Berkshire Blueprint 2.0

FULL REPORT
Prepared for 1Berkshire by

Michael Kane Consulting
Stephen Michon FutureWorks
Judith Lorei
Marty Jones
Berkshire Blueprint 2019
BLUEPRINT FUNDERS
This document would not exist without significant support from Berkshire County’s business community. We
specifically wish to thank the following organizations, whose steadfast support allowed us to conduct the
countless hours of research, interviews, data analysis and aggregation, and ultimately the creation of this
document. Their commitment to Berkshire County’s continued economic development in comprehensive efforts
like their support of the Berkshire Blueprint is an inspiration. We at 1Berkshire are honored to work alongside
them to help build a brighter future for Berkshire County.
A special thanks to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Berkshire County legislative delegation for
their support of this project.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The consulting team wishes to thank a number of people for their contribution to this report.
The 1Berkshire leadership team of John Bissell, Tyler Fairbank, Jonathan Butler, Ben Lamb, Nathan Haddad and
Kevin Pink provided on-going support and guidance throughout the entire project. The consulting team
benefited from their wisdom and expertise in every aspect of the planning and research process.
The contribution of the Blueprint Advisory Committee members was invaluable. Members helped the consulting
team navigate its way through the many dimensions of the Berkshire economy and organizational landscape.
Members’ insights and recommendations were woven into the fabric of the report. Members of the Committee
included:
Jay Anderson, Pittsfield Cooperative Bank

Betsy Andrus, Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce
Mayor Thomas Bernard, City of North Adams
Dr. James Birge, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
John Bissell, Greylock Federal Credit Union
Heather Boulger, MassHire Berkshire Workforce Board
Laura Brennan, Berkshire Regional Planning Commission
Jim Brosnan, McCann Technical School
Tim Burke, Mill Town Capital
Jonathan Butler, 1Berkshire
Mike Coakley, City of Pittsfield
Paula Consolini, Williams College
Doug Crane, New Dalton Group
Jill Sasso Curtis, Berkshire Community College
Jonathan Denmark, MountainOne
Tyler Fairbank, the Fairbank Group
Zachary Feury, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and Berkshire Regional Planning Commission
Emmalyn Gaertner, Community Development Corporation of South Berkshire
Lori Gazzillo Kiely, Berkshire Bank Foundation
Tim Geller, Community Development Corporation of South Berkshire
Pamela Green, Smith Green Wax & Gold, LLP
Andrew Groff, Town of Williamstown
Nathan Haddad, 1Berkshire
Kris Hazzard, Berkshire United Way
Adam Hinds, Massachusetts State Senator
Beryl Jolly, Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center
Lauri Klefos, 1Berkshire
Ben Lamb, 1Berkshire
Chuck Leach, Lee Bank
Wayne Marzotto, General Dynamics Mission Systems
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Thomas Matuszko, Berkshire Regional Planning Commission
Olivier Meslay, The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute
Mindi Morin, Canyon Ranch
Charles O’Brien, Adams Community Bank
Kevin Pink, 1Berkshire
Deanna Ruffer, City of Pittsfield
Lia Spiliotes, Community Health Programs
Betsy Strickler, Community Health Programs
Peter Taylor, Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation
Jeffrey Thomas, Lever, Inc.
Special thanks are also given to Stu Rosenfeld, John Hoops, and Julia Dixon for their research and analysis, and
for the insights they shared on key components of the report. Thanks, as well, to Zachary Feury, Project
Coordinator of the Feigenbaum MCLA Leads Initiative, MCLA Design Lab, for his guidance and help on
transportation; and to Laura Brennan and Alexander Valentini of the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission
for their research on, and compilation of, the investments that have been made in Berkshire County.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
POPULATION AND LABOR MARKET TRENDS: EXISTING REALITIES...................................................................................... 10
A NEW NARRATIVE : AN ECONOMY OF GROWTH AND OPPORTUNITY ................................................................... 12
1. STRONG AND GROWING CLUSTERS ......................................................................................................................... 12
2. SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENTS IN THE BERKSHIRE ECONOMY ............................................................................................ 13
3. SIGNATURE PROGRAMS AND INITIATIVES ................................................................................................................. 15
RECOMMENDATION #1: DEVELOP A SET OF SYSTEM OPERATING PRINCIPLES ..................................................................... 18
RECOMMENDATION #2: GROW AND STRENGTHEN CLUSTERS .......................................................................................... 21
OVERVIEW OF INDUSTRY CLUSTERS ............................................................................................................................. 21
A. ADVANCED MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING SERVICES ....................................................................................... 23
B. CREATIVE ECONOMY ......................................................................................................................................... 29
C. FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ................................................................................................................................... 36
D. HEALTHCARE .................................................................................................................................................... 42
E. HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM ................................................................................................................................. 47
RECOMMENDATION #3: ORGANIZE CLUSTER LEADERSHIP HUBS AND SUPPORT .................................................................. 55
RECOMMENDATION #4: EXPLORE OTHER CLUSTERS AND ECONOMIC ACTIVITY .................................................................. 56
RECOMMENDATION #5: ENHANCE THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM ........................................................................ 57
A. THE TALENT DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM....................................................................................................................... 57
B. THE BUSINESS AND ENTREPRENEURIAL SUPPORT SYSTEM ............................................................................................. 61
RECOMMENDATION #6: ADDRESS CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES ............................................................................................. 65
BROADBAND ....................................................................................................................................................... 65
ENERGY COSTS .................................................................................................................................................... 65
POPULATION ....................................................................................................................................................... 66
TRANSPORTATION................................................................................................................................................. 67
WAGES AND FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY ............................................................................................................................................. 68
CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................................................................... 71
APPENDIX 1: STRONG AND GROWING CLUSTERS TABLE - DEFINITIONS AND SOURCES.......................................................... 72
APPENDIX 2: RESOURCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY .............................................................................................................. 73
APPENDIX 3: INTERVIEWS .......................................................................................................................................... 77
APPENDIX 4: BRPC INVESTMENT DATABASE ................................................................................................................ 81
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FOREWORD
Looking back to 2016, the Berkshires were in the midst of a several major conversations that all needed
attention. The region was seeing growth in certain areas and stagnancy in others, and a major employer had
recently announced their plans to transition out of town. Across all business sectors, there were concerns
around the issues of population loss, workforce, transportation, and broadband, among others. Concurrently,
we were experiencing investment in many of our downtowns and expansion within many of our economic
clusters. We had both challenges to address and opportunities to capitalize on.
Regional leadership wrestled over where to focus attention for the greatest impact, knowing that despite our
proven ability to collaborate, squandering critical resources will not be an option.
In that moment, facing many questions and having such a diverse array of perspectives involved, the solution
was crystal clear. We needed to get more strategic. We needed a new regional Blueprint.
The Berkshire Blueprint 2.0 process launched in early 2017. Taking nearly a year to ensure we were doing it
correctly, we established a framework, recruited a team of consultants, and launched into a discovery process
that extensively examined recent studies and commissioned new research. In 2018, the process became very
interactive, with over 100 interviews conducted, multiple focus groups organized, and the guidance of a large
and diverse advisory committee that helped shape the content and bring to life our new regional agenda.
Blueprint 2.0 aspires to strategically focus our efforts on key areas of potential to strengthen multiple business
clusters, while also incorporating significant alignment around cross-cutting issues like workforce and talent
development, entrepreneurship, and transportation that impact the quality of life for all residents of the
Berkshires. Blueprint 2.0 comprises action items intended to align regional energy and resources with a call to
action for the next decade.
This process, and resulting work, is not intended to act as another research document that finds the shelf after a
cursory review. The release of Blueprint 2.0 is instead the launch point of an initiative with structure and
oversight, accountable to itself and its collaborators. The plan itself is the product of two years of work, but is
designed to live and evolve as new ideas, energy, and solutions are injected into the process.
Berkshire Blueprint 2.0 belongs to the Berkshires, and we hope that you will approach this initiative with as open
a mind as we did while acting as conveners of the process. It has been an honor to work in a collaborative
manner with so many talented individuals and partner organizations throughout this process, but the reality is
that our work is only beginning. Please join us in working through the Berkshire Blueprint 2.0 and its process as
we push our region to reach its greatest potential in the coming decade.
Jonathan Butler Tyler Fairbank

President & CEO Chairman
1Berkshire The Berkshire Blueprint 2.0
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VISION
The following is a vision to guide the implementation of the Berkshire Blueprint and the growth and prosperity
of the region.
1. Berkshire County’s principal economic clusters (Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering Services,
Healthcare, the Creative Economy, Food and Agriculture, and Hospitality and Tourism) will continue to
grow and enhance their competitiveness.
2. A clear group of leaders will oversee the deployment of cluster-based growth activities, advocate for the
growth of the clusters, and create clear lines of authority and responsibility for the work that is
undertaken to support the clusters.
3. The economic and entrepreneurial development system will coordinate and align, be strong and
effective, and will focus principally, but not exclusively, on the targeted clusters.
4. The talent development system will be innovative and in sync with the skill and employment needs of
the businesses in the clusters.
5. The residents and leaders of the region will have a mind-set that “we’re all in this together” as the
county works for a bright economic future.
6. Organizational and programmatic resources will be devoted to several important issues that impact the
economy and the standard of living of residents who live in the county:
a. A transportation system that keeps pace with a growing, re-structured Berkshire economy and
resident base.
b. Population that grows and new residents who are attracted to the county, especially a younger
generation.
c. Working and immigrant families gain financial and economic security.
d. Broadband access is strong and prevalent across the county.
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PROJECT OVERVIEW AND METHODOLOGY

The consulting team for the Berkshire Blueprint started its work in the early fall of 2017 in a “discovery” phase
(Phase I). This involved a review of reports, studies, and strategic plans that were completed over the last five to
seven years (see bibliography in the appendix). The discovery phase identified key assets, challenges and
opportunities in the Berkshire economy, and identified gaps in existing research. Findings from the discovery
phase include:
• Many of the intractable challenges to the Berkshire economy (e.g., population, transportation,
workforce, household income, etc.) were well documented.
• Several of the county’s key economic clusters had been analyzed, but the analysis was dated and not
comprehensive, and did not include all five of the clusters that are the focus of the Blueprint 2019.
• Scores of strategies were identified to help the county’s economy and address many of the most difficult
economic and workforce challenges, but it was not clear what strategies were being implemented or
which organizations had primary responsibility for their implementation.
With this context, the consulting team and the client, 1Berkshire, decided to focus Phase 2 of the Berkshire
Blueprint, which ran from March 2018 to July 2018, on several key areas:
1. An intensive analysis of the county’s five key economic clusters.

2. A review of the economic development system – i.e., economic, workforce, business and
entrepreneurial development programs and organizations.
3. A review of cross-cutting issues that are critical to the long-term viability of the county’s economy – e.g.
transportation, wages and financial stability for residents, broadband access, and population.
Once the focus of Phase 2 was clear, the consulting team undertook the following efforts:
• Worked with a broad-based Advisory Committee of key stakeholders and organizations in the county
that met three times to review the consulting team’s work, provided feedback on our analysis, and
helped develop ideas and strategies to grow the Berkshire economy.
• Reviewed and analyzed economic, demographic, and workforce data from federal, state and regional
sources.
• Analyzed the structure and performance of each of the economic clusters in the county.
• Analyzed the economic and entrepreneurial development system and the talent development system.
• Completed interviews with more than 100 individuals from varied disciplines in the county – primary,
secondary, and higher education, business, workforce, social and human services, finance, and
government.
• Conducted focus groups with CEOs, senior managers, and workers in each of the five clusters.
• Attended meetings of many of the organizations that function in the economic and entrepreneurial
development and talent development systems, such as for the Impact Council of Berkshire County
Leaders, Economic Prosperity Impact Council (EPIC), MassHire Berkshire Workforce Skills Cabinet,
Berkshire Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) Committee, and Berkshire Taconic
Community Foundation’s Capital Flow Analysis project.
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FRAMEWORK FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Regional economies have two fundamental components: Economic Clusters that include export-driven
companies and enterprises (e.g. Advanced Manufacturing, Food and Agriculture, the Creative Economy, some
parts of Healthcare, etc.), and non-export driven companies and enterprises (e.g. retail, finance, public
education, etc.); and the Economic Development Support System that provides resources to help companies
and enterprises to grow. (See graphics below).
Economic development researchers and practitioners view the companies and enterprises in the export-driven
clusters as the engines of the economy. Companies in export-driven industry clusters sell products and services
outside of a local economy. They bring income and revenue into an economy, create well-paying jobs, and help
bring about a quality standard of living for local residents. The revenue generated by these export-driven
companies and enterprises also makes it possible for non-export driven companies to flourish and thrive.
In this context, economic development is the process of aligning a region’s economic development support
system with the competitive needs and opportunities of companies and enterprises in the export-driven
clusters. When the process works effectively, the economic development support system helps companies and
enterprises remove barriers to growth, provides resources for innovation, helps companies expand markets,
makes capital available, and educates and trains existing and new employees.
This is not to say that the economic development support system shouldn’t be responsive to the needs of
companies and enterprises in non-export driven clusters. The economic development support system should be
responsive to the needs of companies and enterprises whether they are export-based or not, but the priority
should be on the growth and expansion of those in the export-driven clusters.
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Economic Development Ecosystem
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The Berkshire Narrative

The Berkshire economy is in the midst of a transition, from a job base, labor market and civic infrastructure that
was long dominated by General Electric and legacy industries like paper, to newer growing industries, economic
innovation, and start-up companies. These changes are helping the Berkshires move from long-held perceptions
and realities of struggle and challenge to a new narrative of growth and opportunity. In this section, we highlight
current trends in population and the labor market and describe the new narrative emerging in the Berkshires.
Population and Labor Market Trends: Existing Realities

Berkshire County is still dealing with the effects of the economic restructuring that started two decades ago, and
from the fallout of the national recession from 2007-2009. Challenges remain in the county, as shown by some
of the trends in the county’s population and labor market:
• Since 2010, population in the Berkshires has declined by 4,980 people, or -3.8 percent. This is part of a
longer pattern of population loss in the county. (See chart)
Source: Annual Estimates of the Resident Population: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2017. US Census Bureau, 2018.
• The county continues to be predominantly white, although Latinx and immigrant populations are on the
rise.
o White, non-Latinx make up 89 percent of the county population.
o The percentage of Latinx has increased from 2.8 percent to 4.2 percent over the last decade
(2007 to 2017), a net increase of 1,625 residents. There were an estimated 5,300 Latinx
individuals in the county in 2017.
o Foreign-born individuals in the region are estimated at 6 percent of the total population, or
7,600 individuals, up from 4.5 percent of the population in 2010. Many civic leaders in the
county say that the true number of foreign-born residents is much higher.
• In 2016, about 13 percent of county residents were in poverty, or an estimated 16,000 people. This is up
from roughly 11 percent of county residents in poverty in 2010. (See chart).
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• Median household income in the county is an estimated $50,000. There are 24,115 households in
the county (or 63.1 percent of all households) that have incomes less than $75,000. 1 The leaders of
the Economic Prosperity Impact Council (EPIC) set an aspirational goal of the Berkshire median
household income reaching the statewide average, approximately $75,000 according to the 2016
American Community Survey.
• The same data produced for EPIC shows that 867 Hispanic households (or 74 percent of all Hispanic
households) and 763 Black households (87 percent) have incomes less than $75,000.
• An estimated 42 percent of the county population has attained a college degree in 2016, up from 38
percent in 2010. A college degree is defined as an associate degree or higher. College degree
attainment in the county lags the statewide average of 46 percent. Data provided for EPIC shows
that there are significant disparities in educational attainment by race across the county.
• Roughly 63.5 percent of the population is in the labor force. These are residents who are either
employed or actively looking for work.
• Roughly 2,800 county residents are unemployed. Another 2,100 residents are so-called “discouraged
workers” who have dropped out of the labor force, and 27,000 residents work either part-time or
seasonally. 2
• Though many residents work within Berkshire County, a net 2,000 residents regularly travel outside
the county for work. Boston, Springfield, and Worcester, respectively, are the most frequent
destinations for residents who work outside the county. 3
1
Data collected for EPIC from the US Census American Community Survey 2011-2015. Multiple people and wage
earners can live in one household.
2
Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (EOLWD) and US Census ACS 5-year
estimates.
3
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, OnTheMap Application and LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics, 2012-
2015.
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A New Narrative: An Economy of Growth and Opportunity
At the same time, there are clear signs that a shift is taking place in the Berkshire County economy. After many
years of either sluggish growth or even decline, the economy is showing significant signs of activity, growth, and
new economic opportunity. This new narrative of growth and opportunity is borne out in three areas of
progress:
1. Strong and Growing Clusters

Employment in the county’s five most important economic clusters has grown between 2010 and 2017,
and new growth-oriented initiatives and developments are happening within those clusters.
2. Significant Investments
Financial investments in the county in the last three to four years approach $1 billion. The investments
have been in the purchase and construction of new facilities, upgrading in production equipment, and
market-rate and affordable housing. This shows a serious level of confidence in the Berkshire economy
by businesses, individual investors, non-profit organizations, state of Massachusetts, and cities and
towns.
3. Signature Programs and Initiatives
Numerous programs and initiatives are making a strong contribution to the shift that’s occurring in the
Berkshire economy. Many organizations in workforce, economic and business development, higher
education, social and human services, and planning entities are paving the way for growth and
innovation through their efforts.
1. Strong and Growing Clusters

