Insights

<a href='https://tipstrategies.com/who-we-are/mishka-parkins/'>Mishka Parkins</a>

Climate Jobs - Workers repairing a wind turbine

Bridging the Climate Workforce Gap

by Mishka Parkins

Expanding green industries, rising energy demands, and climate challenges have made growing the climate workforce an economic priority. While policy shifts create uncertainty, employer demand continues to outstrip the supply of skilled workers. Programs like those in Philadelphia, New Orleans, and Detroit are demonstrating how targeted training, strong partnerships, and community-driven initiatives can build a skilled workforce while expanding economic opportunity and resilience.

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A view of the Baltimore city skyline from the harbor with boats and docks in the water

Equity-Driven Implementation: Insights from the Baltimore Region

by Mishka Parkins

Ensuring equity and inclusion during implementation is as vital as integrating them into planning. The Greater Baltimore Committee’s All In 2035 plan, prepared with guidance from TIP Strategies, highlights practices for maintaining a focus on inclusivity, including engaging diverse stakeholders, establishing measurable goals, and fostering transparency and accountability. The organization’s approach offers a model for creating long-term, equitable growth.

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Opportunity, Representation, and Participation In Workforce Development

by 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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Volunteers working in a community garden

Intent, Impact, Outcomes, and Placemaking

by 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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San Luis Obispo with a mountain in the background.

Sustainability and Economic Development as Mutually Reinforcing Priorities

by Mishka Parkins

Faced with unprecedented environmental challenges, the integration of climate sustainability into economic development planning has increased in urgency for many practitioners. As part of TIP’s work with the City of San Luis Obispo, California, Mishka Parkins gained a first-hand perspective on how this integration can be accomplished and the opportunities a sustainability focus can create.

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an arrow drawn through a chalk maze

Making the Way for Inclusive Economic Growth

by Mishka Parkins

TIP’s ongoing work with the International Economic Development Council as part of its Equitable Economic Development Playbook Initiative highlights the pivotal role economic developers can play in addressing economic inequality. Mishka Parkins’s post describes the Equity Action Plans created by the five organizations that participated in the initiative’s 2022 cohort.

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