People-centered Industrial Transformation

Intro 

In October 2024, just a few weeks before the U.S. presidential election, the project fellows traveled through the American industrial heartlands to get a first-hand impression of the prevailing political climate and to engage with numerous organizations and individuals who are deeply involved in shaping the future of these industrial heartlands.

The meetings in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan provided valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities in these regions, allowing the project fellows to summarize their findings in policy papers that provide actionable recommendations for policymakers and change makers in both the United States and Germany.

Climate, Work & Innovation

A people-centered industrial transformation can serve as a unifying, nonpartisan cause for policymakers in the United States and Germany, ensuring that structural change benefits the majority while enhancing economic resilience. Industrial heartlands must leverage their existing infrastructure, skilled workforces, and industrial heritage to drive innovation and create well-paying jobs, particularly in energy and green technologies. Public–private partnerships, regional innovation clusters, and trade union support will be essential, as seen in successful initiatives like the Youngstown Business Incubator, which fosters entrepreneurship, workforce development, and technological innovation. Civic engagement models, such as Erie’s Jefferson Educational Society, can help bridge partisan divides, while philanthropic capital and sovereign wealth funds can mitigate economic risks by reinvesting in key industries and community revitalization. By focusing on these strategies, industrial heartlands can become leaders in sustainable development, ensuring short-term economic benefits, long-term prosperity, and democratic resilience. By learning from U.S. experiences, Germany can compare and navigate its own industrial transformation while further promoting regional collaboration.