Companies and employers are continuing to add jobs, make strategic investments, and develop new programs
and initiatives. The following chart highlights job growth and prospects for the five economic clusters that are
the engine of the Berkshire economy. (See definitions and sources in the appendix.)
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2. Significant Investments in the Berkshire Economy
The Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) has compiled a list of publicly-reported investments that
have been made in Berkshire County over the last several years. The consulting team worked with the staff at
BRPC to cull a sampling of current or recent investments from the several that impact the Berkshire economy.
The consulting team believes that these investments by individuals, companies, institutions and government
are critical to the long-term viability of and make a profound statement on investor confidence in the
Berkshire economy. Since 2013, there has been more than $1 billion of investments made in the Berkshire
economy.
Following are the investments that have been made between 2013 and 2018 in four categories, totaling
$1,156,662,500:
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Source: Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, July 2018
3. Signature Programs and Initiatives

There are a number of compelling programmatic developments and initiatives that are ongoing in the
Berkshires. Each effort is helping to drive the economy to higher level of performance, adding a significant asset
to the county, and supporting the new narrative for growth and opportunity. A sample of these signature
programmatic developments and initiatives, focused on industry clusters, jobs and skill development, economic
development capacity, transportation, and county anchor Institutions, includes:
Industry Clusters
• Approximately $13 million has been secured for construction of the new Berkshire Innovation Center
(BIC) in Pittsfield. Funding was provided by the state, the city, and private investors. Construction began
in September of 2018. BIC will be a 21,000 square-foot building that will house the latest production
technology and equipment and will be the centerpiece for innovation in manufacturing and other
sectors in the Berkshire economy. Training programs are currently underway at Berkshire Community
College with $1M of equipment. Additionally, a recent speaker series organized by the BIC leadership
brought in experts in the field to talk about innovation and technology issues.
• The Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, through the Barr Foundation, has made a $500,000
investment in the Creative Commonwealth Initiative. This is a multi-year, multi-dimensional
undertaking to build a strong relationship between the county's residents and the cultural and creative
assets within the county. This Initiative involves research, grant-making, new partnerships, and a focus
on arts education. The latter is a joint effort between the Foundation and MCLA Creative Compact for
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Collective Impact (- C4). The goal is to give students in the county’s K-12 public schools the opportunity
to take full advantage of the county's cultural assets. It is currently underway and will be completed in
December of 2019.
Jobs and Skill Development

• The Economic Prosperity Impact Council is a county-wide, community-led coalition convened by the
Berkshire United Way to build pathways to sustainable incomes for Berkshire residents. The coalition is
advancing a number of initiatives in talent development. This is an effort with businesses - to test new
hiring practices, retain, and build pathways for a younger, more diverse workforce in the Berkshires.
Another effort examines the multiple layers of credentialing and training programs in the county, with
an eye toward maximizing programs that are effective in achieving outcomes and identifying gaps in the
region’s skill development landscape. A third related effort involves a grant from the MassHire Berkshire
Workforce Board (formerly the Berkshire County Regional Employment Board) that matches under- or
unemployed workers with job openings among county businesses.
• 1Berkshire’s county-wide ‘the jobs thing’ portal enables Berkshire businesses to post job openings and
recruit workers for jobs that are full time, permanent, and pay $40,000 or more per year. The portal is
being promoted locally, but will also market opportunities to an external audience, as a potential tool to
draw new talent to the area. In addition, the portal links job postings to information on regional
resources, cost of living calculators, and promotional videos generated by current #LiveBRK and
#InTheBerkshires campaigns. This will serve as an employment tool for businesses and workers as well
as a lifestyle navigation opportunity for both locals and potential new residents.
• Construction of a new 246,000 square-foot Taconic High School, a $120M building with state-of-the-art
labs, classrooms, and facilities has positioned Taconic as a focal point for educating and training a new
generation of students and future workers. Construction of the new Mount Greylock Regional High
School, a $53M, 132,800 square-foot building offers similar benefits to northern Berkshire County.
Economic Development Capacity

• The North Adams Partnership has positioned itself as a core resource for economic and community
development in North Adams. The board and staff played a key role in GreylockWORKS, the TOURISTS
Welcome hotel, Extreme Model Railroad and Contemporary Architecture Museum, and several
downtown projects. This ‘red carpet’ approach to business development is helping build a solid
economic base in the city and northern Berkshire County.
• The Berkshire Regional Planning Commission has launched a Shared Economic Development Planner
program through which municipalities in Berkshire County can access economic development expertise
and technical assistance specific to their needs. Participating towns have focused on increasing
efficiency, marketing and communications, grant writing, and development of planning documents.
• The Berkshire Regional Planning Commission is also preparing an application to the Federal Economic
Development Administration for Economic Development District designation for Berkshire County. If the
designation is approved by the EDA, it will make the county eligible for a broad range of economic
development funding, and this could significantly enhance the county’s capacity to strengthen its
economy.
• Lever created the Arts Enterprise Challenge, which awarded $25,000, four months of business support,
and office space to the Challenge’s winner to help him develop and launch his business. Lever has
subsequently created additional challenges focused on health sciences and advanced manufacturing,
which will help accelerate new start-ups in the county.
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Transpor tation
• Senator Adam Hinds is spearheading an effort that will explore development of a Transportation
Management Association (TMA) for Berkshire County. Currently, there are 14 operating TMAs in the
state, each one structured differently. However, all of them involve employers, developers, residents
and municipalities in the development of the TMA to ensure that the system meets the needs of the key
stakeholders. The planning process will launch in early 2019 with the support of a $35,000 grant from
the DOT. If properly developed, a Berkshire TMA could have a profound and positive effect on the
economy.
• The Berkshire Flyer is a planned seasonal weekend train route in partnership with Amtrak that will
transport passengers directly from Penn Station in New York City to Pittsfield, arriving on Friday nights in
Pittsfield and returning to New York on Sunday. This visitor-centric train route plans to offer a new
method for individuals to leave New York City and come to the Berkshires. Phase 1 of this study was
conducted by MassDOT and concluded that a service was viable and that the state would be a willing
partner to support a pilot. Currently, the phase 2 initiative is being co-chaired by Berkshire Regional
Planning Commission and 1Berkshire. The Berkshire Flyer will begin service in the Spring/Summer of
2020. This entire process was spearheaded by the Berkshire Delegation and supported through the FY18
and FY19 state budgets.
Anchor Institutions
• Williams College is making investments of more than $205 million to renovate and expand its Science
Center facilities, including a new 178,000 square-foot science building. This investment will bring new
opportunities to develop collaborations between the college, its students and faculty, and the Berkshire
economy. Moreover, the Williams College Center for Learning in Action has experts that can work with
county leaders to leverage investments and build stronger, permanent links between county economic
priorities and student internships, student research projects, and faculty research. For example, there
are opportunities for college faculty with expertise in entrepreneurship and business development, as
well as for student research projects, to help the BIC build new business ideas and help advance
concepts into viable market opportunities.
• Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) has had a very strong presence in downtown North
Adams and plays an important role in northern Berkshires and overall Berkshire County economy. For
example, Gallery 51, the Arts Management Program, the Design Lab, and the Berkshire Hills Internship
Program are all signature initiatives that have a deep and broad impact. The new Electrical Engineering
concentration, a new Communications major in the Education Department, a re-configuration of the
Business undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as the on-going work of the Innovation and
Entrepreneurship Challenge, will enhance the college’s position with employers and the economy.
• Berkshire Community College is in the process of developing a new 11,000-square-foot South County
Center. The core component of the Center is a learning kitchen, and related facilities, that will be a
resource for food producers, farmers, restaurants and food entrepreneurs. The Center will position itself
as a catalyst for strengthening the food and agriculture industry, helping companies and entrepreneurs
expand their production capability and markets, and for training the next generation of food industry
workers. The training program will be particularly strong, with certificate and credentialing classes and
courses, as well as professional and entrepreneurial development progress. Berkshire Agricultural
Ventures, Berkshire Grown, Bard College at Simon’s Rock, and the Southern Berkshire Chamber of
Commerce are some of the partners with the new Center.
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RECOMMENDATIONS
Our research shows, as is well-documented in this report, that there are still challenges that confront the
Berkshire economy. Despite these challenges, there is a new narrative forming around economic growth and
opportunity in the county. This narrative is based on the realities of meaningful growth occurring in the county’s
key clusters, the more than $1 billion of investments made in the foundations and infrastructure of the economy
in the last several years, and the constellation of programmatic developments and initiatives that are helping
propel the Berkshire economy forward. It is in this context that the consulting team offers six areas of
recommendation to further strengthen the economy and provide greater economic opportunity for county
residents.
Recommendation #1: Develop a Set of System Operating

Principles
Context
The original 2007 Berkshire Blueprint identified several key economic clusters as central to a competitive
regional economy. The original Blueprint also outlined a number of strategies to strengthen the economic
clusters, and many of those strategies were acted upon by leaders and stakeholders throughout the county. In
part, signs that these efforts had impact and laid the foundation for today’s 2019 Berkshire Blueprint and the
new narrative of growth and opportunity are these:
• Employment growth has occurred in each of the five clusters targeted in this report. This has occurred
despite the financial recession of 2007-2009.
• Financial investments exceeding a billion dollars have been made by public and private sectors.
• Companies have adopted new technologies and business innovations that have led to expansions in
their markets and product lines.
• Organizations within the county’s economic development system have developed new tools and
strategies to deliver services.
• The workforce system has been focusing more resources and attention on the employment needs of
businesses in key clusters.
Despite these accomplishments and successes, challenges remain. As is true elsewhere, there are still pockets
of poverty in the county. There is a significant gap between the skills base in the county and the need companies
have for skilled workers, household income hasn’t kept pace with other parts of the state, and population
growth is not what county leaders want it to be. Within the economic development system, there remain
several challenges to overcome, such as:
• Although there is a very respected and diverse leadership base in the county, there is no cohort focused
on growing and strengthening the clusters, the economic engines of the Berkshire economy.
• Of the scores of strategies contained in the numerous reports reviewed by the consulting team, some
are directed toward the clusters; many are not, and it’s not clear how effectively or to what degree
these strategies are being carried out.
• A number of economic and workforce development organizations are carrying out exemplary work, and
some of them are clearly focused on the clusters. However, lines of responsibility in the work of some of
these organizations are blurred, with no coherent, agreed-upon set of roles and responsibilities to
strengthen the clusters.
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• Many organizations in the economic development system have metrics and performance measures to
assess their impact. However, there are no system performance measures to determine how the
economic development system is helping grow the clusters.
Action Steps
In this context, we recommend that leaders in the business and economic development system adopt a set of
guiding principles and decisions to build effective leadership and capacity to drive Blueprint deployment in
the years ahead. 4
4
The principles identified here reflect the principles that regional economic development organizations and
systems throughout the country use to inform their economic development work.
Page 19
1. Create a Unified and Effective Leadership Team

There should be a leadership cohort, from the business and economic development system, that is charged with
overseeing the work of strengthening the clusters and making sure others in the county and system are moving
in the right direction together and making progress.
2. Adopt a Clear Set of Strategies Directed at Strengthening the Clusters

There should be a commonly agreed-upon set of strategies that are focused on the clusters and supported by
the economic development system. The Blueprint report has strategies for strengthening each of the five
clusters.
3. Establish a Set of Defined Roles and Responsibilities for Organizations in the System
Developing clear lines of roles and responsibilities will make a profound difference in the delivery of cluster
support services and programs. Further, making sure that there is sufficient staff and organizational capacity for
the organizations that are playing a role in the economic development system would help the system function in
a highly-effective manner. The organizations that do perform at a high level should be supported in ways that
enhance their capacity even further. Those that have difficulty performing at an effective level should be given
an opportunity to make improvements.
4. Initiate a Culture of Systems Performance

Under the guidance and support of the leadership team/cohort, put in place a process for assessing and tracking
the system’s performance in growing and strengthening the clusters and the Berkshire economy.
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Recommendation #2: Grow and Strengthen Clusters
Overview of Industry Clusters

An industry or economic cluster is a group of interdependent companies, organizations, and institutions in a
geographic region with common or complementary interests that have reached sufficient scale to develop
specialized expertise, services, resources, suppliers, and labor. 5 A cluster operates as an informal system, with
its core firms reaching external markets with its products and services. Sales to external markets by these
companies bring net new income to the region through local employee wages, taxes paid, and capital
investments made. Critical to growth and vibrancy of an industry cluster is a strong local buyer-supplier value
chain and local infrastructure, as well as assets and policies that support business growth and give businesses
competitive advantages. Examples of well-known industry clusters are information technology in Silicon Valley,
Life Sciences in Boston, Film and Media in Los Angeles, Creative Enterprises in Santa Fe, and Food and
Agriculture in Vermont.
Successful clusters grow over time, most often driven by entrepreneurship and innovation, and are
strengthened from the support and technical services of an effective economic, workforce, and business
development system. They are built on a foundation of business and social relationships among companies and
with local institutions, particularly educational and financial.
A cluster approach to economic development benefits and strengthens the core businesses in the cluster
through:
1. Achieving economies of scale as businesses associate and cooperate to identify common cluster needs
and leverage opportunities to develop new products, pursue new markets, and share non-proprietary
information and technologies.
2. Boosting innovation, both intentional and unintentional, formal and informal (“knowledge spillovers”),
that lead to new technologies or enhanced techniques.
3. Stimulating entrepreneurship whereby opportunities are more transparent, role models more visible,
and opportunities to supply, compete, or complement become more available.
4. Improving employment opportunities whereby clustered firms tend to attract and compete for similar
talent, pipelines develop between schools and businesses, and community- and school-based
“grapevines” quickly circulate information about job openings, career opportunities, and workplace
conditions, which leads to higher incomes and career advancement.
The Berkshire economy benefits from a number of businesses that have clustered or are beginning to emerge as
industry clusters. Early in the Blueprint process a small group of civic and economic development leaders, guided
by the consulting team’s use of economic data and experience with cluster development, prioritized key industry
clusters for further research and strategic planning. Clusters were prioritized by the following criteria:
• Economic and employment impact

• Potential for sustainability
• Innovative capacity
• Recognized niche
• Local leadership
5
National Governors Association.
Page 21
Using these factors and advice from the consulting team, a team of Berkshire leaders selected five clusters to
focus on:
It is important to note that the focus on these five clusters does not preclude focusing on new, emerging
clusters or other cluster-related activity in the region, such as educational services, outsourced business
operations, outdoor recreation, and segments of existing clusters like cannabis production and distribution.
Page 22
A. Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering Services

Definition and Structure
Advanced manufacturing and engineering services use innovative technology, high-precision equipment, and
engineering methods to improve products or processes. In the Berkshires, key growing segments range from
production engineering systems to advanced materials, defense armaments, and medical and life sciences.
Other legacy segments within the cluster include paper and plastics. As a cluster of companies, advanced
manufacturing and engineering services develop products or provide services to original equipment
manufacturers (OEMs), or they manufacture their own product line for the business or consumer market. The
companies in the industry cluster are part of regional and national supply chains, and they stimulate the local
economy through investments in equipment, facilities, taxes, and spending by their workers.
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Cluster Activity, Assets, and Oppor tunities
Employment Growth
After a long period of decline starting in the 2000s, the Berkshires’ Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering
Services industry is growing. Since 2010, jobs in the industry grew by 3.3 percent, from 6,257 jobs in 2010 to
6,450 in 2017. This is roughly the same growth rate for the industry in Massachusetts as a whole.
High value Added to the Economy

The industry produces a gross regional product of $917,000,000 – the highest of any single industry in the
county. 6 These are wages earned by workers, taxes paid by the companies, and real estate and capital
reinvestments that go into the Berkshire economy from the industry. Moreover, Advanced Manufacturing and
Engineering Services has a job multiplier of 4.8, also the highest job multiplier in the county among all industries.
This means that for every job added in Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering Services, almost five jobs are
created in other industries in the economy.7
6
Healthcare produces the second highest gross regional product of $702,000,000 in the county.
7
A multiplier is a way of measuring how important one industry is to other industries in the region. In this case,
the jobs multiplier indicates how important an industry is in regional job creation. Industries with a high sales-to-
labor ratio typically have a high jobs multiplier.
Page 24
Market Growth and Innovation in Core Firms
Many of the core firms in the main segments of the industry—production engineering systems to advanced
materials, defense armaments, and medical and life sciences—are adding new products and growing their
markets, principally through technological innovation. For example, a company like Onyx Papers, once a legacy
paper company, now produces high-end advanced materials. With these innovations, started a decade or more
ago, Onyx have become one of the world’s largest suppliers of transmission paper. For their part, companies like
Berkshire Sterile Manufacturing and Boyd
Technologies rely on core competencies of
General Dynamics Grew in 16 of Last 17 Years
product development, material sourcing,
and manufacturing know-how to compete General Dynamics’ Pittsfield site is part of the larger holding
in life sciences. Each company is a part of company’s Mission Systems business with 1,400 employees, the
the life sciences supply chain that stretches company’s largest Mission Systems facility across the country. The
from Boston to Albany. division has grown 16 of the last 17 years at the Pittsfield facility,
from 400 employees in 1990’s to 1,400 in 2018.
Skills and Wages
Today’s high-value manufacturing worker is a combination of production technician (machining, welding,
fabrication technologies) and engineer (process improvement, quality assurance, design) which together
improve the processes in the organization and products that go to market. This hybrid of technical skills yields
competitive wages – an average wage of $72,477 in the industry.
Investments in Training
Berkshire Community College, McCann Technical High School and Taconic High School form the backbone of
workforce development activities for the industry. Berkshire Community College and the Berkshire Innovation
Center recently acquired $1M in equipment to train students and workers on coordinated measuring machines
(CMM) and 3D printing machines. Both McCann and Taconic have robust co-op programs in partnership with the
industry as well as business advisory groups. And in January 2018, the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
Department of Computer Science began offering a new concentration in electrical engineering—a first for the
college.
A Local Supply Chain

