Before you apply for funding or invest significant resources, you need to know whether a project is realistic.
And to make those decisions well, you need a clear-eyed view of the bigger picture: where the real opportunities lie and what it would take to pursue them.
Feasibility & Strategic Analysis
Feasibility analysis
I provide feasibility studies that help clients evaluate new ideas, test assumptions, and understand financial viability.
Recent engagements have included market studies for site-specific development opportunities, housing studies and development analysis, and building reuse studies. Central components of this work include business plans, operations plans, and pro forma analysis.
My approach to this work is to give clients clear, honest information they can act on. When an opportunity has real promise, I'll show why. When the numbers raise concerns, I'll show what would have to change to make the project work.
Examples of my work
Feasibility studies for redevelopment of downtowns, buildings, properties, etc.
Market assessments for specific businesses and industries
Needs assessments and SWOT analysis
Business and operating plans
Organizational assessments
Housing studies
Who this work has helped
Towns looking for viable business opportunities for their downtowns
Landowners and entrepreneurs vetting business concepts
Multi-county partnerships seeking guidance on regional project implementation
Nonprofits looking for strategic, mission-aligned opportunities to pursue
Rural communities seeking a foothold in the outdoor economy
Common elements in my reports
Competition analysis
Business and operations plans
Pro forma analysis
Roadmaps forward with actionable, achievable next steps
Suggestions on how to fund the work
Strategic analysis
My strategic analysis work helps clients make sense of their context, weigh the opportunities in front of them, and decide where to focus. Clients typically come to me when they're facing a complex landscape of opportunities and constraints and need help identifying where they can move forward with the greatest impact.
Engagements often involve landscape analysis (of economic trends, market realities, geographic factors, and underlying systemic issues), SWOT and gap analyses, and stakeholder engagement (through interviews, surveys, and focus groups). My reports typically culminate with tangible next steps for implementation, which often feed directly into fundraising.
Throughout, I dig for the root issues and give clients an honest read on what's working and what would need to change.
A recent example is Moving the Needle, my 2026 economic landscape and needs assessment for the Mon Forest Towns Partnership. The report synthesizes regional economic data, examines where the organization is already making a difference, benchmarks against peer organizations, and lays out a strategic framework for what comes next.
Planning for tourism & outdoor recreation
Much of my work, across both strategic analysis and feasibility, has focused on tourism and outdoor recreation. My particular sweet spot has been helping small rural communities figure out how to enter this market: identifying their assets, understanding the opportunities and constraints they face, and developing realistic paths forward.
This work has been concentrated in Appalachia, primarily in West Virginia. The studies often form the basis for later funding proposals, providing the analytical foundation that strong applications require.
How clients fund this work
Many clients fund this work through CDFI partnerships such as Partner Community Capital, through regional partners like the West Virginia Brownfields Assistance Centers and the West Virginia Community Development Hub, and through planning grants from foundations.