TIP Strategies: Insights • News & Events • Consulting • Advisory

Man presenting to an audience seeking SBIR and STTR funding

Accessible Innovation Capital: SBIR & STTR Programs

9.27.2024by Erica Colston

When it comes to improving a community’s innovation assets, economic development practitioners can do only so much to influence postsecondary science and engineering programs or to increase the presence of venture capital firms. Supporting R&D-focused small businesses with accessing federal SBIR/STTR dollars is a strategy which fits squarely within the realm of business and economic development.

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Leveraging EV Market Momentum to Drive Local Economic Impact

9.17.2024by Luke Shuffield

The increasingly competitive electric vehicles (EVs) market is reshaping the automotive landscape and presenting new opportunities for economic developers. This post examines key strategies for capitalizing on EV growth, including pursuing federal funding, attracting manufacturing investments, and expanding EV charging infrastructure. By focusing on these areas, communities can position themselves to benefit from the accelerating shift toward electrification.

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Measuring Job Quality and Access

6.28.2024by Evan Johnston

Connecting workers to job opportunities and long-term career paths is a critical component of sustainable economic growth that is often hampered by a lack of information sharing and coordination among organizations. TIP’s proprietary Job Quality and Access tool, developed in collaboration with the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, provides multi-dimensional data that helps identify higher quality and more accessible jobs across geographies.

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Supporting Shorter, More Affordable Pathways to Quality Jobs

6.25.2024by Luke Shuffield

Students often feel pressured to pursue four-year degrees despite skyrocketing education costs. However, the value of affordable, shorter educational pathways, such as associate’s degrees and technical certificates, is increasingly evident. Institutions like Texas State Technical College and San Jacinto College demonstrate the benefits of skill-specific training, supported by philanthropic and industry investments, offering promising alternatives to traditional college routes.

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Triptychs: Work-Based Learning Models

6.17.2024by TIP Staff

As technology advances, a skills gap has emerged between students’ education and employers’ needs, threatening future workforce readiness. Work-based learning programs, which integrate real-world experiences and employer insights into education, offer a viable solution. This blog post explores three examples of programs that help students acquire essential skills and better prepare for high-demand jobs, addressing talent shortages in major sectors.

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Opportunity, Representation, and Participation In Workforce Development

6.11.2024by Mishka Parkins

Limited access to the education and training needed to acquire high-demand skills and systemic biases in hiring decisions continue to perpetuate skills gaps and lead to underrepresentation in high-paying occupations. This post highlights two inclusive strategies—tailored community-based training programs and targeted recruitment—that economic developers can champion to help increase representation and bridge opportunity gaps.

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Placemaking for Innovation

3.28.2024by Erica Colston

While it is often overlooked, placemaking has emerged as an essential factor in building successful innovation ecosystems. Erica Colston’s latest post explores two innovation hubs—North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park and Pegasus Park in Dallas, Texas—to illustrate how placemaking strategies have adapted to succeed in today’s innovation environment.

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Volunteers working in a community garden

Intent, Impact, Outcomes, and Placemaking

3.22.2024by Mishka Parkins

The process of placemaking is a means to bridge gaps across racial and socioeconomic lines, expand access to economic opportunity, and foster social inclusion within communities. These outcomes, however, require intentional efforts and a commitment to tackle unintentional practices that lead to division, creating unequal access to amenities, public spaces, and prosperity.

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Microtransit for Rural America

3.19.2024by Ajay Kasturirangan

Rural America faces disparities in access to essential services and opportunities compared to urban areas. While the percentage of households without vehicles is similar across rural and urban regions, the income gap is substantial, highlighting the need for affordable and equitable mobility solutions. Could microtransit offer a promising solution to address this challenge?

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Highline Park in NYC, a repurposed railroad bridge

Creating Place-Based Economic Impacts Through Adaptive Reuse

3.15.2024by Jenn Todd-Goynes, CNU-A

Rising office vacancy rates following the COVID-19 pandemic have renewed conversations about the role of adaptive reuse. Jenn Todd-Goynes highlights notable examples of communities that have brought together public and private interests to transform vacant sites and underutilized assets into quality places that generate positive impacts and provide preferred destinations for people, businesses, and visitors.

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