Case Studies
Lessons learned from 200+ episodes of the Econ Dev Show Podcast and our brilliant guests
Economic Development Has an Urban Bias
Why rural success is often smaller in the headline and larger in the community
Economic Developers Waste Too Much Time Pitching the Place Before They Understand the Problem
Business attraction works best when it starts with the company’s concern, not the community’s brochure.
Economic Development Marketing Needs to Think More Like B2B Marketing
Economic developers need to move from promotion to pipeline.
Downtown Revitalization Gets Weaker When Communities Wait for Outsiders to Save It
Why the strongest downtown strategies start with the businesses already making, hiring, and building value close to home.
How a Technology Center Can Function Like an Economic Development Tool
Workforce institutions can be more than support infrastructure. They can become implementation partners for regional growth.
Regions Do Not Compete Globally When They Sound Local and Fragmented
Why regional alignment matters more than another inventory of assets
Why Some Communities Need an Economic Development Organization That Can Actually Build Things
When growth depends on entrepreneurship, downtown redevelopment, talent, and capital, coordination is not enough.
Cheap Land Does Not Matter If the Power Is Not Real
For electricity-intensive projects, power readiness is no longer a utility detail. It is becoming one of the first tests of whether a site is truly competitive.
Workforce Development Is Not a Side Program: It Is Economic Development Infrastructure.
Because the real test of economic development begins the day after the ribbon cutting.
Workforce Access Is Not the Same Thing as Workforce Availability
A case study on transit, labor sheds, and the hidden friction inside workforce claims.
