The Business and Industry Association – New Hampshire’s statewide chamber of commerce and leading business advocate – is developing a strategic economic plan for New Hampshire. The plan, which BIA will unveil late this year, will include a vision statement, eight to 10 goals in support of the vision, benchmark data to measure New Hampshire’s current status relative to each goal, and a series of recommended action steps to achieve the goals and overall vision.
BIA President Jim Roche describes the final product as a strategic economic plan that will underscore the sound features of New Hampshire’s economy that should be preserved and strengthened, identify weaknesses needing correction, and outline opportunities for positioning the state to excel economically in the years ahead.
“For years, our members have expressed unease about the direction of the state, despite the fact that, by many measures, New Hampshire is a good place to live and do business,” said Roche. “They are concerned that the good things we enjoy in New Hampshire seem to happen by chance rather than through thoughtful decision-making. BIA members believe that absent a well-thought-out, strategic economic plan, New Hampshire’s economic assets are threatened and our economic vulnerabilities are further exposed.”
Find out what's happening in Concordfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
A critical element of the plan development is a series of meetings to articulate each goal and recommended action steps. BIA is forming several groups of stakeholders in the following issue areas and encourages anyone interested in this project to volunteer to serve on one or more of the groups:
- Energy and regulated utilities
- Fiscal policy
- Healthcare
- Regulatory environment (labor and environmental)
- Education, workforce skills and labor pool
- Workforce housing
- Infrastructure (transportation, waste and drinking water)
- Natural and cultural resources
Each stakeholder group will meet at least three times to articulate the goal and establish related action steps. Roche emphasized that participation on the stakeholder groups is not limited to BIA members and encourages anyone with an interest in this endeavor to participate.
Find out what's happening in Concordfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The BIA has contracted with two respected consultants to help develop the strategic economic plan. The New Hampshire Center for Public Policy Studies will analyze New Hampshire’s economic landscape and provide benchmark data for comparison. The team of Synchrony Associates LLC and Mather Associates LLC (Synchrony-Mather), led by John Gilbert and Cotton Cleveland, will facilitate the stakeholder meetings and draft the economic development plan for BIA board review and approval.
Stakeholder group meetings will begin in April. To register for a stakeholder group, please visit BIAofNH.com and go to April 26, on the events calendar. Meetings will be held in Concord or Manchester.
###
About the BIA: The Business and Industry Association is New Hampshire’s statewide chamber of commerce and leading business advocate. The BIA represents more than 400 members in a variety of industries, including advanced manufacturing, high technology, professional services, financial services, health care, hospitality and tourism, public utilities, higher education and insurance. Member firms employ 86,000 people throughout the state and contribute $4.5 billion annually to the state’s economy. Through advocacy with state legislators and regulators, the BIA works to promote a healthy business climate and robust economic future for New Hampshire.
The BIA’s 2013 public policy priorities include: preserving the New Hampshire Advantage through support of fiscally conservative state budgets with a business-friendly regulatory and tax structure; supporting business tax policies that foster economic growth; supporting infrastructure development; supporting efforts to increase the availability and affordability of housing for working people; supporting pro-business labor rules and regulations that consider the rights and responsibilities of workers and management; supporting efforts that enhance outcomes and reduce/slow the growth of total healthcare costs for employers and the state; supporting efforts to develop New Hampshire’s future workforce; working towards mitigating the long- and short-term costs of energy; supporting efforts to reform the state’s telecommunications regulations to ensure fairness and equal competition among all service providers; and supporting environmental policies, legislation and administrative rules that balance economic development with the long-term viability of the state’s natural resources through a collaborative process. For more information about the BIA, visit biaofnh.com/.