Most of the larger original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) rely on supply chains outside of the Berkshires.
Some of the larger companies showed interest in building a strong and local supply chain that would meet their
needs for products and services.
Industry-Led Best Practices Dialogue

A UMass Donahue Institute report in 2013 said that manufacturing firms within the county operate somewhat in
isolation from each other. That appears still to be the case. Firms interviewed for the Berkshire Blueprint
expressed interest in more robust opportunities to share best practice strategies and solutions that would
enhance their operations and help them attract and keep skilled workers. Several firms in the county, for
example, have introduced cutting-edge worker retention practices and they would welcome the chance to hear
from other firms who have introduced their own innovations.
The Berkshire Innovation Center

Businesses say that the Berkshire Innovation Center has the potential to be a vital component in the support
system of the industry, not only for new technologies and innovation but also as a hub for skill development and
attraction of new workers from within and outside the county. Construction began in September of 2018, with a
projected completion date in the fall of 2019. The center’s programming committee has held several seminars
with innovation and industry experts, conducted training classes on advanced technology and equipment at
Page 25
BCC, and is considering holding a business competition for new start-ups in advanced manufacturing and life
sciences.
Challenges
Systems for Attracting and Keeping Talent

Businesses in the industry strongly desire better or more effective recruiting techniques for workers of all types,
especially young professionals. Manufacturing still has a difficult time attracting people because of an outdated
image of the industry’s decline and work structures—even though the wages, skills and kind of work that go on
in manufacturing are radically different from what it was 10-20 years ago. Moreover, given the demographics of
the region and competition from other occupations and professions, it is hard to recruit students into
manufacturing programs.
Skills Shortages
Businesses in Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering Services report that they have large gaps in finding
quality workers—from shift work to engineers. In addition to specific technical skills, there appears to be a range
of common skills development competencies like problem-solving, design thinking, product development, and
innovation skills that all firms need. These skills are harder to build training programs around.
The Demise of Berkshire Applied Technology Council (BATC)

The BATC served a key networking function for the industry in the Berkshires. Its demise is generally seen as a
lost opportunity to work together on common industry issues.
Industry Advisory Groups

There is concern over multiple touchpoints with education and businesses. One leader from a manufacturing
company said, “We go to four different business advisory groups; the system is not rational – there has to be a
better way.”
High Energy Costs

Firms producing products with high energy needs cite the high cost of energy as a competitive disadvantage to
doing business in the Berkshires. Although the costs are high in many places in the northeast, they are
somewhat higher in the Berkshires, which makes it especially difficult for Berkshire producers with tight margins
to compete in the marketplace.
Innovation among Smaller Manufacturers

One of General Electric’s legacies is a network of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the plastics industry.
There are production job shops to larger prime manufacturers. These smaller supplier-type firms are highly
dependent on and respond to OEM-demands for lower prices, process changes, and high levels of skills in their
workforce. These requirements often inhibit SME-led investments and innovation, but some say that the key to
survival for these smaller job shops in the Berkshires is innovation, new market exploration, and integration of
cutting-edge engineering processes and skills.
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Action Steps
1. Position the Berkshire Innovation Center as a Leader for Innovation in Advanced Manufacturing
and Engineering Services
We recommend two areas of focus to support the current direction of leadership, development and
programming of the BIC:
• The BIC has already started programs and technical assistance focused on innovation among small,
supplier manufacturers in a rural context. This will only be enhanced now that there is full-time
leadership in place.
• There should be a recruitment effort to get firms involved in a meaningful way in the BIC. This is not an
issue of raising money to “buy” the participation of firms, rather it is encouraging joint ownership and
operations of BIC programs by local manufacturing firms. This could be done by making BIC a valuable
extension of existing companies and encouraging them to take responsibility for the success of the BIC’s
efforts.
2. Develop a Strong Local Supply Chain and Generate Spin-Offs

There are two parts to this recommendation, both focused on generating more manufacturing revenue and
activity in the county by tapping underdeveloped opportunities.
• Economic development leaders should identify opportunities to plug holes in the local supply chain
among the county’s largest firms in Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering Services. 1Berkshire has
already started a rough mapping of the supply chain and should be used as a starting point.
• The second part to this recommendation is to work with General Dynamics and other large OEMs in the
region, including those located in the Pioneer Valley and New York Capital Region, to identify products
that could be built and taken to market. In large part, existing partnerships between Lever and the BIC
already are well positioned and have begun supporting, building out, and implementing this
recommendation. The Proof-of-Concept room in the new BIC is a perfect place for new firms to test
their products and bring them to scale. Or there could be a “skunk works” type of room or space at
General Dynamics’ facility that encourages engineers to tinker and explore product and business ideas.
Alternatively, General Dynamics could just use the proof-of-concept space at BIC as a means of inspiring
their engineers to venture out. Another opportunity is to leverage the capacity of Greentown Learn to
support and supplement efforts by looking for business and product ideas across Massachusetts that
could be a good fit to explore and launch through the BIC.
3. Build a Formal, Peer-To-Peer Best Practices Learning Network

In response to the desire for more network-based sharing and learning as an industry, we recommend that the
BIC or another convener begin hosting a series of industry events to build peer-to-peer interaction across the
county. Content of the network could start by focusing on high-need issues in the industry. For example, it could
focus on the recruitment, attraction, and retention of new employees, and integrating new workers into the
fabric of Berkshire life. Other areas of focus could include the housing of employees, management and
supervisory practice, shift work, and building more quality worker experiences.
Page 27
4. Strengthen the Relationship between Education and Manufacturing
While there are many excellent education and training programs in the county focused on building skills for and
awareness related to manufacturing, there is a need to build new out-of-the-box approaches that 1) successfully
compete with the popularity and attraction of other occupations and professions in the region, 2) convinces area
youth and parents of the value in a manufacturing career and 3) repositions the way advanced manufacturing
and engineering firms in the county organize work, integrate training, and offer careers to youth in the county.
The effort could build off existing initiatives of current partners like Taconic High School, McCann Technical,
Berkshire Community College, MCLA, Williams College, and others. One activity could be the creation of a
Manufacturing Academy that could offer multiple entry points for K-12 students and adults across the county to
come to one place (virtual or otherwise) to learn about and build skills relevant to the industry. The academy
could bring tuition supports, apprenticeship, internship, credentialing, and other existing and new opportunities
together. Industry should help pay the cost of something like this. Another action could be an effort like the
summer manufacturing camps, affiliated with the Fabricators and Manufacturers Association, or a variation of
the Berkshire Robotics Challenge. The Fabricators and Manufacturers Association camps seek to expose and
draw middle school girls to the industry. The program has the girls design a personal product, create a proto-
type, scale it up, and then spend the last part of the program on the business side of the product.
Page 28
B. Creative Economy
In the last fifteen years, leaders of economic development have identified the Creative Economy as an important
cluster within local, regional, state and national economies. Starting this shift was the work of Mt. Auburn
Associates and Regional Technology Strategies (RTS) in 2000 that documented the revenue and job-generating
potential of "arts and culture," in part due to a more robust cluster-oriented analysis that adds for-profit
companies and individual artists and creative sole proprietors to the traditional construct of creative nonprofits.
Mt. Auburn and RTS coined this more cluster-oriented definition the “creative economy,” rather than the
narrower term of arts and culture as an industry. Mt. Auburn and RTS define the creative economy as the
enterprises, organizations, and people involved in the production and distribution of artistic goods and services
to the marketplace. Because of this new analysis and definition, municipalities, regions, and states in the US and
Europe increasingly treat the creative economy as a building block of the economy. 8
As many readers of the Blueprint will recall, a strategic plan for the Berkshires was developed in 2007. The
Berkshire Creative Economy Plan provided qualitative and quantitative evidence of the revenue and job-
generating capacity of the Berkshire creative economy. Since 2007, Berkshire Creative and 1Berkshire have
provided the backbone for nurturing the Berkshire creative economy.
8
Examples of places that have developed robust strategic plans to grow their creative economies and, in so
doing, diversify and strengthen their overall economies, include Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Colorado;
the Capital Region of New York and the Greater Milwaukee region, and New York, Washington, D.C., and
Birmingham, AL.
Page 29
Cluster Activity, Assets and Oppor tunities
The creative cluster has shown considerable growth and expansion between 2010-2017.
Large Growing Industry

There are 5,450 jobs in Berkshire creative businesses and organizations, representing 6.4 percent of all jobs in
the county. Between 2010 and 2017 jobs in the industry grew by 9.5 percent, or 470 jobs, the highest post-
recession growth rate among the five clusters identified for this project.
High Concentration
Creative businesses and organizations as a whole have high specialization in the region. In fact, the industry has
the highest concentration of specialization among all industries in the Berkshires. In 2017, the concentration of
creative industry employment was 62 percent higher than the nation, or a location quotient of 1.62. That means
that the industry’s presence is 1.62 times as concentrated in the Berkshires as it is for the industry nationwide.
Diverse Business Establishments

The creative industry has a number of large employers, from Tanglewood to MASS MoCA and the Clark Art
Institute. Together there are 2,700 so-called wage and salary jobs from companies and organizations like this
that are part of the creative industry. At the same time, about one-half of the jobs in the industry (2,750) are
made up of self-employed individuals or sole-proprietors who earn income on their own from selling their
creative-based goods and services to local and export-oriented markets.
In addition to the quantitative indicators of growth in the Creative Cluster, there are a number of other growth
indicators and several initiatives that show how vibrant the Cluster is.
Page 30
Emergence of Northern Berkshire County
Northern Berkshire County has become a destination and an emerging hub of creative, cultural and artistic
activity, as well as an economic engine. A number of examples underscore this dynamic:
• MASS MoCA recently completed work on its complex and Building 6, (an investment of roughly $65m)
and that development, in addition to the success of its performing arts program, is responsible for
250,000 visitors in 2017. MASS MoCA is also working to deepen and expand its economic impact on
North Adams and is in discussions with MCLA on broader collaborations.
• The re-purposing of several mill buildings (e.g. Windsor Mill, NORAD, GreylockWORKS) has dramatically
increased the space for artists and creatives to live and work.
• MCLA’s Berkshire Cultural Resource Center in North Adams and the Williams College Museum of Art in
Williamstown have added significantly to the presence of arts and culture in the downtowns.
• The Clark Art Institute invested approximately $29 million over the last few years in the Manton
Research Center and other facilities. It is expanding its exhibits, incorporating the environment into its
work, and adding performing arts. Last year, the Clark had approximately 200,000 visitors.
• Lever’s North Adams Art Enterprise Challenge program and Assets for Artists are bringing critically-
important business resources to the creative community.
• The Art Country collaborative marketing and advertising campaign is designed, in part, to bring more
visitors and have them extend their stay.
• The North Adams Exchange, North Adams Public Arts Commission, the North Adams Cultural District,
and the O+ Festival provide the platform for collaboration between businesses and the arts community.
• Also, the proposed Extreme Model Railroad & Contemporary Architecture Museum, the recent $2.6
million completion of the Berkshire Scenic Railway’s tracks between North Adams and Adams, and the
TOURISTS Welcome hotel add significantly to the creative and cultural foundation in northern Berkshire
County.
Strength of Central and Southern Berkshire County

Central and southern Berkshire County also continued to be core locations for the Berkshire Creative Economy.
In May of 2018, Pittsfield was one of only six communities in Massachusetts to sign a cultural compact with the
MA Cultural Council. The Berkshire Museum, through its controversial art sale, has met its goal of expanding
and re-positioning the Museum in the years ahead, the Pittsfield Office of Cultural Development has enhanced
its capacity and programming to support artists and arts enterprises, and Pittsfield was just designated as one of
the Top Ten Medium-sized Most Vibrant Arts Communities in the country by the National Center for Arts
Research. In southern Berkshire County, the Norman Rockwell Museum is exploring the possibility of
establishing the Rockwell National Center for Illustration and Education in Stockbridge; St. James Place has
become a focal point for individual artists to sell their products, and provides space for artists and performers.
The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center has gone from 130 shows/productions a year to 150 nights this coming
season, and is deepening its presence in the public schools.
Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation and MCLA

The Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation received a $500,000 community engagement grant from the Barr
Foundation through the Creative Commonwealth Initiative. This is a multi-year, multi-dimensional undertaking
to build a strong relationship between the county's resident population and the cultural and creative assets that
are found here. This Initiative involves research, grant-making, new partnerships, and a focus on arts education.
The latter is a joint effort between the Foundation, the North Adams Public Schools, and MCLA’s Creative
Compact for Collective Impact. The goal is to give students in county K-12 public schools the opportunity to take
full advantage of the county's cultural assets. It is currently underway and will be completed in December of
2019.
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Growth of Major Cultural Institutions
The major cultural institutions and organizations in the county have all experienced growth or are in the process
of expanding. For example:
• Barrington Stage bought a building in downtown Pittsfield in 2016, consolidated its administrative
office, and added new rehearsal space.
• Tanglewood’s $40m expansion of performance and rehearsal space, including the new Tanglewood
Learning Institute, as well as its new ‘shoulder season,’ positions the BSO to have a more robust and
extended-year presence, and helped bring more than 330,000 visitors to the venue in the summer of
2018.
• Jacob’s Pillow, with its new studio, is growing and expanding its audiences and is doing more
programming in the community, as well as extending work beyond the summer season. Summer 2018
proved to be its all-time highest-grossing season.
• Williamstown Theatre Festival has grown its audience in each of the last four seasons, is commissioning
and developing work all year long, shifting to more original work, and employs 400 people during its
summer season.
• Berkshire Theatre Group is celebrating its 90th season, has acquired The Colonial Theater, and has
doubled its presentations and productions.
• Hancock Shaker Village has greatly expanded its footprint and its offerings by broadening the farm
component of its operations, deepening its relationship with the Food and Agriculture cluster, hosting a
"Dinner with Authors" program, and bringing in well-known artists like Maya Lin.
• Shakespeare & Company was a recipient of an NEA grant that has allowed it to strengthen its high
school theater arts training program.
Market Adaptions by Creative Enterprises

Creative enterprises, including individual artists, have made significant adjustments in their work and in their
business model:
• They have broadened their market and customer base to a wider geography outside of the Berkshires
and New England, through online selling (e.g., through Etsy), attendance at shows in New York City, and
through technical assistance from the MA Small Business Development Center (SBDC), Assets for Artists,
Lever, 1Berkshire, MCLA’s Arts Management Program, and others.
• They have developed sustainable business models and found right-sized local markets through increased
sales at regional galleries, seasonal markets, and retail outlets.
• They have developed partnerships and collaborations with many of the county’s major cultural
institutions and, as a result, have enhanced their market profile, as well as their brand and identity.
• They have benefitted from professional networking and business opportunities provided by
organizations like the Makers’ Mill, Assets for Artists, Mastheads, the Pittsfield Office of Cultural
Development, the Berkshire Film & Media Collaborative, MCLA’s Berkshire Cultural Resource Center, the
Berkshire Art Association, the Berkshire Woodworkers Guild, the Berkshire Writer’s Group, local cultural
councils, St. James Place, IS 183 Art School of the Berkshires, and others.
• They have benefitted in their production capability and capacity through access to space and equipment
at entities like the Makers’ Mill, GreylockWORKS, the NORAD Mill, the Windsor Mill, the Old Stone Mill
Center, St. James Place, the Stationery Factory and Framework Coworking.
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Key Initiatives
There are numerous initiatives in the county that are emblematic of creative programming and compelling
approaches to strengthening the creative economy. Two such examples are:
• Community Access to the Arts (CATA) nurtures artistic excellence in people with disabilities. CATA
partners with 49 organizations, works in eight of the county’s school districts, and exhibits the work of
its constituents in institutions like the Clark. The scale and integrity of CATA’s work has captured the
attention of the Kennedy Center, and it is seen as a national model.
• The Berkshire Film & Media Collaborative (BF&MC) is developing a new Film Certificate Program and
other credit courses related to the film industry at Berkshire Community College. BF&MC has also
created a network of virtually all the principal film and media-related individuals and enterprises in the
county and Western Massachusetts to position the region as a focal point of the Film and Media
industry.
Challenges
Engagement of Local Residents

Throughout the interviews and focus groups that were conducted for this project, there was a general
consensus that more needs to be done to better engage and include local residents in the creative economy as
audience members, as employees in creative businesses and in the major cultural institutions, and as creators
and producers of artistic content. This is not to say that efforts haven’t been made, because they have. Rather,
it’s a recognition that a chasm still exists between the cultural/creative community and Berkshire residents.
Overcoming this hurdle would help both the creative community and the local resident population base.
Perceptions of Economic Importance

