Inside the Texas Back to Business Roundtable: What Six Months of Executive Dialogue Reveals About the Future of Civic Leadership

Since December 2024, the IGC Institute has convened an exclusive, ongoing roundtable of Texas business leaders to explore the intersection of civic life, corporate responsibility, and policy engagement. In a year marked by political volatility, workforce challenges, and legislative disruption, these closed-door conversations have offered rare clarity into what employers are navigating and where they need support.

Here’s what we’ve learned in our sessions:

1. Civic Engagement is Emerging as a Core Business Function

Across multiple sessions, participants underscored a growing sense that civic education and voter engagement can no longer be viewed as external or optional. In the absence of trusted institutions, many employees now look to their employers for nonpartisan information about how government works and how to participate.

Bottom Line: Employers are becoming civic educators, whether they intended to or not. Businesses are eager for trusted tools, vetted language, and scalable programs that meet this new demand without adding political risk.

2. AI Policy and Workforce Innovation Are Strategic Priorities

As state-level AI legislation gains traction, companies are beginning to assess not just regulatory impacts but also broader workforce implications. From misinformation and deepfakes to the automation of core roles, leaders are preparing for an accelerated transformation in how their teams work, communicate, and upskill.

Bottom Line: Business leaders are calling for cross-sector dialogue about how emerging technologies can be implemented ethically, with equity and long-term talent development in mind.

3. Public Sector Gaps are Fueling Corporate Action

Several roundtable conversations highlighted a growing concern about public sector underperformance, including under-resourced state agencies to the elimination of federal offices. In response, companies are stepping in to fill information, access, and service gaps for their employees and communities.

The Bottom Line: The private sector is increasingly viewed as a stabilizing force amid government dysfunction. This trend raises both opportunity and responsibility.

4. Policy Complexity Requires Translation and Trust

Texas business leaders face a deluge of legislative updates with some moving quickly and others quietly failing. What many lack is not interest, but clarity. Participants expressed frustration with legal ambiguity, media noise, and a lack of trusted, nonpartisan translation of what policies actually mean for their operations.

The Bottom Line: Clear, apolitical interpretation of policy impacts is one of the most valued resources nonprofits provide. Leaders need help separating signal from noise.

5. Values-Aligned Strategies Must Be Paired with Risk Management

There’s a shared understanding that values-aligned strategies must now be paired with reputational risk management. For example, most companies aren’t completely abandoning diversity, equity, and inclusion programs like employee resource groups. Instead, they are adjusting terminology, revising public disclosures, and reevaluating program design.

The Bottom Line: Quiet coordination among business leaders is proving more powerful than public positioning on controversial topics like DEI.

What Comes Next: Building Capacity for Civic Readiness

The Texas Back to Business Roundtable is more than a forum. It is a proving ground for what 21st century civic leadership looks like in the workplace. Based on insights gathered to date, IGC Institute will be launching:

• A Civic Readiness Playbook
  A business-first resource to help employers navigate elections, educate employees, and engage strategically without stepping into partisanship.

• Quarterly Executive Briefings
  Exclusive, digestible summaries that spotlight civic trends, risks, and opportunities for leaders shaping the future of work and democracy.

• A Civic Engagement Lab
  A digital-first hub for piloting new tools—from voting education chatbots to community toolkits—designed to activate participation and scale trust.

IGC’s Mission in Action

At a time when many organizations are retreating from the civic space, the IGC Institute is investing in the future. By listening to business leaders, interpreting the civic landscape, and delivering actionable tools, we are helping companies lead with both principle and pragmatism.

For updates or to get involved, contact us.