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Pathways to Prosperity Levers: Intermediaries

October 20, 2021

Practices & Centers

What It Is

  • An intermediary is an organization (or a collaboration of several organizations) that supports the effective and efficient design and implementation of pathways by supporting the development and sustainability of cross-sector partnerships.
  • Intermediaries are transparent, credible organizations that foster a shared vision and goals for pathways. They convene and build relationships with and among key stakeholders and support cross-sector partnerships in providing high-quality services to students.
  • Intermediaries often provide additional staffing, infrastructure, and capacity to support pathway systems and work-based learning.

Why It Matters

  • Intermediaries bridge systems and unite cross-sector stakeholders around a shared vision to ensure that pathway systems meet the needs and goals of all stakeholders. They also help system leaders leverage—and avoid duplicating—existing efforts and partnerships.
  • Intermediaries provide the operational and staff support required to scale pathways.
  • Intermediaries play a critical role in ensuring that pathway systems are equitable. They motivate system leaders to identify, acknowledge, and dismantle inequitable structural and systemic barriers.

What It Looks Like

  • Intermediaries engage and convene cross-sector leaders around a shared pathways agenda. They organize a partnership of stakeholder representatives responsible for strategic planning and leadership, including the development of the vision, goals, and design for a pathway system.
  • Intermediaries transform vision into action plans and help partners to operationalize pathways work.
  • Intermediaries lead the development of work-based learning delivery systems. They collaborate with educational institutions and employers to develop work-based learning sequences and structures. They also engage key employers, employer associations, and sector organizations to identify, aggregate, and broker work-based learning opportunities at scale.
  • Intermediaries recruit industry, nonprofit, and public employers and work to ensure that participating leaders understand and support the vision.

What Role Partners Play

  • Intermediaries connect and convene regional teams of cross-sector stakeholders and provide leadership to help them develop a shared vision and goals for pathways. They also guide teams to evaluate the success of pathways, plan for continuous improvement, and create sustainability plans.
  • All other partners, including employers and secondary and postsecondary educators, contribute time, resources, and expertise to the design and implementation of pathway systems.

Related Content

Learn about the five Pathways to Prosperity Levers by clicking on the icons below.