The findings in the 2007 Berkshire Creative Economy Report state that the creative economy is a critically
important generator of revenue and jobs in the Berkshire economy, and that holds true for 2019: employment
growth occurred in the cluster between 2010 and 2017 and was the second-highest growth rate among the five
clusters; hundreds of individual creatives produce and sell their work as sole proprietors; the creative economy’s
impact on the Hospitality and Tourism industry is significant; and, the creative economy’s contribution to the
‘Berkshire Brand’ is profound. Nonetheless, parts of the business community have difficulty seeing and accepting
it as an important economic asset.
Organizational Support
Past efforts to support and strengthen the creative economy in the county, principally through the work of
Berkshire Creative and 1Berkshire, had a significant and positive impact. The creative cluster had a voice within
the Berkshire economy, the brand was strengthened, networking opportunities increased, and individual artists
and creatives received technical assistance, professional development, and business connections. However, as
the needs of the creative cluster have evolved, the organizational support system has not maintained the pace.
Consequently, creative cluster-specific strategies around key issues (like transportation, housing for seasonal
workers, access to capital, collaborative programming, and business assistance) are not being adequately
addressed in a strategic and collective fashion.
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Needs of Cultural Institutions and Creative Enterprises
The difference in the needs and opportunities within the major cultural institutions in Berkshire County, and
those of individual creatives and small for-profit creative enterprises pose challenges to organizing the Creative
Economy as a cluster. For example, at a series of focus groups of individual creatives and small enterprises, the
following needs were identified:
• Greater access to business and financial development services

• Stronger connections/partnerships with the major cultural institutions
• An online ‘Bulletin Board’ that facilitates great connections within the creative community for
professional and business-related connections – this was a clear need particularly in southern Berkshire
County.
At a recent focus group meeting of the major cultural institutions, they identified several challenges:
• Housing for seasonal workers.
• Developing a stronger connection to the Boston market.
• Growing a younger audience base and donor base.
• Having more available housing options for performers.
• Creating a more effective county-wide transportation system.
Action Steps
1. Organize Convenings of the Major Cultural Institutions

Organize three to four convenings of the major cultural institutions during the year. This would allow them to
address critical challenges and obstacles to further growth. For example, employee and visitor transportation is
a significant problem that could be addressed through Senator Hinds' Transportation Management Association
planning initiative. Also, extending visitor stays, housing for seasonal workers, and access to capital are other
issues that many cultural institutions would like to address. Further, the meetings would provide an opportunity
to hear from the cultural institutions that are extending their seasons and, in some cases, planning to have a
year-round presence in the Berkshires. This offers a significant opportunity for the cultural institutions to work
closely with economic and workforce development leaders on training and recruitment for new year-round
employees and on deeper connections with the local resident population.
2. Develop an Intensive Business Resources Awareness Campaign

Develop a multi-level outreach and awareness campaign (social media, advertising, info sessions, etc.) that
would make it possible for creatives to take advantage of the resources and technical assistance available from
the county's economic and business development organizations. Some of these organizations, like the
Massachusetts Small Business Development Center (MSBDC), Lever, and 1Berkshire, have been invaluable to the
business models of several of the creatives who were interviewed for this project.
3. Expand Assets for Artists

Expand the capacity of Assets for Artists to the central and southern Berkshire County sub-regions. Currently the
resources of this exceptionally helpful program for individual artists and creatives are principally available in the
northern part of the county, and less so throughout the rest of the county. A modest investment in Assets for
Artists would make a significant contribution.
Page 34
4. Provide Support for BTCF and the Creative Commonwealth Initiative
As previously noted, this is a multi-year, multi-dimensional undertaking to build a strong relationship between
the county's resident population and the cultural and creative assets that are found here. This initiative involves
research, grant-making, new partnerships, and a focus on arts education, and has the potential to create a
county-wide network built around the creative community and local residents. This is a critically important effort
that the leadership and deployment team for the Berkshire Blueprint should wholeheartedly support.
5. Provide More Creative Resources Workshop Opportunities

The Creative Resources Conference that was scheduled for last April covered topics and issues that are central
to the ability of individual creatives and creative enterprises to develop a sustainable business, e.g., Scaling-up,
Forging Creative Partnerships, Artistic Collaborations, Marketing and Social Media, Utilizing Your Website,
Finding the Right Space, etc. In that context, the conference, or a series of workshops/seminars on these key
topics, is recommended.
6. Create Partnership between the BIC and Creative Community

Create an institutional relationship between the Berkshire Innovation Center (BIC) and the creative community
in the Berkshires. The BIC will soon become a catalyst and resource for innovation in the Berkshire economy.
Many creatives are producers and manufacturers in their own right (e.g. Magic Fluke, Interprint, the members of
the Berkshire Woodworkers Guild, as well as a cohort of creatives who are sculptors, glassmakers, fine artists,
etc.) The BIC could be an ideal place for these producers to enhance their production capability, and it could be
a place where creative producers and traditional manufacturers interact around product design and new
products. The Kohler Company’s Artist-in Residence program is one of many instances where creatives and
manufacturers collaborate and innovate.
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C. Food and Agriculture

Food and agriculture consists of the growing, distributing, processing, and consuming of food. In the Berkshires
this includes the clustering of farms, value-added farm products, restaurants, food services for major
institutions, and food vendors. The businesses range from large fruit and vegetable producers to farm-to-table
restaurants, specialty retail shops, large and small grocery stores, canning and food processors, and product
distribution firms. Other local industries are closely associated, depend on, and converge with the economic
activity of the Food and Agriculture industry in the Berkshires. For example, the Berkshire Hospitality and
Tourism cluster relies on the authenticity and sustainability brand of farm-to-table restaurants and the presence
of locally-grown product. For its part, the creative economy inspires and is tied to the culinary arts and artisan
food producers in the region. Food processing and production is also related to the region’s manufacturing
cluster. (see graphic).
Employment Growth Since 2010

Businesses in the Berkshire’s Food and Agriculture industry are growing, adding about 450 jobs between 2010
and 2017, a growth rate of 4.0 percent. In 2017 there were 8,950 jobs in businesses in the cluster. A recent
report to the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation notes that there has been significant growth in farm-to-
table restaurants, and the growth of small-scale specialty farms and agricultural products in the Berkshire region
over the last twenty years.
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Strong Presence in Retail and Dining
Not surprisingly, most of the jobs in the Food and Agriculture cluster are related to food consumption—retail
activities and dining. About one-tenth of the jobs are in the agricultural production area. (See chart).
Growing Number of Farms

The Agricultural Census reported a 31 percent increase in the number of farms over the last decade, jumping
from 401 farms in 2002 to 525 farms in 2012. Keep Berkshires Farming, an initiative under the Berkshire
Regional Planning Commission, identified and mapped 331 commercial farms in the Berkshire region during its
surveying in 2014. Together Berkshire farms sold a market value of $22,468,000 in products in 2012, down from
a total $29,000,000 in real dollars in 2002. 9
Convergence with Other Key Industry Clusters

The presence of food and agricultural businesses in Berkshire County impacts the clustering and specialization of
other key industry clusters in the region, especially Hospitality and Tourism, Creative Economy, and Advanced
Manufacturing and Engineering Services. For example, tourism in the Berkshires benefits from the draw of the
Berkshires’ authenticity of farm-to-table restaurants, agricultural heritage, and outdoor space. Food and
Agriculture’s culinary segment is driven, in part, by the creative pursuits of its chefs (creative industries) and the
processing of food relies on value-added production capacity (manufacturing) in the region.
9
The 2002 USDA Census of Agriculture reports Berkshire County farms sold $21,725,000 in product in 2002, a
real dollar value of $29,000,000 in 2012 using the Bureau of Labor Statistic’s Consumer Price Index as an inflator.
Page 37
Growing Network and Emerging Capacity Supporting the Cluster
There is a relatively solid network of organizations supporting businesses in the cluster, some of them with a
long history in the region, and some newer. One of the newer independent nonprofit organizations is Berkshire
Agricultural Ventures, though it was a program of The Carrot Project and Berkshire Grown for four years prior to
gaining its independence. Its staff provides business planning, management, marketing, and other tools to grow
and sustain food- and agriculture-related businesses. The organization also uses several financing tools—equity
investments, loans, small grants—as well as investment partnerships to help food businesses grow and support
infrastructure projects for the industry.
One of the better-known brands in the county is Berkshire Grown. Its role is to build market opportunities for
local farmers through a network of farmers markets and connections of local product to Berkshire grocers. The
Schumacher Center for New Economics, headquartered in Great Barrington, offers support to build business
plans and entrepreneurial capacity that is in line with sustainable agriculture, farming, and small-batch,
employee-owned food production. It also hosts educational events, sponsors BerkShares, and supports the
growth of land trusts across the region. Other growing or important parts of county capacity supporting the
industry include Berkshire Farm and Table, Lever, Berkshire Community College, and the regional technical high
schools. Keep Berkshire Farming helped document some of this region-wide capacity. Most local organizations
and businesses believe the region would
benefit from additional attention to Food Manufacturer Shire City Herbals Grows in the Berkshires
networking and convenings to build
relationships, share learning, and The company, which makes vinegar-based health tonics, recently
potentially catalyze action to further completed a $1.4 million expansion project which includes the
grow food and agriculture businesses in construction of its first on-site commercial kitchen and production
facility in Pittsfield. This will allow its popular Fire Cider brand to reach
the Berkshires.
new production levels and the company to add new employees.
Important Part of Region’s Identity
The Berkshire identity is tied to the
authenticity of locally-grown, organic, sustainable practices that drive its food and agricultural industry. The first
community-supported agriculture (CSA) farm in North America started in the Berkshires. Local tourism officials
note that in the last five years, farm-to-table has become an increasingly-important part of the Berkshire brand,
relying on the county’s many highly acclaimed farm-to-table restaurants and specialty food stores that serve and
ship local Berkshire-grown foods. The potential of the Berkshires as a national food destination has been noted
recently in The New York Times and The Boston Globe. In addition, the pick-your-own and other authentic food-
related activities that local farms offer go beyond food production and tie to the Berkshire identity. It also helps
that this movement is popular with a younger
demographic.
Favorable Trends for Local Food

The Sustainable Berkshires report also notes that the
Berkshires sits in the center of one of the largest food
markets in North America, one that extends 200 miles in
each direction, from New York to Boston. In addition,
trends point to a rise in educated consumers who have a
heightened interest in the local food movement. This is
particularly advantageous for Berkshire producers to
grow their market share because of the county’s brand of
local, sustainably-grown products.
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New Initiatives Emerging to Bring Product to Market
There are a number of new initiatives and emerging business development efforts that hold potential to grow
the industry, add new jobs to the county, and help farmers become stronger and more sustainable over the long
term.
• Berkshire Agricultural Ventures (BAV) provides technical assistance and financing support for businesses
and projects that fill the industry’s infrastructure gaps and support its growth. For example, BAV has
partnered with Lever to support the new company FoodLove and its plans to build an online portal that
connects local producers with the restaurants, schools, and institutions looking for locally-produced
food. BAV and Lever have also teamed up to support the growth of Marty’s Local, a two-year-old
homegrown food distribution service that is expanding quickly and reaches over 60 producers and 80
buyers in four states. BAV is also supporting the feasibility of bringing poultry processing capacity to the
county.
• Berkshire Community College plans to build a new flagship culinary center in southern Berkshire County
that will attract local and regional chefs, food service workers, and the early stage development of
value-added product in food and cooking.
• GreylockWORKS is in the redeveloped Cariddi Mill, a campus and support network that provides food
wholesalers with quality, affordable food production facilities, coordinated distribution logistics, and a
network for marketing and financing. One of GreylockWORKS’ recent initiatives, “Cook Test + Launch,”
partnered with the Western Massachusetts Food Processing Center to launch new business ideas in the
region.
• The Alchemy Initiative has a partnership with Berkshire Farm & Table to build a collaborative of 20+
farmers markets in the county to increase their reach through more coordinated marketing and other
back office support.
• A nursery owner in the central Berkshire region started a commercial kitchen with facilities and
equipment available for rent by farmers and processors.
Challenges
Costly Farmland
As noted earlier, the number of farms in Berkshire County has increased in the last 10 years - from 401 farms in
2002 to 525 farms in 2012. While the number of farms has increased, the total land put into use for farming has
decreased countywide. According to the USDA Census of Agriculture, acres of farmland in the Berkshires have
decreased by 10 percent over a decade, from 68,630 acres in 2002 to 61,650 acres in 2012. Moreover, one study
from the Williams College Center for Environmental Studies estimated the county has another 83,000 acres of
farmland that could be brought into production. One reason noted for the decline of farmland in use is the high
cost of land, in part due to the robust market of second homeowners in the region. This makes it difficult for
producers to maintain or expand their farmland and production capacity.
Knowledge and Capacity of Farmers

Data from the USDA Census of Agriculture shows that the average age of Berkshire farmers is falling. However,
local experts note that while there is significant interest among the younger generation in farming, their
knowledge and technical capacity, as well as access to financing, pose challenges. Another recent report funded
by the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation concludes that the large number of farmers who are reaching
retirement age without a succession plan also means that there are many properties either on the market or
potentially going on the market that may not be put back into use.
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Concentration of Seasonal Product

One of the key challenges to the growth of the cluster is that the county’s farms and producers rely on a
seasonal market that extends from roughly late spring to the fall. Too many producers in the Berkshires have
difficulty becoming a year-round business. Sometimes this is due to lack of appropriate on-and off-farm
infrastructure, such as appropriate greenhouses or nearby flash-freezing facilities, or the capital or technical
know-how to grow their seasons.
Underdeveloped Markets
Industry leaders observe that there is room for the industry to grow if Berkshire farmers could get more of their
product to markets inside and outside the region. In fact, according to the Sustainable Berkshires report, most
Berkshire farmers sell a majority of their product within the Berkshire region. However, based on interviews
with producers and retailers conducted by Berkshire Agricultural Ventures, part of the issue is product
availability and reliability and the price per product. Right now, most of the regional agricultural product
consumed in the Berkshires comes from the Pioneer Valley.
Infrastructure Bottlenecks
One of the challenges to tapping internal and external markets for food producers is inadequate infrastructure
to aggregate, distribute and process food in the county. This lack of infrastructure, from a close-by chicken
processor to a flash-freeze facility that enables farmers to sell seasonal product year-round or a distributor that
can collect Berkshire product and get it to Boston or New York City, creates a bottleneck that impedes a well-
functioning food-value chain that could otherwise expand economic growth of the industry into more jobs and
more income for the county.
Action Steps
1. Expand Food Processing and Distribution Capacity to Grow Markets

We recommend that Berkshire leaders leverage and strengthen existing capacity in the county to bring more
products to internal and external markets year-round. Berkshire Agricultural Ventures is a logical lead to identify
the kinds of additional food processing and distribution capacity needed to help grow markets for Berkshire
agricultural and food product. BAV just submitted a pre-proposal to the US Department of Agriculture to further
explore and identify what kind of capacity is needed to support and grow new markets for local producers,
distributors, and processors. An important aspect of building this capacity is finding ways to leverage the
significant private investment capital in the Berkshires for these efforts.
2. Build Best-In-Class Food and Farm-To-Table Training Centers

We recommend the support of Berkshire Community College’s plans to build a signature culinary training and
food center at its South County Center. This center will be home to a farm-to-table cooking institute that draws
people from far and wide. It will have culinary certificates and other training and will support the incubation of
food businesses and product development. The Blueprint leaders should support the development of these
efforts in southern Berkshire County as well as help BCC explore ways to link this emerging capacity to existing
and emerging culinary efforts across southern, central and northern Berkshire County.
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3. Spark the Next Generation of Entrepreneurs and Social Innovation in the Farm/Food Business
We recommend that BAV and other food and agricultural partners continue to expand their capacities to
provide technical assistance and financing for newer and mature farms and food businesses. One area of focus
should be to extend the seasons and meet buyers’ needs year-round. There are already good partnerships to
build on to provide new business ideas, markets, and jobs in the food ecosystem through Lever and BAV, among
others.
4. Build the Berkshire Brand as Destination for Food, Culinary, Farm-To-Table Authenticity
We recommend 1Berkshire convene a food marketing roundtable to refine its marketing goals and investments
to strengthen food as part of the Berkshire brand. This will attract a new demographic of travelers and attract
business people interested in starting/expanding food-related businesses year-round.
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D. Healthcare
The healthcare industry in the Berkshires includes a range of companies and non-profit organizations that
provide diagnostic, preventive, curative, and therapeutic services. Key segments of companies and organizations
in the industry are hospital systems; offices of doctors and medical groups; rehabilitation and long-term care
organizations (including assisted living and elderly housing facilities); and home health care services. Berkshire-
based companies and organizations in healthcare primarily serve the health care needs of residents of Berkshire
County. However, there are a handful of organizations serving markets outside the county, such as Hillcrest
Children’s Services, a national provider of therapeutic children’s homes and schools, and Austen Riggs Center, a
psychiatric hospital and rehabilitation center that services an international clientele. (See graphic).

