North Shore Alliance for Economic Development

The Alliance's Small Business Technical Assistance and Educational Programs include: Alliance Policymakers Series, Resource Showcase for Minority Owned & Diverse Businesses, Small Business State Resource Webinar Series, Small Business Technical Assistance Workshops/Webinars, Offshore Wind Initiative, Industry Cluster Spotlight Event with North Shore Technology Council and Massachusetts Office of Business Development Partnership Initiatives.

The Alliance represented the regional business community in collaborative, long-range workforce skills, transportation and land use by the following means: North Shore Small Business Diversity Directory, Priority Development Site Listing Website Landing Page Video and Updated Community Photo Library, Quarterly Economic Development Directors & Community Planners Meetings and the Alliance Policymakers Series.

The Alliance commissioned the Center for Economic Development & Sustainability (CEDS) at Salem State University to produce the Future of Work -Talent Retention of College Graduates in the Region Report 2024. The Donahue Institute was commissioned to produce the Minority Owned Businesses Regional Snapshot Report 2024. The Alliance will use and share the clear and compelling data from these reports to advance its economic development efforts that promote economic sustainability and growth.

The Alliance supports regional business recruitment, retention, growth and coordination with the following activities: Convening quarterly meeting of city/town planners and Economic/Community Development Directors; offering Partnership initiatives with MOBD and promoting regional activities through Alliance Weekly Newsletter, website, calendar of regional events & forums and social media; and developing and fostering regional partnerships.The Alliance business support in FY24 included small business workshops offerings ranging from topics including: Capital, Cashflow, E-Commerce, Loans, Business Plans, State Certifications, Marketing, Off Shore Wind Training and introductions to State and Federal Resources.The North Shore Alliance for Economic Development focused its FY24 efforts on the Future of Work through Regional Readiness, Revitalization and Small Business Support to the 30 communities (including four gateway Cities) it serves through its existing/expanded offerings, new program initiatives and strategic regional partnerships.The Alliance's FY24 REDO Grant aligned its work to support and compliment the Commonwealth's Partnership for Growth and Partnership for Recovery priorities.Our FY24 REDO Grant work focused on five (5) areas: Regional Competitiveness -Economic Data, Small Business Technical AssistanceSupportEquityCompetitiv... Workforce Development/Talent Pipeline, Regional Revitalization and Regional Communication and Promotion.Programs and reports to support these five areas included: Regional Business Impact Report, Minority-Owned Regional Business Snapshot Report, Resource Showcase for Minority Owned & Diverse Businesses, Small Business State Resource Webinar Series, Small Business Technical Assistance Workshops/Webinars, MOBD Partnership Initiatives, Future of Work -Talent Retention of College Graduates in the Region, Job, Fairs, North Shore Legislative Delegation/Employer Roundtable, Online Priority Development Site Listing, Industry Cluster Spotlight with the North Shore Technology Council, Regional Economic Development Symposium, Offshore Wind Training, Offshore Wind 101 Information Session, Offshore Wind 101 Webinar, Offshore Wind Ready Training Program, Quarterly Economic Development Directors & Community Planners Meetings, Alliance Policymakers Series, and Alliance Website/Weekly Electronic Newsletters/Social Media.The Alliance's REDO Grant funding for FY24 totaled $129,900 to continue its impactful work on the North Shore and lower Merrimack Valley that has benefitted the region during this stabilization and recovery period in process.