing our state evolve, so must our approach to solving them. While businesses have always focused on their operational success, it’s become increasingly important for businesses to lead in a community’s economic and social prosperity. To meet this moment, the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce (DSCC) is recommitting itself to building a sustainable future for the First State by repositioning its 501(c) (3) affiliate to take on a broader mission through research, strategy, and systems-level impact.

The DSCC’s 501(c)3 affiliate, The Partnership, Inc., was created in 1999 to foster and sustain private sector involvement in education and workforce development — and it has delivered on that mission. Now, it’s time to build on that groundwork and make lasting impacts.

In the last five years alone, The Partnership has developed Intern Delaware to the next level, supporting 55 employers and over 500 interns; rebranded and expanded the Pathways Conference into the Navigating Delaware Pathways Summit for cross-sector collaboration; realigned the Superstars in Education and Training awards program to highlight innovative and impactful workforce programs; grew the Delaware Young Professionals Network to its largest size to date; strategically coordinated more than 250 school visits through the Delaware Principal for a Day program’s matchmaking process; and organized 1,500 volunteer hours annually to boost employer engagement in education.

In summary, The Partnership has become a trusted leader and collaborator in workforce development in Delaware.

As part of the State Chamber’s strategic planning process in 2024, we asked our members what issues keep them up at night and how they see their membership dollars best put to work. What we heard was that Delaware’s business community needs to step up and lead a non-partisan, intentional economic plan that requires the policymakers to make changes that won’t hold back job growth and provide economic prosperity for all Delawareans, and our members see the Delaware State Chamber as a unifier in the collaborative delivery of actionable solutions to follow through with that plan.

To deliver on the expectations our members have of us as an advocacy engine, we concluded that it is time to do a little internal reorganization and realignment. While the survey results reinforced that education and workforce development are top issues facing Delaware’s business community, so are regulations, the cost of doing business, and health care. We need an entity that can dig deeper into good ideas and emerging topics and track progress. We need a space to explore solutions to the greatest challenges the business community is facing — with the flexibility to adapt because priorities can change over time.

We’d like to introduce you to the Delaware State Chamber Foundation. The foundation supports research, programs, and initiatives that advance Delaware’s economic climate and the prosperity of all Delawareans. It will perform future-focused research to identify and implement long-term solutions; track the state’s national and regional competitiveness year-over-year; and turn data and research results into legislative and regulatory changes.

It is important that we emphasize this will be accomplished in collaboration. The Delaware State Chamber Foundation (DSCF) will be a collaborator to organizations throughout Delaware. We know our partners, like the Delaware Business Roundtable and Delaware Prosperity Partnership, are identifying good ideas every day that can move the state forward. We want to take those good ideas, dive into the details of their mechanics, timeline, cost, economic impact, and more, and align voices to lead in the execution of shared solutions that will grow the state’s economy and prosperity.

Innovation requires deviation. This year, we are taking your feedback, performing a self-audit, and making the necessary changes to ensure we go beyond simply sharing good ideas to delivering results. Renaming The Partnership and expanding its mission is one example. This evolution reflects how we are shifting as an organization to meet Delaware’s most pressing needs.

To quote Benjamin Franklin, “Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.” We look forward to giving those words true meaning.