County’s Largest industry
There are 11,417 jobs in Berkshire healthcare businesses and organizations, the largest single industry sector
and cluster in terms of employment in the county. Healthcare as a whole represents 13.4 percent of all jobs in
the county.
High Concentration
Employment in healthcare businesses in the Berkshires is 50 percent higher than in the rest of the nation. That
is, the concentration of the industry in Berkshire County is 1.5 times higher than for the industry nationwide.
This indicates unique attributes, such as a deep pool of providers or a relatively broad reach of services available
in the market, that makes the industry’s presence in the county relatively strong.
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Modest Growth
Employment in the Berkshire County healthcare sector grew by three percent since 2010, from 10,748 jobs in
2010 to 11,417 in 2017. This is roughly one-fourth the growth rate of healthcare in the nation (14.6 percent).
Increase in Home Health and Outpatient Care

Throughout the next 10 years, from 2018-2028, employment in hospitals is projected to decline slightly while
home health care services are projected to grow by 45 percent. Hospitals will still be the largest segment in the
region, employing far more people than other healthcare organizations, but other components of health care
services are shifting in importance. Some of the shifts, such as from hospitals to home health care, can be linked
to changing demographics as well as changing business models for health care in largely rural areas.
2018 - 2028 2018 - 2028

Healthcare Segment 2018 Jobs 2028 Jobs
Change % Change
Home Health Care Services 950 1,285 335 35%
Continuing Care Retirement and Assisted Living
536 685 149 28%
Facilities
Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Hospitals 204 259 55 27%
Residential Mental Health, and Substance Abuse
1,879 2,344 465 25%
Facilities
Outpatient Care Centers 491 602 111 23%
Other Ambulatory Health Care Services 265 319 54 20%
Offices of Other Health Practitioners 905 1,078 173 19%
Offices of Dentists 525 602 77 15%
Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) 1,659 1,623 (36) (2%)
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals 3,132 3,040 (92) (3%)
Offices of Physicians 1,042 936 (106) (10%)
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Training Backbone
Berkshire Community College, McCann Technical High School and Taconic High School form the backbone of
workforce development activities for the sector. McCann recently started a medical assistant program to add to
its licensed practical nursing program. BCC has a long-standing nursing program as well as a new community
health worker program. Berkshire Health Systems is also running its own upskilling programs for employees to
increase their skills and migrate into new jobs within its system.
Challenges
Berkshire Health Systems’ Central Presence

Berkshire Health Systems is the largest healthcare organization in the county in terms of business scale, total
revenues and employment. Its nearly 4,000 workers and 450 medical staff represent four out of every 10
healthcare jobs in the county. As the county’s only hospital system, it has many affiliations, partner
organizations, and ownership relationships with medical facilities. Due to its size and reach, BHS’s decisions
about growth and service provision either dictates or has a large impact on economic activity within the region.
For example, its decisions around pay and labor-management practices have ripple effects throughout the
economy. And, its current focus on meeting the needs of county markets (e.g. serving the health care needs of
local residents) rather than exploring expansion outside the region also has effects on economic activity in the
region.
Shifts in Service and Strains on Growth

Healthcare may be entering a period of low growth as the region experiences generally no- to slow-growth in
the overall population. A declining population means not only that the number of people needing services may
decrease (simply fewer people to treat) but also that the services required for a smaller population that is
growing older and sicker will lead to more intense service levels for fewer people (e.g. more services for an older
population) and, in the industry as a whole, a focus on a much narrower slice of care delivery (e.g. more geriatric
care and fewer maternity or pediatric services).
Cost of Services and New Models

Healthcare organizations in the county report that the dependence on government reimbursement (Medicare
and Medicaid) is increasing while private insurance or self-pay methods are decreasing. That means the cost
pressures on care provision are increasing because the reimbursement models from Medicare and Medicaid are
tightening. Healthcare organizations are trying to respond by developing new business models for delivery and
service of health care in the region. This kind of innovation is particularly difficult in a region that does not have
a broad and growing population to underwrite and spread the costs associated with such changes.
Information Management
An additional challenge in the industry is keeping up with technological change. Healthcare organizations in the
county report that over the next decade, they will need to build new systems to manage and control big data
and information. The costs to develop these systems are most difficult to absorb for smaller organizations and
practices. Increased demand for information management also has implications for workforce development.
Healthcare organizations across the industry will need managers and technicians who have data literacy,
management, and analytical skills.
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Changes in Employment
A new emphasis on preventative medicine, efficiencies and cost containment, and coordinated care is reshaping
work, skills, and occupations in county healthcare organizations. There is increased demand for more cross-
functional skill sets among healthcare positions. For example, the ubiquitous need for electronic medical records
now means that certified nursing assistants must record every interaction with patients on computers and
through bar code readers and electronic monitors. Nurses are now empowered to be medical team leaders and
take a much more direct role in managing patient care across care givers and providers. At the same time,
entirely new positions have emerged in the industry. Berkshire Community College has just started a community
health worker training program to meet the demand from healthcare organizations that want navigators to help
patients move through healthcare organizations, coordinate services, and organize additional services.
Many Health and Wellness Agencies

There are a host of health care providers, such as family and children service agencies and behavioral health
programs in the county. Demand for services determines the development of capacity, which has built up over
years. Some industry leaders point to a need for some kind of rationalization or mapping of services to see who
and how many people are served, and if there are any gaps, unmet needs, or overlap that could be coordinated.
Action Steps
1. Create a County-Wide Health Program to Solve Common Workforce Issues

We recommend that several of the county’s leading healthcare organizations come together to invest, plan, and
find ways to build stronger solutions to common workforce challenges in the industry. Organizations that could
form the nucleus of such a partnership could be Berkshire Health Systems, Community Health Program, Brien
Center for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, Berkshire Community College, and Berkshire AHEC
(Area Health Education Center). The partnership should support the business needs of healthcare organizations
by promoting investment in the skills and careers of healthcare workers to increase business impact, improve
health outcomes, and provide quality jobs. The partnership could also act as an intermediary organization to
connect to statewide policy issues, aggregate demand for skills and occupations, and update local curricula and
renew health care education and methods of delivery in key occupations across the county.
A collaboration of this nature is not without precedent. There are a number of healthcare sector partnerships
across the United States, including many in more rural, exurban regions. One of these is the Central Iowa
Careers in Healthcare partnership, which supports individuals in health care training programs, assimilates
English language learners into the workforce, and advocates for better pay for direct care workers. Another is
CareerEdge in Sarasota, Florida, which has developed a partnership with local healthcare employers to assist
them in addressing the challenges they are experiencing in hiring, retaining, and advancing their workforce.
Financial investments from private industry and through state and local grants for training in the industry have
surpassed $5.1 million.
Closer to the Berkshires, the Healthcare Workforce Partnership of Western Massachusetts spans Franklin,
Hampshire, and Hampden counties and brings together healthcare employers, workforce development leaders
and training and education providers to strengthen the industry through its workforce. One of its initiatives is
the Care Transitions Education Project, designed to increase the number of nurses equipped to lead effective
patient-centered care transitions. Industry leaders from the Berkshires could connect with CareerStat, a national
organization of healthcare businesses and industry leaders in sector partnerships in their home regions.
CareerStat offers startup and ongoing guidance and assistance in defining the goals, relationships, and
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parameters of a healthcare sector partnership. The national staff liaison for CareerStat lives in Western
Massachusetts.
2. Explore Healthcare Innovations and New Markets in Partnership with the Berkshire Innovation
Center
The county’s many healthcare businesses and institutions should form an initiative with the Berkshire Innovation
Center to explore opportunities to solve healthcare’s internal business stresses and build services and products
for markets that go beyond the Berkshires. At present, the largest share of Berkshire County’s healthcare
industry is focused on serving local markets.
To expand market ideas and opportunities, the partnership should include local healthcare businesses as well as
related businesses and key institutions focused on science research and product development. That means
involvement should include not only the Berkshire Innovation Center and major healthcare businesses
(Berkshire Health Systems, Community Health Programs, Brien Center, Austen Riggs Center, etc.), but also
representatives from the new Science Center at Williams College, Lever, and county businesses in medical and
life sciences (Berkshire Sterile Manufacturing, Boyd Technologies, Berkshire Corporation).
One area of emphasis could be testing health care prototypes, whether it is a new management practice, new
service model, or new product. A health care prototype would test and highlight innovation, assess and learn
what works, and adopt practices into platforms that can scale into more businesses or markets. A prototype
could even be vetted for health care training across employers and educational institutions as part of the
proposed healthcare sector partnership as previously-described.
Another point of inspiration could be to showcase Rachel Walker, a nurse “invention ambassador” from the
University of Massachusetts who has just been recognized by the American Association for the Advancement of
Science and the Lemelson Foundation, for her invention of a product that can filter unclean water into sterile IV
bags needed in developing countries. Her experience in creating this product during her work in the field could
fit well with the new partnership.
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E. Hospitality and Tourism

The Hospitality and Tourism industry in the Berkshires comprises the hotels and inns, restaurants and food
service enterprises, recreation and attractions, and other supporting industries that attract visitors who spend
resources in the county. Closely aligned to hospitality and tourism are creative enterprises such as museums,
performing arts venues, and other cultural institutions, as well as food and agriculture-related businesses and
organizations. Second homeowners are also an aligned segment of the Hospitality and Tourism industry in the
Berkshires. Increasingly, traditional seasonal visitors are supported by a strong second home market throughout
the region while businesses that cater to visitors are thriving because of the involvement of second
homeowners.
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Significant Employer
Berkshire-based Hospitality and Tourism establishments directly employ 6,329 workers. 10 Between 2010 and
2017, the industry grew 6.3 percent. The largest segment in the industry is accommodation, making up about 43
percent of all jobs in the industry. The next-largest segment is recreation and attractions, followed by food and
beverage, and tourism services. (See chart). Accommodation is a much greater part of the industry in the
Berkshires than the state (accommodation accounts for 26 percent of jobs in Massachusetts) and the United
States (33 percent).
Broad Impact
Hospitality and tourism contributes much more to the Berkshire economy than its employment numbers and
the industry’s $400 million in Gross Regional Product suggest. According to the Massachusetts Office of Travel
and Tourism, visitors to the Berkshires in 2017 spent $517 million in the local economy and generated local tax
receipts of $14.9 million and state tax receipts of $27 million. Moreover, spending by visitors increased by nearly
30 percent in the last five years, which outpaces other regions in the state, according to tourism officials.
Convergence and Connected

Hospitality and tourism is connected to and converges with many of the region’s core industry strengths,
including the area’s creative and food and agriculture industries. The vast majority of visitors who visit the
Berkshires come for the cultural assets and natural environment. Data from the Massachusetts Office of Travel
10
Note that industry standards typically attribute 25 percent of local food and beverage employment to tourism
and hospitality. We include this ratio of food and beverage employment as part of our calculations for total
employment in tourism and hospitality in Berkshire County.
Page 48
and Tourism shows that 79.5 percent of all visitors to the Berkshires visited museum and historic sites, 59.2
percent attended performing arts venues, and 36.9 visited outdoor recreation areas. A visitor survey conducted
by the Berkshire Visitors’ Bureau several years ago noted that 88 percent of all visitors cited scenic beauty as the
principal reason for having selected the region as their destination rather than another area, and 42 percent of
visitors engaged in some form of outdoor recreation during their stay. 11
High Concentration
Municipalities in Berkshire County have higher concentrations of employment in Hospitality and Tourism than
the state as a whole. Cities and towns such as Pittsfield, Williamstown, Lenox, Lee, and Great Barrington have
high concentrations, as represented by high location quotients in the graphic below. A location quotient of 1.0
indicates the same concentration as the state, while location quotients of 1.5 indicates a concentration in
employment that is 50 percent higher than the statewide average. (See graphic).
High Income Visitor Profile

The Berkshires attract an affluent, well-educated visitor population. According to data collected by the
Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism, a typical visitor to Berkshire County has a median household
income of $100,200, a college degree or more (55 percent of all visitors), and comes from the New York City
11
Conservation and Recreation: An Element of Sustainable Berkshires, Long-Range Plan for Berkshire County,
Berkshire Visitor’s Bureau: 2014.
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metro area, Boston metro area, or Hartford/New Haven area. 1Berkshire conducted a study to understand the
notable growth in visitors from Boston, and in younger visitors.
New/Upgraded Hospitality Properties

There have been significant additions and upgrades to hospitality properties in the county, which indicates
confidence in the Berkshires as a visitor destination, and a desire among businesses to position their assets to
stay relevant in the future. A sampling of recent investments in Berkshire-based hospitality properties includes:
• The Miraval Group's $80 million project to renovate and expand the Cranwell Spa & Golf Resort, adding
43 rooms to the current 105 as well as a new spa and wellness and "mindfulness" amenities (completion
anticipated in 2019).
• The TOURISTS Welcome hotel opened in 2018, in North Adams.
• The Williams Inn’s $48 million redevelopment in a new location including new rooms, restaurant, and
event center (completion in 2019), and the new $12 Million 94-room Fairfield Inn & Suites opening in
2019.
• Opening of the downtown boutique Hotel on North in Pittsfield (2015), Hilton Garden Inn on the
Lenox/Pittsfield line (2015), and $2.5 to $3 million renovation and conversion of the Crowne Plaza to a
Holiday Inn & Suites in Pittsfield (completion anticipated in 2019).
• Starwood's $24 million Element hotel project to build a new 100-room hotel and events center on the
site of the former Magnuson Hotel in Lenox (project launch in 2019).
• New hotels or renovations in southern Berkshire County such as Courtyard by Marriott (Lenox), Elm
Court Travaasa (Lenox), Blantyre renovation project (Lenox), and Fairfield Inn (Great Barrington).
Growing Outdoor Recreation and Four-Season Experiences

Many of the region’s outdoor recreation businesses, such as Jiminy Peak and Berkshire East, have transitioned to
four-season resorts, expanding their offerings and attracting visitors year-round. Ramblewild opening in 2014,
increased development at Catamount and Bousquet around ziplines and adventure experiences, and growth and
development in golf courses and water sports in the
summer and fall have added another layer to the “One thing we're really good at in the Berkshires is
recreation economy. In part these offerings are a producing experiences for people. And authentic
response to a growing interest in outdoor recreation, experiences are what visitors get by traveling to the
especially among a younger demographic. For example, a Berkshires.”
snowmobiling study cited in a Sustainable Berkshires -- Manager of a Berkshire-based hospitality property.
12
report in 2014 notes that the Berkshire region has
approximately 30 percent of the snowmobile trails in the
state and is a net importer of riders visiting the region. Overall, complementary and year-round visitor
experiences build new revenue and stability for Berkshire businesses.
Growth in Health and Wellness as Destination Driver

A blossoming health and wellness sector has played an emerging role in the breadth of the hospitality segment
with development in both exclusive and publicly accessible amenities.
12
Conservation and Recreation: An Element of Sustainable Berkshires, Long-Range Plan for Berkshire County,
Berkshire Regional Planning Commission: 2014.
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• Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health and Canyon Ranch have both grown offerings and drawn greater
visitor traffic for their amenities. While not open to the public more broadly, these venues draw
significant business into the region.
• Increased focus and resources for bike trails through private and public investment, as well as support
through legislative measures have provided new growth potential, while added focus on Mount
Greylock as a destination has increased optics for hikers.
• Kayaking, canoeing, and other non-motorized water activities such as paddle board yoga have become
increasingly notable on local waterways as they’ve been revitalized.
The Berkshire Experience and Traveler Trends

With a robust Berkshire brand centered around a historic awareness of the region as a cultural hub and scenic
landscape, the narrative now faces the need to pivot to address the wants and desires of an evolving set of
demographics. Local officials note that the industry will need to adjust and adapt to two important growing
trends in traveler preferences. Travelers are increasingly attracted to these kinds of experiences in the
following three areas, all of which are already strengths in the Berkshires:
• Farm-to-table products, food culture, and local authenticity

• Emphasis on health and wellness integrated into hospitality
• Accessibility of outdoor adventure while in proximity to cultural resources.
New Markets
Less than three percent of Berkshire visitors are from foreign countries, which represents an opportunity for
growth. Foreign visitors tend to stay longer and spend more money than U.S. visitors. The Berkshires also have
the opportunity to grow the length of stay of visitors, coupling experiences across the county into longer visits.
Challenges
Strains on Small Businesses

Local officials supporting the industry say that many of the county’s smaller bed and breakfast inns and motels,
which were once the mainstay of Berkshire charm, are now facing increased pressure to adjust and provide
more desirable options to either a younger demographic or a luxury-oriented demographic. Either way, these
smaller businesses have a much more difficult time raising the capital to make investments and keep up with
changing trends. Another concern is competition from the sharing economy. Airbnb and other short-term
rentals are disrupting practices in the industry.
Wages and Job Security

Employees in hospitality and tourism generally have lower than average wages than other industries. In 2017,
wages in the industry averaged $27,735 per employee. There are a few reasons for the low wages: most
hospitality and tourism businesses in the county are small, operate on tight margins, and their employees often
work part-time or are seasonal. The recent statewide report The Work of Leisure notes that statewide, the
industry has the lowest wages among all sectors, and that employees in the industry are often young,
disproportionately foreign-born, and often temporary, seasonal, or part-time. 13 These are first-time jobs for
13
The Work of Leisure: Behind the Scenes of the Massachusetts Leisure, Hospitality and Tourism Industry, 2018:
The UMass Donahue Institute.
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many of the employees and the career ladders are less certain than some other industries. Berkshire businesses
in the industry cite the lack of candidates to hire and high employee turnover as significant challenges to
business productivity and profitability.
Education and Training

One of the attributes of the industry’s job structure is schedule flexibility; that is, “scheduling in the industry is
often flexible—part-time, seasonal, and available from dawn to late at night—allowing time for classes and
other activities.” 14 At present, there are a handful of training offerings in culinary and hospitality areas, with few
graduates earning an academic certificate or degree in related fields. In 2016, Berkshire Community College had
11 graduates from culinary programs and 4 from hospitality programs. 15 McCann Technical School and the
nonprofit Soldier On also offer culinary programs.
Transportation and Housing

