Our Work
The Theory Into Practice (TIP) planning model combines rigorous data analysis with the latest thinking in economic development, workforce training, and community-based principles.
Year Founded
ENGAGEMENTS
Clients
states
countries
Our Mission:
To engage and inspire community leaders to help the people they serve thrive economically, financially, and socially
Our Services

Strategic Planning
TIP’s core offering of strategic planning for economic development includes a full suite of associated services. Our strategic plans range from statewide initiatives down to small scale sites, business districts, and corridors. We spend a lot of time in US suburbs and exurbs, areas we know well. And our clients often return, giving us high marks for our attention to implementation, quality of our products, and depth of our engagement process.

Organizational Development
It is one thing to develop a multi-year strategic plan. It is quite another to launch a new organization, restructure an existing board, align coalitions for mutual goals, or successfully execute an educational awareness campaign. TIP offers advisory services tailored to guide clients through these challenges.

Talent Strategies
Tight labor markets motivate employers. Slack labor markets concern workforce development agencies and policymakers. Regardless of where we are in the business cycle, talent development is always a concern. TIP has a long track record and depth of expertise in successful workforce planning, particularly in the alignment of goals across multiple stakeholders.
TIP Strategies Blog
Taking the Long View: Workforce Development in K-12 Education
When economic developers think about the intersection of workforce development and education, their focus is usually on post-secondary training and higher education. Recently, however, some communities are making an effort to prepare students for the modern workforce...
TIP Strategies is hiring for an Economic Development Consultant
TIP Strategies is seeking qualified candidates to serve as an Economic Development Consultant. Consultants are involved in all aspects of projects including scope of work definition, client management, research and analysis, site visits, focus group and interview facilitation, strategy development, and production of deliverables to clients.
Tony Hsieh – a Visionary and an Original
Jon Roberts share his personal tribute, to Tony Hsieh, founder of Zappos, and brilliant entrepreneur. As we all process his tragic death—and the circumstances surrounding it—we shouldn’t let ourselves be distracted from all he accomplished. Tony’s ultimate goal, whether for business or for community, was to “deliver happiness.”
Geography of Jobs
National economic cycles have their ups and downs. But locally, these shifts may play out differently. In your own hometown, you may have witnessed economic patterns that were out of sync with those of the nation. Perhaps the timing of the downturn or recovery just felt different? Maybe the intensity of the expansion or recession was greater? You’re not alone. It’s no surprise that Miami’s economic base is unlike Modesto’s, or that Scranton’s job cycles don’t mirror San Diego’s. To put local economies in better context, TIP Strategies developed the Geography of Jobs map. This interactive data visualization tracks net job gains and losses across US metropolitan statistical areas since 1999. Check it out and see how your location compares to the rest of country.