Sector Expertise
Community & Economic Development
Place-Based Strategy | Authentic Narrative | Stakeholder Engagement | Sustainable Investment
Many communities have more going for them than the economic indicators suggest. Historic character, affordable space, natural assets, geographic advantages, entrepreneurial energy — the ingredients for growth are often already present. What’s missing is a strategy that unlocks them: one that tells the right story to the right audiences, builds the relationships that attract lasting investment, and puts the community in the driver’s seat of its own development.
Catalyst works with municipalities, regional economic development organizations, civic leaders, and place-based initiatives to build economic development strategies that create real, durable growth — not a surge of activity that fades when the campaign ends.
01
Community Identity & Authentic Narrative
Generic economic development messaging doesn’t move people — or capital. We help communities define and articulate what genuinely makes them distinctive: their history, their people, their assets, their ambitions. Through stakeholder engagement with residents, business owners, civic leaders, and community institutions, we uncover the authentic story that forms the foundation of every outreach and investment strategy that follows.
What this produces: A community identity framework and narrative platform that resonates with the audiences you’re trying to reach — and that local stakeholders are proud to champion.
02
Target Audience & Investment Segmentation
Effective economic development is not about reaching everyone — it’s about reaching the right people with the right message at the right moment. We help communities identify and prioritize the audiences most aligned with their assets and vision: remote workers, manufacturers seeking expansion space, outdoor lifestyle businesses, creative entrepreneurs, workforce families, or institutional investors. For each priority segment we develop tailored messaging that speaks directly to their priorities.
What this produces: A segmented audience strategy with distinct value propositions for each priority group and a clear picture of where and how to reach them.
03
Strategic Outreach & Channel Activation
Knowing your story and knowing your audience is only valuable if you can connect the two. We design and support outreach strategies that reach decision-makers through the channels they actually use — industry networks, site selection consultants, targeted digital campaigns, niche media, and direct outreach programs. Our approach prioritizes precision over volume: fewer, better conversations with the people most likely to act.
What this produces: An outreach strategy with prioritized channels, tailored messaging by segment, and a campaign architecture that generates qualified interest rather than general awareness.
04
Stakeholder Alignment & Coalition Building
Economic development works when the community is aligned around a shared vision and willing to act on it together. We facilitate the stakeholder engagement and coalition-building processes that align local government, business community, anchor institutions, and civic organizations around a common strategy — resolving tensions early, building ownership broadly, and ensuring that the people most capable of driving progress are pulling in the same direction.
What this produces: A functioning coalition with shared priorities, clear roles, and the governance structures needed to sustain momentum beyond the initial campaign.
05
Conversion Infrastructure & Relationship Development
Generating interest is the beginning, not the end. Many economic development efforts fail not from lack of awareness but from lack of follow-through — interested businesses and residents that never receive a timely, personal, compelling response. We help communities build the inquiry management systems, welcome programs, and ongoing relationship development processes that turn interest into decisions and decisions into arrivals.
What this produces: A structured “soft landing” system with personalized engagement protocols, local connector networks, and the ongoing communication pipelines that keep prospective investors and residents engaged through their decision process.
Measurable Impact
Through this approach, Catalyst has helped communities and economic development organizations achieve: Reductions in commercial vacancy through targeted business attraction and retention. New business relocations that generated local employment and long-term tax base growth. Population stabilization following years of demographic decline. Increased media coverage in the publications read by target investor and resident audiences. Stakeholder coalitions that sustained momentum well beyond the initial planning engagement.
The communities that grow with intention — rather than chasing any development opportunity that comes along — are the ones that end up with the growth that fits them. Catalyst partners with the leaders committed to building places that last.
