Smaller communities near major metros can build thriving tech economies by aligning local assets with regional industry strengths. TIP’s work in Rock Hill, South Carolina, and Sahuarita, Arizona, illustrates how targeted niche development—in this case, fintech and photonics—can position these communities for sustainable long-term growth.
Over the last three decades, TIP has challenged conventional thinking about innovation. From our early work in Racine, Wisconsin, to current strategies for anticipating disruption, our approach has sought to align community assets with emerging trends. Managing partner Jon Roberts reflects on how economic development organizations can build lasting capacity for innovation in a rapidly changing world.
Economic development teams often face the challenge of implementing strategic plans with limited capacity. As a practical innovation, AI agents represent a promising shift in meeting that challenge. They represent a novel approach to how work gets done through a clear and phased approach.
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.
Building an Innovation Economy: Lessons from Texas and Mississippi Read More
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.
Accessible Innovation Capital: SBIR & STTR Programs Read More
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.
Leveraging EV Market Momentum to Drive Local Economic Impact Read More
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.
In October 2023, Tom Stellman and Alexis Angelo were part of a panel on the intersection of economic development and philanthropy at Philanthropy Southwest’s 75th Annual Conference, held in the Lost Pines region outside of Austin. In her latest post, Alexis summarizes the panel, which featured our work for the City of Muskogee Foundation, and shares her takeaways from the event.
Aimed at making the US more globally competitive and strengthening national security, the Tech Hubs program represents a significant investment of federal funds to catalyze technological advances and drive job creation in high-potential regions. Read more about the October 2023 announcement of the Phase 1 winners in Luke Shuffield’s latest post.
While generative AI may not be a singular historical moment, it is a significant one in the longer arc of technological change. TIP managing partner Jon Roberts considers the implications of generative AI and offers actions that economic developers can take to both mitigate the challenges and leverage the opportunities facing their local economies and workforces.
