The Communities of Practice for Building Better Regions and Tech Hubs gathered in Tulsa, Oklahoma in early September for a convening that showcased Tulsa’s work and gave participants a chance to learn from each other during workshops and breakout sessions. Committed to strengthening their regional economies through strategic focus and aligned action fueled by multi-sector partnerships and historic investments from the Economic Development Administration, these communities have adapted the practice of economic development to address national priorities and tackle regional economic challenges. These in-person convenings have become important opportunities for Communities of Practice (CoP) participants to step back from their daily grind and think through strategic and tactical opportunities and challenges with their peers from across the country.
As guests of the Tulsa Innovation Labs, participants witnessed firsthand the impressive momentum as their coalition builds out the region's advanced mobility cluster. Led by the Tulsa Innovation Labs and building on strengths in aviation and manufacturing, the coalition won a $38 million Build Back Better Regional Challenge Grant in 2022 and $51 million Tech Hub Designation in 2024 with the vision of becoming a global leader in the design, test and manufacture of uncrewed aerial systems.
In discussing the region’s transformation, former Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum reminded the Communities of Practice that economic development is not an end in itself but instead should be structured to solve a community’s challenges. He ran for mayor after learning that if you grew up in North Tulsa, you would live 11 fewer years on average than other Tulsa residents, an outrage that he insists no Tulsan should tolerate. When he won, Mayor Bynum used economic development to address that community challenge, restructuring their policies and incentives to address the lack of opportunity in North Tulsa and eventually recruiting $1 billion in private investment and jobs into North Tulsa.
The EDA’s investment in North Tulsa built LaunchPad for Advanced Air Mobility at the Oklahoma State University-Tulsa’s Helmerich Research Center. On a tour of the facility, CoP participants learned that LaunchPad is an applied research facility focused on uncrewed and autonomous systems, designed to expand Oklahoma’s research and development capacity and better align university research with industry needs. The facility serves as a training ground for engineering students and student entrepreneurs and a resource for industry. LaunchPad created SPARC/Ignite Fellowships, which are 8-week, paid, full-time summer undergraduate and graduate programs where fellows conduct mentored UAV/drone research, build aerospace hardware, and gain commercialization and entrepreneurial training. During the tour, a graduate student fellow, Chris Scott from Aerovision, introduced CoP participants to a drone hardware and software platform that he built to enable soldiers in the field to manufacture and assemble on site. The student created a company using IP he developed during his fellowship. He said that his fellowship with LaunchPad has enabled him to build his own dream, rather than just taking his research experience and PhD off to build someone else’s.
Another critical component of Tulsa’s advanced air mobility strategy is SkyWay Range, a droneport with capabilities, assets and services to support the maturation, development, manufacture, and deployment of critical UAS technologies. Capabilities include Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) testing, advanced indoor drone testing available through anchor tenant Windshape, and SAFE-T project’s focus on real-world deployment and safety validation. Notably, SkyWay Range has drawn new investment to the region. For example, Windshape, a Swiss company that designs and manufacturers indoor test systems for drones, opened a Drone Testing Center in October 2025, and Manna Air Delivery, an Irish drone delivery company, expanded its U.S. operations and manufacturing to SkyWay Range in July 2026.
The investment and hard work in advanced air mobility is paying off in important ways for Tulsa residents but, perhaps even more importantly, Tulsa’ has strengthened its ability to take collective action across jurisdictions, between private, non-profit, state and local actors for a sustained period of time. And this heightened ability, which has been critical to Tulsa’s success, is difficult to communicate in grant proposals or measure as an outcome. That alignment, which is hard, messy work, has given the Tulsa region the confidence to continue to dream big and act boldly for its future.