How MetroForesight Works

Mapping Your Economic Future: Our Three-Phase Approach

MetroForesight brings scientific precision to economic development through our unique three-phase methodology. We begin with data-driven analysis that generates a "long list" of potential industry matches using proprietary algorithms. This quantitative assessment creates matching scores between your region and hundreds of industries by analyzing workforce characteristics, economic indicators, and industry requirements.

Next, we refine this list through the lens of your local values and priorities. Whether your focus is on wage levels, growth potential, automation resilience, environmental impact, or job satisfaction, we filter results to align with what matters most to your community. This value-based approach ensures recommendations reflect both data-driven matches and strategic priorities.

Finally, we conduct detailed skills gap analyses for target industries, creating a bridge between strategic vision and practical implementation. This phase identifies specific workforce development needs, allowing your region to begin preparing for future opportunities immediately.

A typical MetroForesight engagement spans 4-6 months, balancing thoroughness with practical timeframes. Our collaborative process includes:

  • Initial session to understand your region's context and objectives

  • Regular check-ins as analysis progresses

  • Mid-point presentation of preliminary findings for stakeholder feedback

  • Final presentation and deliverables

Engagement Timeline

What You Receive

At the conclusion of the engagement, you'll receive comprehensive, actionable insights packaged for immediate use. Deliverables include a detailed report with quantitative matching scores, benchmarking against comparable regions, targeted industry recommendations filtered by your priorities, and specific skills gap analyses for implementation planning.

For clients seeking enhanced visualization and collaborative analysis, we offer an advanced option through the ASU Decision Theater, where complex data transforms into immersive visual environments that facilitate stakeholder understanding and decision-making.Foresight applies ecosystem science from university research to uncover connections invisible in standard analyses. Unlike conventional approaches that oversimplify economic complexity, our algorithms embrace it, generating quantitative matching scores between your region and industry targets. Our approach unlocks the full potential of data you already have, backed by validation studies correlating our matching scores with actual job growth.