Insights

High School Science Classroom: Diverse Multiethnic Group of Students

Meeting the Workforce Moment: Outcomes-Based Higher Education Funding

by Jess Myers

As public confidence in higher education wavers, policymakers are increasingly funding institutions based on student outcomes. Tools like performance-based funding and Workforce Pell grants tie public dollars to graduate job placement, wage growth, and high-demand credential attainment—reinforcing educators’ role in workforce, increasing accountability for labor market success, and giving economic and workforce developers new levers to shape talent pipelines.

Meeting the Workforce Moment: Outcomes-Based Higher Education Funding Read More

Team of Computer Engineers Work on Machine Learning Neural Network Technology Development.

Workforce Strategy in the Age of AI

by Jon Roberts

Framing the AI revolution purely as labor disruption misses a core economic reality: corporations exist to maximize profitability, not create jobs. To build enduring regional systems, workforce and economic development leaders must pivot from reactive supply-matching to operational partnerships. Aligning upskilling strategies with task-level AI fluency can help ensure human capital remains the primary engine driving business success.

Workforce Strategy in the Age of AI Read More

Advancing Competitiveness Through Place-Based Infrastructure

by Alex Cooke

For smaller communities, competitiveness increasingly depends on more than industrial infrastructure. TIP’s recent work in Tennessee illustrates how investments in parks, trails, downtown districts, and tourism assets can strengthen talent attraction, support business growth, preserve local character, and capture regional opportunity. Communities that embrace place-based infrastructure are better positioned for long-term economic vitality.

Advancing Competitiveness Through Place-Based Infrastructure Read More

Aerial view of a large AI data center complex under construction,

Data Centers: Contentious Infrastructure of the Future

by Evan Johnston

Data center build-out remains a major topic for economic developers in communities of all sizes. At the same time, public opposition to these massive investments also continues to grow and has increasingly codified into moratoriums and outright bans. Local leaders should reframe their perspective on data centers as catalysts with the potential to drive innovation, if structured to center community benefits.

Data Centers: Contentious Infrastructure of the Future Read More

Row of electric scooters and bicycles at a rental station.

Building Resilience in Micromobility

by Ajay Kasturirangan

Urban areas face persistent traffic and parking challenges that can stifle economic vitality and limit the impact of transit investments. While micromobility offers a flexible solution, the long-term viability of these programs varies widely. By examining system resilience and infrastructure, this piece identifies how communities can successfully align bikes and e-scooters with broader economic goals.

Building Resilience in Micromobility Read More

Century Square in College Station

Community Identity as an Economic Advantage

by Erica Colston

While a dominant institutional brand can be a powerful driver of growth, overreliance on a single entity may limit a community’s broader economic potential. TIP’s recent strategic planning work in College Station, Texas, illustrates how communities—particularly university towns—can leverage world-class institutions while cultivating a distinct local identity that attracts and retains talent, businesses, students, and visitors alike.

Community Identity as an Economic Advantage Read More

Pilgrim Monument Provincetown, Cape Cod

Preserving the Social Fabric of Destination Towns Through Affordable Housing

by Alexis Angelo

For many destination towns, the phrase “we live where you vacation” is a point of pride that masks an economic threat. When residents and essential workers are priced out by rising housing costs, a community risks losing the very identity that draws visitors in. Strategies from Cape Cod demonstrate how creative land use and regional collaboration can preserve local social fabric.

Preserving the Social Fabric of Destination Towns Through Affordable Housing Read More

Suburb Housing Development Construction Community

Build-to-Rent: Attainable Community Belonging Amid a Housing Crisis

by Reece Neathery

As the median age of first-time homebuyers reaches record highs, the US housing landscape is shifting toward a model of attainable belonging. Beyond providing housing stock, build-to-rent (BTR) developments are bridging the gap between flexibility and stability by allowing residents to put down roots regardless of their mortgage status. As the model grows, it raises new questions about zoning compatibility and long-term impacts on affordability.

Build-to-Rent: Attainable Community Belonging Amid a Housing Crisis Read More

Southern Gateway-Bridge Skyline Dallas

Laying the Groundwork for Opportunity Zones 2.0

by Jess Myers

Opportunity Zones (OZs) have been a major focus for economic developers and investors nationwide. While OZ 1.0 showed mixed results, OZ 2.0 offers a permanent, more transparent framework for implementation. Communities that align priorities, build readiness, and coordinate investment now will be best positioned to capture private capital and deliver meaningful economic and community outcomes.

Laying the Groundwork for Opportunity Zones 2.0 Read More

State of Implementation

by Tracye McDaniel

Across 30 years of engagements, TIP has learned that strategy only matters when it drives visible movement. President Tracye McDaniel examines how communities translate plans into visible progress through strong governance, real-time measurement, and adaptive tools. Her insights underscore why implementation now distinguishes regions that merely prepare for the future from those actively building it.

State of Implementation Read More

Scroll to Top