Turning overlooked problems into real-world solutions.
Tiir Institute conducts research on the issues that shape the future of communities, economies, and governance. We bring together leaders, policymakers, researchers, businesses, and civil society to transform ideas into practical solutions through collaboration and sustained engagement. Our approach combines rigorous research with real world action, ensuring that good ideas move beyond reports and discussions to become policies, partnerships, and projects that create lasting impact. We call this the think and do model: research grounded in evidence, dialogue driven by diverse perspectives, and action focused on delivering measurable results.
Most institutions pick one lane: think tanks that publish and step back, or delivery shops that execute without asking whether the underlying problem is even framed correctly. Tiir Institute is built to hold both. We start with a problem that has been overlooked, under-resourced, or poorly understood — not because it lacks importance, but because it fell between the mandates of the organizations meant to address it.
From there, we do the research to understand why the problem persists, convene the people who actually hold the levers — public agencies, employers, civic leaders, investors, and community organizations — and help design the first working version of a solution. We stay engaged through implementation, not just publication.
We start from the overlooked problem, not a pre-set agenda or funding stream.
We bring public, private, and civic actors into the same room and the same plan.
Every research effort is paired with a path to a pilot, program, or policy change.
We measure what we build and are willing to say when something isn't working.
We exist for problems that fall through the cracks between agencies, sectors, and funding cycles — and for the belief that good research should end in a working project, not a shelf.
Tiir Institute is an independent research and action organization. We study problems that are real but under-examined — the kind that show up in every community conversation but rarely make it into a formal research agenda — and we bring those findings directly to the people positioned to act on them.
Our name reflects that posture: a pillar, something load-bearing, meant to hold weight rather than simply mark a position. We are builders first and publishers second — the research exists to support something being built, not the other way around.
Tiir Institute operates across three pillars — Economic Development, Civic Engagement, and Governance & Institutions — with programs currently in active development.
We research the issues that fall outside existing mandates, convene the people who can act on them, and stay engaged from first draft to first pilot.
We want communities, agencies, and institutions to have a trusted, independent partner that can move a real problem from identification to implementation — reliably, and in the open.
Too many good ideas die in the space between a research finding and a working program. Tiir Institute exists to close that gap — to make sure the problems our communities already know about don't just get written about, but get built on.
These aren't slogans — they're the filter every project runs through before we take it on.
We start with the overlooked problem itself — not an existing program, funding stream, or predetermined agenda — and let the evidence shape what comes next.
Durable solutions rarely come from one sector alone. We convene public agencies, employers, investors, and civic organizations around a shared plan.
Every research effort is designed with an endpoint: a pilot, a policy recommendation, or a working program — not a report that ends the conversation.
We define success measures up front, track them honestly, and are willing to say when a model isn't working and needs to change.
Each focus area is one third of the same ring — a distinct mandate that only completes the picture alongside the other two. Programs under each pillar are currently in development.
We look at economic development the way people actually experience it: the friction between wanting work and finding it, the gap between having a business idea and having the capital or systems to run it, and the industries that keep hiring but keep struggling to find workers already living nearby.
Our work in this pillar will focus on workforce pathways, small business and entrepreneurship support, and connecting overlooked labor markets and industries to the investment and infrastructure they need to grow.
Civic life works when people trust that showing up actually changes something. We focus on the tools, forums, and relationships that let residents, newer community members, and civic organizations participate meaningfully — not just be consulted after decisions are already made.
This pillar will include work on community organizing infrastructure, civic education, and building durable channels between residents and the institutions that serve them.
Good ideas often fail not because they're wrong, but because the institution meant to carry them out lacks the capacity, transparency, or structure to follow through. This pillar looks directly at institutional design — how agencies, nonprofits, and emerging governing bodies are built, staffed, and held accountable.
Work here will focus on institutional capacity-building, transparency and accountability mechanisms, and advising on the design of new or reforming institutions.
Tiir Institute's programs across all three pillars are currently in active development. We'd rather launch fewer things well than announce many things early. If a project in one of these areas sounds like something you're already working on, we'd like to hear from you before it's finalized.
We'd rather build a research agenda that's genuinely rigorous than rush one out. Here's where things stand, and how to hear about it first.
Tiir Institute is currently in the research design phase of its work. Rather than publish quickly to establish a presence, we're taking the time to properly scope the questions worth asking across our three pillars — Economic Development, Civic Engagement, and Governance & Institutions — and to build the partnerships needed to answer them credibly.
That means original research, briefs, and case studies from Tiir Institute are not yet published. When they are, they'll appear here first, alongside the convenings and pilot projects they help inform.
Short, evidence-based overviews of the overlooked problems we're beginning to research within each pillar.
Summaries and takeaways from the cross-sector convenings we host as programs come online.
Documentation of the working projects that come out of our research, including what worked and what didn't.
Be the first to know when our research agenda, briefs, and convenings go live. No spam — just substantive updates as they're ready.
Every pillar of Tiir Institute depends on partners who bring resources, standing, or lived expertise we don't have in-house. Here's where to plug in.
For funders, agencies, and organizations who want to co-invest in solving an overlooked problem. Partnership can mean funding, in-kind support, staff time, or simply lending standing to a project that needs it.
Start a ConversationFor researchers, practitioners, and institutions who see a gap in the literature or the field that matches what we're building. We're actively shaping our first research agenda and are open to co-authors and data partners.
Propose a CollaborationFor civic leaders, employers, and community members who want a seat at the table when we bring people together around a specific problem. Convenings are how research turns into a plan everyone can act on.
Ask About ConveningsTell us about the problem, partnership, or opportunity on your mind — no proposal required to start.
We'll talk through fit with our pillars, what's already known, and who else needs to be in the room.
Research, convening, and a path to a pilot or program — scoped to what's realistic, not what's ideal.
Whether it's a partnership, a research idea, or a problem you think we should know about — reach out and we'll respond personally.
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725 Center Avenue, Suite 107
Moorhead, MN 56560
Monday – Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM CT
If it's been overlooked by every organization that should have picked it up, that's exactly the kind of problem we want to hear about.
