What We Do
Economic development leaders are being asked to do more with less — while managing projects that are larger, faster-moving, and more politically visible. Impact Economics partners with EDOs and public agencies to provide the analytical rigor, strategic clarity, and flexible capacity needed to make better decisions and execute with confidence.
What separates this practice from the standard consulting market: every engagement is principal-led, every recommendation is grounded in diagnosis, and every deliverable is designed to be used — in board meetings, investor conversations, and day-to-day management — not filed.
Diagnostics
The Market Position Diagnosis How your EDO is positioned, perceived, and found in the market.
A three-layer intelligence assessment: controlled presence (your website, messaging, and outreach), uncontrolled presence (what the web and media say about you when you're not in the room), and perceived presence (what site selectors and corporate real estate professionals actually think). Includes an independent site selector survey.
The most accessible entry point in the Impact Economics suite — and frequently the finding that changes how an organization thinks about its entire strategy.
Timeline: 4–8 weeks
The EDO Diagnostic An organizational health assessment conducted by a practitioner.
Eight domains. Stakeholder interviews, document review, and internal process analysis. Covers governance and board structure, financial health and forecasting, staffing and succession, internal operations, program effectiveness, incentive policy risk, stakeholder perception, and strategic clarity.
This is not a rubber-stamp review. It is a clinical examination — designed to give leadership and the board an honest, evidence-based picture of where the organization is strong, where it is exposed, and what needs to change before a meaningful strategy can be built.
Timeline: 6–10 weeks
The Full Diagnostic: The Market Position Diagnosis and EDO Diagnostic commissioned together — the complete inward and outward picture.
Strategy
The Risk-First Strategic Plan™ A strategic plan built on diagnosed risk and market failure. Not aspiration.
Five phases: risk cartography, market failure analysis, future-state architecture, intervention engineering, and governance/operating system build. Every initiative in the final plan is tied explicitly to a market failure it corrects, a risk it reduces, and a return it unlocks.
The plan ends with an implementation operating system — governance structure, board accountability framework, staff ownership matrix, KPI dashboard, and quarterly review cycle. Not a document. An operating system.
Timeline: 12–20 weeks
Financial Tools
The Fiscal Workup A complete financial examination of what your strategy will actually cost — and whether you can see it through.
Multi-year budget projection, implementation cost model, and fiscal stress test. Answers the question most strategic plans never ask: can we actually afford to do what this plan says? And what happens to our finances when key assumptions don't hold?
Commissioned as a standalone engagement against any existing plan, or as an add-on to a Risk-First Strategic Plan.
Timeline: 4–6 weeks
The Return Report An independent ROI assessment for economic development investors.
Four-layer performance measurement: broad regional benchmark, project-level economic ROI, fiscal return analysis, and reputational assessment via independent site selector survey. Designed for investor renewal cycles, capital campaigns, and boards that need to answer "what did we actually get for our investment?" — with data they can defend.
Timeline: 8–12 weeks
The Investor Readiness Package™ The Return Report™ + Risk-First Strategic Plan™ + Fiscal Workup™ — commissioned together.
Here is what we built. Here is what we're going to build next. Here is the financial proof that we can execute it.
Specialist Intelligence
The Target Industry Report A data-grounded analysis of which industries your community should actually pursue — and why.
Built on the proprietary Target Industry Selection System — a five-phase analytical framework combining regional industrial leakage analysis, national growth scoring, supply chain alignment, and the Occupational Index (a quantitative workforce compatibility model). Every industry on the final list can be defended with both quantitative evidence and qualitative asset alignment. Methodology documentation available upon request.
Timeline: 6–10 weeks
The Workforce Intelligence Report Labor market profile, skills gap matrix, pipeline assessment, and strategic recommendations.
Six analytical dimensions: labor market baseline, occupational supply and demand, educational and training pipeline, wage competitiveness, housing and workforce accessibility, and skills gap assessment. Produces a complete analytical package — including a site selector-ready workforce summary formatted for RFI responses.
Timeline: 6–8 weeks
The Community Balance Sheet A municipal fiscal health analysis for city and county leadership.
Six dimensions: property tax base composition, utility revenue structure and margins, sales tax dependency and leakage, service cost versus revenue contribution by land use type, debt capacity and fiscal maneuverability, and revenue diversification. Written for both the finance director who needs the analytical rigor and the council member who needs to explain the findings to constituents.
Timeline: 8–12 weeks
Succession Planning
The Leadership Continuity Plan Succession planning for economic development organizations
Five phases: role archaeology, future-state leadership profile, internal readiness assessment, transition architecture, and documentation and governance. Serves organizations planning ahead and those already in transition. Available on standard or compressed timeline.
Timeline: 4–14 weeks
Let’s Talk
If your organization is facing increasing complexity, limited staff capacity, or upcoming strategic decisions, we welcome a conversation.
Schedule a brief discussion to explore whether Impact Economics can support your goals.
