The Western Blue Chip Economic Forecast, which now incorporates the Arizona Blue Chip Forecast, focuses on the changing economies of 12 Western states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. The Western employs the proven accuracy of the consensus forecasting method brought to prominence by the late Robert J. Eggert, often referred to as the "Sage of Sedona." Forecasts are compiled by website editor Lee McPheters, research professor of economics in the W. P. Carey School of Business, who has studied the Western region for over two decades.

The Greater Phoenix Blue Chip provides quarterly consensus projections on general economic indicators and key construction measures from economists and real estate analysts and executives in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The construction forecasts are compiled in cooperation with Elliott D. Pollack and Company, a leading economic and real estate consulting firm based in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Tribes have a direct government-to-government relationship with the U.S. government wherein no decisions about their lands and people are made without their consent. In Arizona, for example, American Indian reservations occupy nearly 30 percent of the land. Native Americans have a legal and moral claim to significant quantities of water as well. Because of their special legal standing in the United States, tribes are not just another group of stakeholders to be considered in the research and policy process. The purpose of this paper is to provide a legal and political background for interactions between the United States and tribal governments and provide models for those interactions, with special attention to research and outreach.