Transportation -for workers, and for customers- continues to be an area of concern for business leaders.
According to an employer survey in The Work of Leisure report, two-thirds of Berkshire employers say they are
frustrated with customer transportation access, and over half of them are concerned about their employees’
ability to get to work. The report also says that employers in the Berkshires are concerned about inadequate
passenger rail to New York and Boston, which limits the customer base for the industry. Businesses also cite the
high cost of housing as a challenge to their workforce. It was one of the top concerns cited by Berkshire
employers in the business survey conducted for The Work of Leisure report.
Seasonality of Area
With a high demand for employees during seasonal peaks, and a high density of H2B visas (which allow
employers to temporarily hire foreign workers for non-agricultural services or labor due to local labor
shortages), non-seasonal recruitment tactics have not been employed readily throughout the region. Businesses
also cite housing challenges for their workforces, including access to quality market-rate housing and, in some
instances, affordable housing.
State-Level Support
State funding for the Regional Tourism Councils (RTCs) across Massachusetts has been reduced, including
funding for the RTC in the Berkshires. In 2016, grant funding to the RTC was reduced by half. Additionally, a
disproportionate balance exists between the amount of tourism dollars being spent in the Berkshires versus the
limited financial support returned to the region from the Commonwealth.
Regional Competition
The industry faces stiff competition from bordering Hudson Valley, and New York State as a whole. The Hudson
Valley has a surging brand of farm-to-table, authenticity, arts and culture, and a bucolic setting that attracts
more and more visitors and competes with the Berkshires. The State of New York has invested heavily in upstate
New York’s branding and travel and tourism industry.
MGM Springfield
While the opening of the MGM Springfield offers a new critical mass of Western Massachusetts visitors that
creates an opportunity in the Berkshires, there remains concern among many of the Berkshire-based businesses
14
The Work of Leisure: Behind the Scenes of the Massachusetts Leisure, Hospitality and Tourism Industry, 2018:
The UMass Donahue Institute.
15
Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), 2016.
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that the addition of 3,000 or more jobs at the new Springfield casino will drain workers from the Berkshires. In
general, the casino pays very competitive (if not higher) wages than are currently being paid across the industry.
Industry Cooperation and Brand

The Berkshires appears to be a recognizable brand, but there is still room to grow. One nagging frustration is
that there is still a divide among southern, central and northern Berkshire County when it comes to cooperative
efforts in the industry. Overcoming these parochial attitudes requires continued commitment to a more united
county and overtures to involve partners from each sub-region as often as possible. This issue is larger than the
Hospitality and Tourism cluster, although this cluster is particularly affected.
Action Steps
1. Invite and Encourage the Leadership Base and Industry Hub to Focus on Common Internal
Business Issues
The industry already has strong partners working to build the Berkshire brand through marketing. The biggest
resource is 1Berkshire’s capacity as the state-funded Regional Tourism Council. We recommend that leaders in
the industry build similar industry-based advocacy and organizing capacity focused on the internal issues of
running profitable, sustainable Berkshire-based business in the industry. That is, while the region seems to have
robust capacity to develop and deploy an “outside” game (e.g. developing and marketing the brand), we
recommend the industry build the same level of capacity to address its “inside game” (e.g. developing strong,
innovative, and forward-leaning businesses in the industry). This would mean developing expanded, non-
member and membership-based leadership into a hub that can sit beside and/or complement the leadership
already present through organizations like 1Berkshire. Issues that this group might also address include training,
job design and retention (see recommendation 2 below), building outdoor recreation as a more significant
segment of the tourism experience, and joint approaches to address industry-related transportation and
housing challenges.
2. Invest in Training, Job Design, and Retention

The industry needs to engage in a long-overdue dialogue about programs and policies that support motivated
businesses and empower workers to find the best solutions to build wages, retention, and economic security in
the industry. We recommend a coalition of industry hub leadership embark on a series of prototypes to test
new practices in the industry to achieve these goals.
For example:
• A number of retail businesses across the country are banding together to test and share the costs of
new ways to make low-wage jobs better. They are testing out new industry practices in predictive
scheduling, which uses shared software to build employee schedules that enable employee planning and
set upfront expectations for work.
• Other businesses are deploying shared employee assistance programs (i.e. sharing the cost) that help
workers navigate workplace conflict, address employee health and wellness, and offer financial literacy
and child care solutions that impact retention and productivity.
• Increased integration of H2B visas to supplement workforce during the height of the visitor seasons.
Two national resources that leaders from the Berkshires’ Hospitality and Tourism industry can consult for
guidance and solicit for support are the Good Companies/Good Jobs Initiative at the Aspen Institute Economic
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Opportunities Program, and the National Fund for Workforce Solutions and its Job Quality efforts supported by
the Hitachi Foundation and the Prudential Foundation.
In addition to these efforts, the industry should get involved in the proposed culinary and food training center to
be located at Berkshire Community College’s South County Center. Early involvement can help shape the
programs, curriculum, and investments so that the new center builds a pipeline of talent for the industry and
becomes a hub of industry-relevant training for hospitality and tourism businesses in the county.
3. Explore New Funding Sources and Partnerships

In order to increase the promotion of the region, new funding mechanisms and strategic partnerships across
geographic and functional areas of the region should be pursued that will enhance brand awareness, new
market development opportunities, and ongoing, sustained research for iterative best practice integration.
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Recommendation #3: Organize Cluster Leadership Hubs

and Support
The diagram below is an illustration of how key leaders and stakeholders can organize to support the growth
and competitiveness of the region’s key industry clusters.
Action Steps
1. Create Leadership Hubs for Each Industry Cluster
The hubs can be formal or informal, but they need to be organized to give voice to the competitive and changing
market dynamics that affect companies/organizations, and enterprises in each of the clusters. The hubs are
essential to making this information known to the economic development system in the Berkshires.
2. Identify and Support Cluster Organizers

Cluster organizers should be identified. These organizers will work with the Leadership Hub teams and help
them overcome barriers, find new opportunities and, importantly, maintain productive relationships with each
of the organizations in the Berkshire economic development system. The organizer will play the following roles
in the cluster:
• organizing companies around common tables,

• interpreting company needs to the economic development system,
• researching new opportunities to grow markets, support companies, build connections, and address
infrastructure needs,
• advocating for policies and practices that support the businesses in and address infrastructure gaps for
the cluster,
• connecting businesses and resources to each other and to the economic development system in the
county, and
• implementing new and ongoing efforts to support the growth of the cluster.
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Recommendation #4: Explore Other Clusters and Economic

Activity
Concentrate and Further Capitalize upon Other Emerging Clusters and High-
Impact Economic Activity
The consulting team believes that the most productive and strategic actions for 1Berkshire and its partners are
to grow and strengthen the five clusters identified in this report. Each of those clusters has a solid presence in
the economy, each has experienced employment growth since 2010, and each makes a major contribution to
the Berkshire brand and quality of life. However, the consulting team believes that other clusters and
economic activity should be further explored to make the economy even stronger, more competitive, and
more diversified.
Emerging cluster activity can come from several different sources, such as:
• The Berkshire Innovation Center

• Lever’s work to support high-growth enterprises and entrepreneurs
• Williams College’s new Science Center and related investments
• Framework Coworking’s services and facilities
• Analysis and potential build-out of the local supply chain for companies such as General Dynamics
• Entrepreneurial spin-offs that could come from larger manufacturers and anchor institutions
Clusters that could emerge from these sources include:
• Business process outsourcing

• Private education and education services that are export-driven
• Niches in engineering and technology services
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Recommendation #5: Enhance the Economic Development

System
A. The Talent Development System

The consulting team completed an analysis of the talent development system based on: interviews with
businesses in the industry clusters; a review of existing analyses and reports on the workforce needs in the
county; meetings with education, training, and other groups providing services in the region; and an inventory of
resources and credential output from the system. The following overview describes the system’s talent assets,
opportunities, and challenges, and offers recommendations to strengthen the system.
Assets and Oppor tunities

The following assets and opportunities impact the talent needs of businesses in the industry clusters.
Businesses participating in cluster-based focus groups say they want:
• to bring new talent to the Berkshires as well as grow their own (local) talent and that the county needs
everyone to participate in the economy and find better ways to work with people on the margins who
are out of work or underemployed
• to build “stickiness” between the county’s existing young talent and job and career opportunities in their
companies
• people who are seeking to come the Berkshires for a job to have great experiences at the job and in the
community
• a streamlined and centralized method for recruiting workers (which is a need also identified by
businesses interviewed for the MassHire Berkshire Workforce Board’s Matchmaker program)
• more coordinated efforts for engaging with education and training institutions, rather than the multiple
touchpoints that exist now
The breadth of work-based learning opportunities for residents appears to be a strength. Resources and
programs include:
• Berkshire Business Interns (BBI), a Lever program, matched more than 30 Berkshire companies and area
college students in summer internships in 2018
• MassHire Berkshire Workforce Board’s Connecting Activities program linked more than 300 high school
students per year to internship, career awareness, exploration, and other workplace immersion
opportunities
• McCann Technical School’s placement of 75 students in co-ops each year and Taconic High School’s
work-based learning opportunities with business
• MassHire Hampden County Workforce Board’s interest in partnering with the MassHire Berkshire
Workforce Board to identify new apprenticeships with local businesses through the Massachusetts
Apprenticeship Expansion Plan
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There are also many promising investments building worker skills, pathways, and systems for talent in the
county, such as:
• The Berkshire Innovation Center, in partnership with Berkshire Community College, acquired $1
million in new equipment to train students and workers in CMM and 3D printing machines
• The MassHire Berkshire Workforce Board (formerly the Berkshire County Regional Employment
Board) and Berkshire Community College partnered to train adults in welding, hoisting, and
advanced manufacturing concepts through a three-year grant
• New state-of-the-art facilities for students at Taconic High School, existing strong career-focused
occupational and co-op programs at McCann Technical High School, and new programming at
MCLA in electrical engineering and health sciences
• The inception and potential of the Economic Prosperity Impact Council and its emphasis on
building a culture of seeking out new ideas, prototyping, and solving issues together, around
worker and workforce concerns in the county
• The Workforce Skills Cabinet process that will position the county for future state-level
investment to shore up workforce challenges in three areas of priority (manufacturing,
healthcare, and hospitality)
• 1Berkshire marketing efforts directed towards identifying links between quality of life issues and
retaining and attracting workforce
• The Berkshire Education Task Force as forum to address emerging challenges in K-12 education
related to enrollment decline and reduction of programming, and The Berkshire Compact for
Education, which remains focused on raising higher education aspirations and attainment
• The MassHire Berkshire Workforce Board and the Berkshire United Way “matchmaker” grant
exploring ways to build networks of human resource staff across the county for hiring and
retention practices among businesses and workers
• 1Berkshire’s Berkshire Leadership Program, providing networking and leadership development
opportunities for a cohort of 30 participants annually for two decades
Challenges
The following are areas in the talent development system that leaders of economic and workforce development
may need to strengthen or address.
• Businesses in the clusters say that they have markets for their products and services and that they could
easily grow and add new workers to their Berkshire-based facilities right now, but the lack of the right
talent prevents them from doing so.
• Talent shortages are widespread across the five clusters, including:
o Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering Services – shift work technicians to engineers
o Creative Economy – management positions
o Food and Agriculture – front-line workers as well as chefs in restaurants
o Healthcare – technical and allied health positions (nurses to therapists) to community navigators
and front-line support positions
o Hospitality and Tourism – front-line staff in hotels and restaurants, and management positions
• Critical future skill needs across the clusters will be in “computers, communication, and management,”
according to the findings of the MassHire Berkshire Workforce Skills Cabinet process. There are also
future needs for cross-functional skills such as customer service, product development, design mindset,
and computational thinking for all level of workers.
• Exacerbating these talent needs is slow growth in the regional population, an aging workforce, and
relatively low labor force participation rates (63.6 percent). Seventeen thousand (17,000) people are of
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working age (16-64) in the county but not working, according to recent data collected and presented for
the county’s Economic Prosperity Impact Council (EPIC), a civic leadership group convened by the
Berkshire United Way.
• Credential output in the county, such as one-year certificates, two-year associate degrees, four-year
degrees, and skills training through public workforce sources, is heavily concentrated in healthcare-
related programs of study and not as robust in other areas important to the growth of the industry
clusters, such as production, engineering, and technology.
• Relative to other regions, there are fewer resources for job training and attainment of occupational
certifications outside of the K-12 and post-secondary system.
• Despite pockets of coordination, there is a need for better strategic implementation and communication
with businesses in the industry clusters.
o Businesses interviewed say that there are too many touchpoints between businesses and
education institutions, training providers and workforce intermediaries. “We go to four different
business advisory groups; the system is not rational. There has to be a better way,” says a
representative from one of the more prominent businesses in the county.
o There is still some degree of parochialism that inhibits solutions to common education and
training challenges across southern, central, and northern Berkshire County, particularly in K-12
education.
o There is only loose coordination of new hire recruitment and retention efforts among
businesses, institutions, economic development, and education providers.
• Employee retention, job security, and income are concerns among civic leaders and businesses,
particularly in relation to front-line workers. Areas of concern include:
o Entry level workers are not only difficult to find but hard to keep
o Small businesses often don’t have the human resource bandwidth or capacity to provide
effective retention and employee support practices
o Shift work is difficult to manage and make attractive to a younger workforce
o Some industries rely heavily on seasonal work
o Average wages in the Creative Economy, Food and Agriculture, and Hospitality and Tourism
clusters often fall below self-sufficiency standards
• While the reach of McCann Technical School and Taconic High School is impressive in northern and
central Berkshire County districts, students from school districts in southern Berkshire County have
much more limited avenues for career and technical education. For example, only one student in Lee’s
district is enrolled in career and technical education (CTE programming), and that student travels to
Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School in Northampton for CTE instruction.
Action Steps
1. Establish and Coordinate Ongoing Workforce-Business Partnerships through the Cluster Hubs and
Connectors.
The hubs will give businesses in the clusters the opportunity to come together, brainstorm, share, and help
each other identify solutions for their workforce issues. The hubs also will serve as a forum to translate their
industry needs to the education community, from K-12 experiences to postsecondary programs. There are
many examples of sector partnership like this across the country. For example, the National Fund for
Workforce Solutions is a network of 32 regions across the country that support sector partnerships, many of
them in rural communities like the nationally-recognized agricultural and manufacturing sector partnerships
in Wisconsin Rapids or manufactured flooring partnership in Northwest Georgia. Leaders in the Berkshires
can learn from networks of sector partnerships like the National Fund for Workforce Solutions of the Next
Generation Sector Partnership Community of Practice, which hosts an academy. County leaders should
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consider using priorities established through the Berkshire Workforce Skills Blueprint to acquire state-level
funding to develop sector partnerships in the five core industry clusters.
2. Build Even More Intensive and Broad-based Internship, Apprenticeship, and Career Awareness,
Exploration and Immersion Opportunities.
We recommend forming a working group of work-based learning providers to identify ways to better
coordinate, scale, and increase the quality of experiences in work-based learning across the county. This
could be done through existing forums, like the Economic Prosperity Impact Council or the MassHire
Berkshire Workforce Board. One early strategic goal of the working group could be to find ways to serve
more local college-aged interns who are under-networked and under-resourced, and who are often left out
of internship opportunities. The working group could also identify tools to make it easier for small
businesses to offer internships. For example, the Baton Rouge Chamber offers a Virtual Schoolhouse, a
technology platform that pairs local businesses with classrooms to engage in online mentoring, guest
speaking, and internships related to classroom curriculum. The working group could also take advantage of
new resources being allocated to apprenticeships with the Massachusetts Apprenticeship Expansion Plan
and form a partnership between the MassHire Berkshire Workforce Board and MassHire Hampden County
Workforce Board to start apprenticeships with at least one business in each cluster.
3. Extend Career and Technical Education to Southern Berkshire County.

