Berkshire residents might be forgiven for assuming that the businesses, nonprofit organizations and public entities that comprise the local economy either hum along or fail as a result of natural market forces. In fact, the state designates economic development agencies — the local example being 1Berkshire, a group of local business leaders — to attempt to shape, guide, coordinate and encourage economic activity and growth.
Agencies, especially state-sanctioned ones, produce action plans — and Berkshire County has been operating since 2007 under the aegis of the Berkshire Blueprint, a comprehensive economic prescription that has been rendered gradually obsolete by developments on the ground. Last Friday, 1Berkshire released Berkshire Blueprint 2.0. Read more about the Berkshire Blueprint >>
