We are a national think-and-do tank that promotes “high road” solutions to social problems.

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New name. Same mission.

Effective January 2024, COWS is now the High Road Strategy Center!

When we first launched this organization in 1990, “COWS” was an acronym for Center on Wisconsin Strategy. Several years later, we changed our name to “COWS” – not as an acronym but as a full name because so much of our work was outside Wisconsin. While COWS is a fond holdover of history, it says nothing about what we do. 

High Road Strategy is what we do and have always done. We are a think-and-do tank, applied research center, provider of technical assistance and advisory services – all aimed at moving more cities and regions and their residents and governments toward high-road development.

High Road Strategy Center captures that aspiration and work so, while our name is changing, our mission, purpose, and services remain the same.

Read the full announcement from our Director, Joel Rogers.

 

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Covering the Bases: Community Benefits for Public Subsidies in Kansas City

In November 2022, the Kansas City Royals announced a plan to leave their current home at Kauffman Stadium and search for a location for a $2 billion stadium and entertainment district. According to the Royals, the new development would create 2,200 jobs, mostly in the service and retail sectors. Cities across the country routinely make investments in these stadiums despite ample evidence that communities don’t secure promised economic returns. In this paper, we draw on national evidence and experience in Milwaukee to help inform the public discussion in Kansas City.

 

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High Road Strategy Center in the News