This is an emerging priority of the Berkshire Education Task Force and should be supported by Blueprint
leaders. New capacity in southern Berkshire County will give students in the district the same opportunities
in career and technical education (CTE) that students in the central and northern parts of the county receive
through Taconic High School and McCann Technical. An early priority for new CTE programs of study in
southern Berkshire County should be on career opportunities in the clusters, such as management tracks for
Hospitality and Tourism, pre-engineering tracks for Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering Services, and
allied health for Healthcare. Part of the effort of the Berkshire Education Task Force, with the help of other
organizations like the MassHire Berkshire Workforce Board, should be to develop and pilot career pathway
schematics that demonstrate how students and workers move from entry-level to higher education and
higher pay within each industry.
4. Build Stronger Supports that Lead to Economic Security for Front-line Workers and Support the Workforce
Needs of Berkshire Businesses to Retain Employees and Provide Good Jobs.
The overriding goal is to help businesses build more consistent and more thoroughly-integrated practices
around employee retention, hiring, and employee support, that in turn leads to higher levels of economic
security, stability, and income for workers. This could be a priority for the Economic Prosperity Impact
Council, and be supported by efforts like the matchmaker grant. One effort could be to convene a series of
business-to-business panels that invites local companies and local experts to distribute, build, and inspire
quality job practices among more Berkshire businesses. Municipalities and economic development agencies
in the county could also build rewards, recognition, and marketing for Berkshire businesses offering
employee engagement and management practices that improve employee performance and increase job
stability – practices such as predictive scheduling, retention services, cross-training, supervisory support, and
skills acquisition. EPIC or other leaders in the county could work with the Berkshire Eagle to create an annual
“Best Places to Work” award that recognizes and highlights businesses that meet national criteria for job
quality practices. Overall efforts like these should be integrated into the conversations, and possible grant
opportunities, to help companies adjust and plan for annual increases in the statewide minimum wage to
$15.00 per hour by 2022.
5. Launch Coordinated New Hire Recruitment Initiative for Berkshire Businesses that Curates Jobs and
Attracts Candidates to Fill Job Openings.
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Blueprint efforts should support “the jobs thing,” 1Berkshire’s new recruitment platform that identifies,
curates, and posts jobs from Berkshire businesses that offer good wages. The platform focuses on attracting
countywide candidates, as well as domestic and international candidates, to work and live in the Berkshires.
Part of the platform should also be used to coordinate and organize experiences for new workers and
interns to learn more about the Berkshire advantage, smooth lifestyle transitions for new recruits coming to
the county, and build opportunities to integrate them into the civic life of the Berkshires.
6. Build Forums for Continuous Learning and Innovation for Talent Development Practice.
The Economic Prosperity Impact Council and Impact Council of Berkshire County Leaders could align efforts
across the talent development system, examine “what works” across the county, and stimulate (through
pilots or prototypes) new ideas and efforts that address challenges in the system.
B. The Business and Entrepreneurial Support System

Throughout the course of this project, the consulting team analyzed the business and entrepreneurial support
system for Berkshire County. The team reviewed reports and information on the system and conducted
extensive interviews with leaders and senior staff in key business and entrepreneurial development
organizations. The team found that there are a number of organizations in the county providing technical
assistance across the spectrum, from startups to small businesses, to real estate developers, and commercial
building owners. This matrix summarizes the current system.
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Following is a brief overview of the system’s assets and opportunities, its challenges, and recommendations for
strengthening and growing its capacity.
Assets and Oppor tunities

• The support system for startups and new entrepreneurs has several bright spots. For example,
entrepreneurship centers (Lever, Makers’ Mill, and Framework Coworking) provide space and
programming for entrepreneurs and startup activity.
• A number of projects are finding success in the conventional/institutional lending market (e.g., Williams
College, Tanglewood), the hospitality sector (e.g., Cranwell Resort renovation/expansion, Courtyard
Marriott Lenox Berkshires) and high-end residential (e.g., Canyon Ranch residences).
• Identifying and staying current on the broad range of available financing resources requires a high level
of expertise and engagement. The GreylockWORKS project is an example of an innovative idea that
needed to tap into multiple sources of funding and use a phased development approach in order to get
the project going and demonstrate demand and interest.
• New rental developments in Pittsfield are successfully attracting market rate renters and proving
demand for downtown housing.
• Groups such as the Economic Development Practitioners Group and Small Business Forum have been
established to foster better communication between local, regional, and state organizations.
• The Berkshire Innovation Center has the potential to provide resources and technical assistance to
businesses that have an appropriate business model, operational plan, and facility.
• The potential positive impact of several new projects:
o Berkshire Innovation Center in Pittsfield

o Proposed museums in North Adams
o New rental developments in downtown Pittsfield
o Eagle Mill Redevelopment in Lee
o Greylock Glen in Adams
Challenges
• Old View/New View. Given historic economic challenges, it is still hard for some leaders and decision
makers to see the positive upswing and potential in their own backyard. Often it is the newcomers to
the area who are seeing opportunities, investing, and taking risks.
• Local-Only Protectiveness. Several interviewees noted that a parochial viewpoint with some distrust of
organizations based “outside” the Berkshires limits opportunities. “People get nervous if ‘Berkshire’ is
not in the name.”
• Market. Berkshire County is a small, dispersed market. While some new businesses may be able to fill a
niche in the local market, real economic growth is likely to come from businesses that can tap into
broader markets.
• Splintered Resources. Despite the availability of resources, many businesses find the system hard to
access and navigate. Consultant organization Next Street articulated the concern expressed by many
interviewees: “Business service organizations are fragmented and siloed.”
• Referrals. Referral systems among lenders with differing business niches are not robust. A business that
“knocks at the wrong door” may not be referred to the more appropriate capital or technical assistance
source in the region.
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• Business Accelerators. There is not an articulated system for focusing on growth strategies for existing
businesses. Small business accelerator programs (e.g. Babson’s Scalerator Program, VVM Program for
small business) are missing in the Berkshires. These could include growth financing, business strategy,
assistance with generational transitions, and the like.
• Creative Financing. Most apartment and commercial real estate deals don’t ‘pencil out’ for conventional
financing given rental levels relative to the cost of construction and/or renovation. For developments of
scale, creative sources of debt and equity are needed to solve pro-forma gaps.
• Accessing Financing. While there are many capital providers, Berkshire businesses and developers do
not currently have easy access to CDFI, CDC, or USDA financing.
• Organization and Focus. As noted previously, the Economic Development Practitioners Group and the
Small Business Forum foster better communication among local, regional, and state organizations.
However, greater visibility, explicit support by member organizations for the groups, and an agreement
on clear roles, responsibilities, and specific plans with accountability metrics would accelerate the
effectiveness of these groups.
• Startup Support. Southern Berkshire County is lacking resources for startups. Robust programming and
a physical space could support the acceleration of entrepreneurial efforts.
Action Steps
The following summarizes actions that could make an impact on the effectiveness of the business and
entrepreneurial support system. The categories in the system support matrix can be a useful framing for
problem-solving deliberations with stakeholders to implement these recommendations and develop action
plans. Recommendations are organized in the matrix categories:
• Startups and Entrepreneurs

• Existing Small to Mid-sized Businesses
• New Business Recruiting and Support
• Real Estate Deals
1. Define and Communicate Roles and Responsibilities

• This is critical for all for parts of the system. Identifying a “lead” for convening and communication
among the organizations (internally facing) and identifying a “navigator” to help businesses locate
resources (externally facing) would add needed transparency to the system.
• A focus on metrics (the definition of success) and systems to hold organizations and staff accountable
must also be built into the system.
2. Acknowledge and Embrace a Regional Economy
• Develop a “new narrative” for regional leaders, emphasizing how success in one part of the county can
be leveraged for success in other areas of the county. Create a climate in which leaders can celebrate
one another’s achievements.
• Consider organizing an annual Berkshire County Convenes for Growth conference to present updated
economic trends and discuss current opportunities and challenges in the economy. This could serve as a
structured time for organizations to check in on progress on the Blueprint recommendations, to stay
current on trends and opportunities, and to support existing businesses.
3. Support Startups and Entrepreneurs
• Strengthen the current ecosystem by clearly articulating a long-term commitment to strategies that
support start-ups and entrepreneurs (it takes a long time to build a robust ecosystem!).
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• With the input of the key partners (e.g., Lever, Milltown Capital, Framework Coworking, MCLA,
Berkshire Agricultural Ventures) identify a leader to coordinate efforts in southern Berkshire County,
and develop a work plan for coordination and support.
4. Strengthen Referrals for Small to Mid-sized Businesses
• Stronger coordination and referral networks are essential. Business service providers should work
together to develop a unified framework -- first, to jointly discuss strategies to identify and engage
businesses that may be ready to grow, and second, to create joint marketing strategies to reach out to
businesses describing resources, and to establish mechanisms to connect lenders and other referral
partners on a recurring basis.
• Consistently updating key contacts in all of the lending institutions and business service organizations is
essential. Keep “quality over quantity” in mind. Businesses need to know who they can contact for the
most current information, rather than dealing with outdated resource guides or generic web links.
• Develop strategies to tap into retirees and second home owners in the County to reinvigorate SCORE as
a mentoring and business resource. Evaluate recent success of Cape Cod Chamber with SCORE as
model.
5. Enhance Real Estate Deals
• Encourage all communities to create “red carpet teams” to meet with developers, discuss permitting
and deal financing strategies, and designate a local champion for follow-up. This will be most effective if
all teams share local leads across the county for better coordination and follow up.
• Deals often don’t “pencil out.” Identity experts (staff or consultants) who have depth of information and
expertise to provide resource menus to developers for projects throughout the county. Consider
retaining some of these experts on an “on call” basis to help developers of complex projects understand
resources, tools, and how to access them. Provide continuing training for municipal teams on available
resources.
6. Recruiting and Supporting New Businesses
• Develop a county-wide strategy (clear process and point person) to share business leads and
information on sites available for development.
• In addition to maintaining a “business friendly” approach and responsiveness to companies that are
evaluating opportunities in the Berkshires, potential growth could come from:
o Developing an initiative to grow a local supply chain for existing businesses
o Focusing on entrepreneurial business assistance to those businesses and startups with the
potential for scalability
7. Look to Alternative Capital Providers
• Explore the expansion of existing county resources (PERC, Greylock CDFI) or new, stronger partnerships
with alternative capital providers (CDFI, CDC) based outside the county. Building consensus among
Berkshire County capital providers about this strategy is crucial to success, rather than any one
organization initiating an expansion strategy on its own. The availability of funding or other supports to
cover startup/expansion expenses for these providers should be key in determining the direction in
which the resources are deployed.
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Recommendation #6: Address Cross-Cutting Issues

There are several issues that affect all of the clusters and the overall economy as well. Following is brief
description of these so-called cross-cutting issues, and recommendations to address them.
Broadband
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Baker-Polito Administration have demonstrated its commitment
to solving the last-mile broadband challenges in Berkshire County by awarding more than $11.5 million in grants
to 14 municipalities and selected private providers, to construct broadband networks that will deliver
connectivity to an estimated 10,000 previously unserved homes and businesses. While many of these so-called
“last mile” projects are still in the design or construction phases, the Town of Mount Washington has completed
a municipal fiber-to-the-home network, Alford has connected the first homes to its municipal fiber network, and
Charter Communications has completed a network in the Town of West Stockbridge. In addition, the
Commonwealth-owned MassBroadband 123 fiber-optic network underpins many of the last mile projects in
unserved towns, and also reaches into every Berkshire County municipality, providing an opportunity to connect
businesses and residents to a gigabit-level internet connection, as was done by the 47 Railroad mixed-use
development project in Great Barrington.
Energy Costs
An article in the February 23, 2018 edition of the Wall Street Journal, “New England Has a Power Problem,”
noted that electricity costs are 56% higher in New England than in the rest of the nation. There are several
reasons for this: retiring power plants, the lack of construction of new plants, the high costs of shipping natural
gas, and the shortage of pipelines. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration 16, in 2017
Massachusetts generated 68% of its electricity from natural gas, placing additional strain on a limited supply and
increasing prices.
Here in Massachusetts, businesses pay some of the highest electricity rates in the United States, behind only
Hawaii, Alaska and Rhode Island. The rates are high because of some of the reasons referred to above, as well
the state’s approaches to energy and environmental issues and policies. These high costs are particularly
challenging for industrial and commercial employers that consume a large amount of electricity to produce
products and services for domestic and international customers. In the Berkshires, these industrial and
commercial ratepayers are often the largest employers in the region. The high costs jeopardize the
competitiveness of the companies that provide the foundation for the long-term economic health of the region
and sustaining good jobs.
With advocacy from the business community, some progress has been made in Massachusetts to mitigate the
problem, including more accurate rates based on real costs to serve each rate class, recognition that ratepayers
with solar systems need to bear some grid costs, and methods that reward industrial and commercial rate
payers who manage their electricity demand to reduce grid costs and support system reliability. However, the
challenge of high energy costs remains.
It is not clear what direction the policy conversations in the state will take with respect to helping to lower
energy costs, or at least keep them from growing. One strategy employed by the Baker Administration is the
16
United States Energy Information Administration. “Massachusetts: State Profile and Energy Estimates.”
https://www.eia.gov/state/?sid=MA. 2018.
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importing of hydroelectric power from Quebec along the Northern Pass power line. That project ran into
difficulties with the state of New Hampshire, but is still under consideration. There is also a case to be made for
careful, balanced consideration of the costs imposed on employers for new or modified policies. There are other
approaches as well that could help lighten the energy cost burdens and facilitate growth of employment levels
and wages for our region’s largest employers. Examples include establishing an economic development
electricity rate for regions that are lagging behind in the overall economic health of the Commonwealth, and
more latitude for industrial customers in using energy efficiency funds.
The group that is and has been advocating for large electricity users in Western Massachusetts is the Western
Massachusetts Industrial Group (WMIG), a paid membership group. Very few members are from Berkshire
County. If more companies joined the conversations and discussions, it could help the region and the county to
address their energy needs and costs.
Population
The Saturday, October 21, 2017 edition of the Berkshire Eagle had a headline that read, “Report: Lure
millennials; stem population loss.” The story focused on a report that was prepared by 1Berkshire called “The
Berkshire Initiative for Growth (BIG).” Business, education and community leaders started work on the report in
2014. They interviewed millennials, collected data on the county’s population, and conducted surveys of young
people’s views of life in Berkshire County. The report analyzed the data and information and offered more than
fifteen recommendations to overcoming the loss of population. Leaders and staff at 1Berkshire took
responsibility for some of the recommendations, but, in the end, it was left to others in the county to step up
and take responsibility for other recommendations. That aspiration was not fully realized, and as a consequence,
the county lacks a unified, strategic, and collaborative effort to stop the out-flow of young people.
In this context, the consulting team recommends that county leaders follow the example of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Tulsa, like many communities around the country, was faced with a declining population and a shrinking
workforce. Business leaders understood that unless there was a dramatic turnaround in the population, the
economy and the quality of life in Greater Tulsa would suffer. As a result, leaders and staff at the Tulsa Regional
Chamber of Commerce launched a new initiative several years ago called Project Boomerang.
The goal of Project Boomerang is to “increase the percentage of high school in-migrants with bachelor's degrees
or higher in the greater Tulsa area.” The strategic focus is on Tulsa high school students and Tulsa students who
go off to college outside of the Tulsa region and encourage them to stay in or, in the case of college students,
come back to live and work in Tulsa.
To make the initiative successful, the Tulsa Chamber did several things:
• received buy-in from the 14 school districts in Greater Tulsa and got them to be partners in the program,
• developed intensive relationships with administrators, guidance counselors, and teachers in each of the
school districts in the region,
• created a hard-copy communication tool, as well as a dedicated website for the program,
• convened focus groups of high school students to get their suggestions and input in the development of
the program, and
• entered into a partnership with Tulsa's Young Professionals to be ambassadors for the program.
Once project Boomerang was in place, the Chamber and its partners organized “Summer Send-offs” for
graduating Tulsa high school students before they graduate, created work-based internships with Tulsa
companies for high school students during the school year and over the summer for college students, and used
an innovative software system that identified all recently graduated high school students and current college
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students from Tulsa and sent targeted text messages to educate and keep them connected to jobs, internships,
and cultural and local events throughout the year.
This high-touch, high-impact program reaches, in some fashion, nearly everyone of school age, and it builds a
bond between them and the greater Tulsa area.
It is also important to note that although Berkshire County is losing population overall, it is not losing population
in every demographic segment. The immigrant population represents the largest sector of growth in Berkshire
County. According to estimates from the US Census Bureau, there were 7,587 foreign-born residents of
Berkshire County as of 2017, up from 5,959 in 2010; this represents a 27.32% increase. In 2017, Berkshire
County's total population was an estimated 126,313, down from an estimated 131,294 in 2010; this represents a
decrease of 3.80%. In 2010, foreign-born residents accounted for 4.53% of the county’s population; in 2017,
foreign-born residents made up 6% of the county’s population. That said, many who work with immigrants
consider the immigrant population to be significantly undercounted in census data collection, and the increases
may be even larger than these numbers suggest. There is also a belief among county leadership that the
immigrant population will continue to show significant growth in the 2020 census.
The aforementioned Berkshire Initiative for Growth report noted this trend, and indicated that a better
understanding of this demographic change will help encourage support for and appropriate allocation of
resources to groups in need, and also strengthen engagement in schools, the workforce, and the community.
Coordination with organizations that support the immigrant population, including the Berkshire Immigrant
Center, Community Health Programs, Literacy Volunteers of Berkshire County, Multi-Cultural BRIDGE, and
others, will help to sustain and strengthen this growing demographic of Berkshire County’s population.
Continued support for opportunities to showcase immigrant culture (such as the Pittsfield Ethnic Fair), shows of
civic solidarity (such as North Adams installing a public menorah alongside the City’s Christmas tree), and
ongoing community dialogues will encourage continued integration of these populations into the Berkshire
community.
Transportation
In addition to the challenges previously identified, one other significant impediment to further development of
each cluster is transportation--the movement of people and goods within the region. Transportation was
mentioned repeatedly during cluster-based focus groups.
Transportation challenges include:
• Absence of first/last mile transportation service provision

• Absence of express public transit service between employment clusters
• Lack of transportation services after 6:00pm and on weekends
• Lack of coordination of regional transportation assets--private and public
• User difficulty pertaining to access to real-time transportation information
These challenges have been cited as:
• Impeding hiring
• Reducing employee dependability
• Restricting the growth of private and non-profit sector revenues
• Negatively impacting income and revenue streams
• Making it difficult to transport customers and audiences around the county
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In April 2018, the findings from the Blueprint cluster work were brought to the attention of the Berkshire County
Transportation Working Group (BCTWG), a group that was created under the leadership of Senator Adams Hinds
in September 2017. The group was formed to address and find solutions to the problems that transportation
posed to the Berkshire economy. The group includes representatives of multiple agencies, including 1Berkshire,
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, Community Health Programs, Berkshire Regional Transit Authority, and
Berkshire Regional Planning Commission.
With the benefit of the Blueprint findings, and the findings from the BCTWG, a consensus emerged around the
idea of a Transportation Management Association (TMA). In addition to the Blueprint and the work of the
BCTWG, the idea for a TMA in Berkshire County is further corroborated by the November 2017 McMahon
Transportation Engineers and Planners' study, "Shared-Ride Access to Work," prepared for Berkshire Regional
Transit Authority.
Currently, there are fourteen TMAs operating in the state of Massachusetts. The TMA concept is centered on
several elements: a public/private partnership between regional employers, transportation providers, and
municipalities; express fixed-route transit services operating between "micro transit hubs" established within
the commercial districts of eight of the region's municipalities; coordinated public/private first/last-mile service
provision; and a digital application providing users with real-time information and the ability to schedule rides.
In July of 2018, in Amendment #1190, "Rural Transportation Solutions for Berkshire County," Senator Hinds was
able to secure $35,000 to further the work on a TMA for Berkshire County. This $35,000 item will help sustain
the TMA process. Over the course of the next few months, through the facilitation of 1Berkshire, the working
group, and McMahon Associates, several actions will be undertaken:
• Hold focus groups with employers

