Insights

Strategy

Map with a magnifying glass selecting road detail

Tracking Active Transportation Improvements with GIS

by Reece Neathery

Transparent and well-documented implementation is key to the success of long-term planning efforts. GIS is an especially effective tool for tracking specific, place-based projects, including infrastructure and mobility improvements. Regional organizations and governments in places like Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, and Seattle are using GIS maps to enhance accountability and ensure stakeholders can see tangible progress across multiple plans and agencies.

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Scientist in a lab working with test tubes. A tube with red liquid is being lifted out of the test tube holder.

Building an Innovation Economy: Lessons from Texas and Mississippi

by John Karras

Higher education plays an essential role in strong innovation economies. TIP’s Talent, Innovation, and Place framework encompasses the idea that aligning universities with economic development efforts is central to community success. Recent plans for Texas and Mississippi illustrate how states and regions can build an innovation economy through academic and industry partnerships.

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Man presenting to an audience seeking SBIR and STTR funding

Accessible Innovation Capital: SBIR & STTR Programs

by 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 through the process of accessing federal SBIR/STTR dollars is a strategy that fits squarely within the realm of business and economic development.

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Electric Vehicles Charging

Leveraging EV Market Momentum to Drive Local Economic Impact

by 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

by 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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young entrepreneurs in a coffee shop

Triptychs: Work-Based Learning Models

by 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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Placemaking for Innovation

by 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

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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Capital Area Rural System van

Microtransit for Rural America

by 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

by 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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