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
Solidarity and Support
Over the next several weeks, we intend to provide a series of practical and forward-looking resources. To start, we have included links to webinars from our trusted partners at the McChrystal Group and the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). Also included are articles providing insights on how these events are likely to have a lasting impact.
Housing in the First Suburbs
In partnership with the National League of Cities and the Mid-America Regional Council, TIP Strategies facilitated a day-long summit on July 19, 2019. The focus of the summit was workforce housing in first tier suburbs of Kansas City. The summit brought together approximately 200 local leaders and stakeholders from the region to explore opportunities for building and maintaining workforce housing at a regional scale.
To Deliver on Opportunity Zones’ Potential, Return to their Original Premise
Opportunity Zones (OZs) have been a hot topic for economic developers and investors across the country. As the largest federal economic development investment in over a decade, OZs originally excited economic developers because of their promise to deliver community benefits, but as the market has unfolded, OZs have instead been met with criticism. Shifting the narrative to focus on both economic growth and community inclusion is an important step to ensure that OZs deliver on their potential and promise to strengthen the country’s disadvantaged communities.
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.