• Develop a detailed inventory of all public and private transportation assets within the region
• Engage municipal leaders and other key stakeholders throughout the region
• Craft a business model and financial plan for operating the system
Wages and Financial Sustainability

Many Berkshire County residents and immigrants lag behind their counterparts in other regions of the state and
country when it comes to wages, household income, and job quality. For example, in 2016 about 12.4 percent of
county residents were in poverty, up from roughly 11 percent of the county residents in poverty in 2010. The
rate of poverty in the state was 11.4 percent in 2016. Recent data collected by the Economic Prosperity Impact
Council shows that median household income in the county is $19,000 less than the state. In 2016, median
household income in the county was $52,253 and $70,954 for Massachusetts. The July 17, 2018 edition of
Boston Magazine underscored this point, and painted a picture of affluent people in Berkshire County taking
advantage of all of the amenities the county offers, while others are forced to work two to three jobs just to
make ends meet. This ‘Tale of Two Counties’ narrative persists even though business and economic
development planners and education and workforce development organizations, along with community-based
organizations, have been working very hard to address the wage and income disparities in the county.
The findings in the Berkshire Blueprint show slow but steady increases in employment in each of the five
targeted economic clusters and significant investments by individuals, business organizations, municipalities,
and state government in the last few years totaling close to $1 billion. In addition, key business, entrepreneurial,
education and training, and community-based organizations engaged in new and innovative programs designed
to tackle some of the income challenges in the county.
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Therefore, now is the time for a more intensive focus on economic and income inequality in the Berkshires. A
growing economy, significant and on-going capital investments, and increased organizational capacity in the
county means Berkshire leaders and economic development stakeholders have a golden opportunity to make a
profound difference in the economic lives of those who are not benefiting from the improving economic
situation in the county.
County leaders can take several actions to lift up the economic lives of many local residents and immigrants.
1. Support the Work of the Berkshire United Way’s Economic Prosperity Impact Council (EPIC)
Berkshire United Way created the Economic Prosperity Impact Council in 2017 to address the challenges
many residents of Berkshire County face: low or stagnant wages, lack of benefits, poverty rates that are
higher on a per-capita basis than they are in other regions of the state, and declining household income. The
EPIC program is a multi-dimensional effort to reduce the number and percentage of households with
incomes under $75,000, expand employment opportunity for low-income residents, and create a pathway
to individual and family financial stability. Although EPIC is spearheaded by the Berkshire United Way, it is a
countywide coalition with shared leadership from the Greylock Federal Credit Union, Guardian Life
Insurance company, and Berkshire Community College. A number of organizations in social and human
services, education and training, community development, and business also participate in the initiative.
There are three fundamental program components of EPIC:
• The Employment Matchmaker program, a collaboration with the MassHire Berkshire Workforce Board
(formerly the Berkshire County Regional Employment Board), matches underemployed or unemployed
individuals with employers who are looking for workers. The program provides significant support to
people during the job search process.
• The Adult Work-Based Experiences program offers on-the-job training and internships for people who
lack work experience. This component is designed to help individuals improve the chances of securing a
job.
• The Volunteer Income Tax Assessment program offers free income tax preparation to low-income
individuals.
2. Study Other Program Models and the Experience of Other Organizations on Wages and
Financial Sustainability.
• The Pinkerton Foundation, a New York City Foundation dedicated to improving the lives of people in
low-income neighborhoods, published a series of working papers related to jobs, education and
workforce. Two of those papers have relevance to the issue of wages and financial sustainability in the
Berkshires: Make Bad Jobs Better and Now or Never: Heeding the Call of Labor Market Demand. The
papers were authored by Stephen Dawson, the former Director of the Paraprofessional Healthcare
Institute. Dawson, who has worked with numerous businesses and workforce and education
organizations around the country on this issue, offers practical suggestions for improving job quality, job
security and economic stability. He is based in New Hampshire.
• Boston Education, Skills & Training (BEST). Founded in 2006, BEST has been a resource for workers and
businesses in the hospitality industry in Boston. BEST offers courses for workers in several key areas
related to the industry: Food and Safety, Basic Culinary Arts, Professional Food Services, Citizenship, and
Computer Skills Enhancement. This training makes it possible for some Boston non-incumbent workers
to gain employment in the industry, and for incumbent workers to see increased wages and benefits, as
well as greater job security. Currently, more than 30 companies in the hospitality industry are partners
with BEST – companies like the Battery Wharf Hotel, Copley Square Hotel, the Boston Park Plaza, Loews
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Boston, the Ritz Carlton, etc. BEST works with both union and non-union employers to carry out its
mission of enhancing the quality of work in the industry.
• United Way of Chittenden County in Burlington, Vermont created a program in 2006 called Working
Bridges. Organized by the United Way, Working Bridges is a collaborative of employers including Keurig
Green Mountain, Rhino Foods, Sheraton Hotel of Burlington, and the University of Vermont Medical
Center. The program also includes community-based organizations, education and training and adult
learning institutions, food service programs and the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity.
The mission of Working Bridges is to improve workplace productivity, retention, advancement, financial
stability, and well-being for workers. Working Bridges uses several strategies: on-site workplace
resource coordinators, income advance loans, financial education workshops, specialized job training,
and employer problem-solving groups.
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CONCLUSION
It is no secret that the decades-long national decline of traditional manufacturing has had a deleterious effect on
Berkshire County. The departures of long-time major employers such as General Electric and Sprague Electric
devastated the Berkshire economy. For too long, the narrative has been that our best days were behind us,
confined to faded newsprint and wistful memory.
That narrative is out of date. For several years, Berkshire County leadership has felt a sense of cautious optimism
that the tide is turning. New buildings, businesses, and partnerships are springing up everywhere. With the
knowledge that Berkshire County has seen $1 billion in investment over the last three years, the writing is on the
wall: the days of doom and gloom are over. The new Berkshire narrative is about growth and opportunity in a
diversified regional economy, and there is room for everybody at the table.
Advanced Manufacturing, Creative Economy, Food and Agriculture, Hospitality and Tourism, and Healthcare:
these economic clusters represent a significant portion of the economy, chosen because of their impact on the
overall economy, sustainability, innovative capacity, recognized niche, and local leadership. These clusters have
seen sustained growth, and the Blueprint looks to the clusters and their leadership to help steward continued
progress. Other clusters will almost certainly emerge as similarly-impactful in the years to come. The cluster
approach to Berkshire County’s economic development offers a structure for benchmarking and sustained
growth, which the Blueprint Advisory Committee and its partners can oversee and help to guide.
None of the progress highlighted above happened by accident; it has taken years of tireless efforts from
countless individuals and organizations. Although so much work has been done, we still have plenty to do.
Larger concerns around transportation infrastructure, population loss, energy prices, and wages and financial
security still present as impediments to regional economic progress. However, these challenges are not
insurmountable. As a county, we will develop solutions through cooperation between the public and private
sectors, with support from the Berkshire legislative delegation and state and federal agencies; but success will
require an all-hands-on-deck effort.
This collaborative effort will require local elected officials, executives, organizers, workers, volunteers, and
private citizens to step up to the plate, and leverage their own spheres of influence for the collective good.
Organizations can become part of this critical work by serving as cluster leaders, or if not serving as cluster
leaders, relaying concerns, opportunities, needs, trends, and other critical data to cluster leadership, and
collaborating within and between clusters. Individuals can get involved by taking advantage of opportunities to
serve on boards, committees, or task forces that advance Blueprint objectives. Everyone can become a critical
part of this important work by committing to collaborate to improve life in the region. If you have an insight,
share it. If you need help, ask for it. If you have a great idea that needs support, seek out resources and partners.
Together, we can accomplish so much more than we can alone. Here in the Berkshires, collaboration has always
been our greatest strength, and if we can present a united front, it will carry us forward, together, to our best
days yet.
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Appendix 1
Strong and Growing Clusters Table:
Definitions and Sources
Source of Data: EMSI, 2018.1 – QCEW Employees, Non-QCEW Employees, and Self-Employed; American
Community Survey, Non-employer Statistics, and Bureau of Economic Analysis State and Local Personal Income
Reports. All data are 2007 unless otherwise indicated.
Gross Regional Product measures the final market value (wages, benefits, taxes, capital investments, profits
paid) of all goods and services produced in a region by the businesses in the industry. GRP is used to gauge the
total value that an industry produces in the economy.
Total Jobs/Job Growth are total number of wage and salaried jobs plus self-employed individuals plus individual
proprietors earning income from the industry in base years 2010 and 2017.
Industry Concentration (Location Quotient) is the ratio of an industry’s employment to the same industry’s
national employment. LQ > 1.0 indicates a concentration and/or a regional comparative advantage may exist for
that industry.
Average Wage and Salary is the average wages and salaries and proprietor income paid by businesses in the
industry (total wages divided by total jobs in the industry).
Jobs Multiplier is the total job yield to the region as a result of, and including, a single job added. A jobs
multiplier indicates how important an industry is in regional job creation. A jobs multiplier of 3, for example,
would mean that for every job created by that industry, 2 other jobs would be created in other industries (for a
total of 3 jobs). Industries with a high sales/labor ratio typically have a high jobs multiplier.
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Appendix 2
Resources and Bibliography
(partial list)
General
Legislative Report. Berkshire Community Action Council, 2014.
Community Resource Guide, Berkshire County. Berkshire Community Action Council, 2015.
What’s Happening in Berkshire County: A Review of Recent Labor Market Conditions, MassHire Berkshire
Workforce Board, 2017.
Berkshire Blueprint 2.0 Regional Asset Guide, 1Berkshire, 2017.
Leadership & Strategic Framework, Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, 2017.
Strategic Plan, 2014-2019: Achieving Excellence – Transforming Lives. Berkshire Community College, 2014.
Berkshire Regional Planning Session II, a Power Point presentation on the MA Skills Cabinet, 2017.
A Closer Look: Jobs and the Economy, Demographic Transition, Youth and the Future Workforce, Deepening
Inequality, Assets and Infrastructure. Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, 2017.
Economy: An Element of Sustainable Berkshires, Long-Range Plan for Berkshire County. Berkshire Regional
Planning Commission, 2014.
Climate and Energy: An Element of Sustainable Berkshires, Long-Range Plan for Berkshire County. Berkshire
Regional Planning Commission, 2014.
Conservation and Recreation: An Element of Sustainable Berkshires, Long-Range Plan for Berkshire County.
Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, 2014.
Historic Preservation: An Element of Sustainable Berkshires, Long-Range Plan for Berkshire County. Berkshire
Regional Planning Commission, 2014.
Making an Impact: Achievement and Innovation at MCLA, President’s Report. Massachusetts College of Liberal
Arts, 2017.
2017-2020 Community Impact Request for Proposal. Berkshire United Way, 2017.
Let’s Get to Work: Building a Pathway to Sustainable Incomes. A Power Point presentation by the Tamarack
Institute for Berkshire United Way, 2017.
A Closer Look: Jobs and the Economy, Demographic Transition, Youth and the Future Workforce, Deepening
Inequality, Assets and Infrastructure. Mt. Auburn Associates and the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation,
2017.
Sustainable Berkshires Executive Summary. Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, 2010.
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Regional Plan for The Berkshires. Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, 2000.
Berkshire Young Adults Survey. Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, 2015.
Business and Economic Development

Berkshire Regional Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) Report. Berkshire Regional Planning
Commission, 2017.
The Northern Tier’s Key Economic Clusters: Then and Now. Franklin Regional Council of Governments with the
Franklin County Community Development Corporation, the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, and the
collaborators of the Economic Resiliency in the Northern Tier Project, 2014.
Performance Report, Berkshire Region Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy. Berkshire Regional
Berkshire Regional Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) Report. Berkshire Regional Planning
Commission, 2011.
Berkshire County Non-profits: Recession and Recovery. Stephen Shepherd, for the Berkshire County Chamber of
Commerce, 2015.
Sustainable Berkshires: Economy. Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, 2014.
Advanced Manufacturing Study. Pittsfield Economic Revitalization Corporation, 2013.
Index of the Massachusetts Innovation Economy. Innovation Institute at the MassTech Collaborative, 2016.
Mohawk Trail Woodlands Partnership 2014-2015: A Plan for Forest-Based Economic Development and
Conservation. Franklin Regional Council of Governments, Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, and Franklin
Land Trust, 2015.
Rural Clusters of Innovation: Berkshires Strategy Project. Monitor Company Group and Berkshire Economic
Development Corporation, 2006.
Startup Funds for Berkshire Innovation Center. City of Pittsfield, 2015.
The Economic Impact of Travel on Massachusetts Counties. Massachusetts Office on Travel and Tourism, 2014.
Rural Clusters of Innovation: Berkshires Strategy Project. United States Department of Commerce, Berkshire
Economic Development Corporation, Monitor Company Group, LLP. Harvard Business School, 2006.
Workforce/Education/Talent
Berkshire County Education Task Force Planning Study, Phase One Final Report. Berkshire County Education Task
Force - Donahue Institute, 2016.
Berkshire County Education Task Force Planning Study, Phase Two Report: Scenarios Developed, Described, and
Modeled. District Management Group, 2017.
President's Reports. Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, 2008-2016.
Labor Market Report. MassHire Berkshire Workforce Board, 2017.
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Full Report and Presentation. Berkshire Compact for Education, 2016.
Berkshire County Workforce Strategic Plan Report, 2014.
Berkshire Initiative for Growth Final Report. 1Berkshire, 2017.
Infrastructure – Especially Transportation

Regional Transportation Plan. Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, 2016.
Sustainable Berkshires: Infrastructure and Services. Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, 2014.
Sustainable Berkshires: Land Use. Berkshire Regional Planning Commission 2014.
Public Transit Data. Berkshire Regional Transit Authority.
Berkshire Regional Coordinated Public Transit – Human Services Transportation Plan. Berkshire Regional
Master Plans for Pittsfield, Great Barrington, Otis, Lenox, North Adams.
Housing, Cultural and Historic Resources

Berkshire Creative Economy Report. Berkshire Creative Economy Project, 2007.
Sustainable Berkshires: Housing and Neighborhoods. Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, 2014.
Sustainable Berkshires: Historic Preservation. Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, 2014.
Economic Impacts from Expanding the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Prepared by Economic
Development Research Group, Inc. for the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 2012.
Supporting the Creative Industries of Massachusetts, CreativeNEXT Listening Tour Summary Report.
Massachusetts Creative Economy Council, 2012.
Affordable Housing Production Plan Town of Lenox, 2009.
Environment, Conservation, Food, Farming, Agriculture

Sustainable Berkshires: Local Food and Agriculture. Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, 2014.
Sustainable Berkshires: Conservation and Recreation. Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, 2014.
Sustainable Berkshires: Climate and Energy. Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, 2014.
Keeping Farmers on the Land: New Research Underscores Need to Address Farm Transition in Massachusetts.
American Farmland Trust, 2016.
Keep Berkshires Farming Sub-Regional Action Plan Central Berkshire Region. Berkshire Regional Planning
Commission and the Glynwood Keep Farming Program, 2015.
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Tools for Advocates: Increasing Local Food Procurement by State Agencies, Colleges, and Universities. Harvard
Food Law and Policy Clinic, 2013.
The Impact of Institutional Sales on Massachusetts Farms in 2014. Melissa Adams, for Massachusetts Farm to
School, 2016.
Massachusetts Local Food Action Plan. Massachusetts Food Policy Council, 2015.
Looking to the Future – Massachusetts Land and Parks Conservation and Their Future. Massachusetts Executive
Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, 2014.
100,000 Acres of New Conservation Land and 150 New Parks: A Legacy for the Next Generation. Massachusetts
Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, 2014.
Commonwealth Connections: A Greenway Vision for Massachusetts. Massachusetts Department of Conservation

and Recreation and the United States National Park Service, 2003.
Strategic Plan 2020: Mass Audubon’s Five-Year Strategic Plan for Increased Engagement, Effectiveness, and
Impact. Mass Audubon, 2015.
Race/Equity/Poverty
Poverty Brief. Comparative Research Programme on Poverty, 2013.
Our Accomplishments. Berkshire County NAACP, 2015.
Benchmarking, Data, and Other

Berkshire Benchmarks
Population Projections, Berkshire County’s Changing Population. Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, 2014.
2013-2017 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. US Census Bureau, 2018.
Annual Estimates of the Resident Population: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2017. US Census Bureau, Population
Division, 2018.
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Appendix 3
Interviews
(partial list)
Tad Ames, Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health and Berkshire Natural Resources Council
Betsy Andrus, Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce
Chris Aylesworth, Berkshire Community College Nursing, Health and Social Sciences Division
Brandon Braxton, MassDevelopment
Pat Begrowicz, Onyx Specialty Papers, Inc.
Tom Bernard, Mayor, City of North Adams
Dr. Jaime Birge, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
David Bissaillon, SBM Insurance
John Bissell, Greylock Federal Credit Union
Stephen Boyd, Boyd Technologies
Laura Brennan, Berkshire Regional Planning Commission
Matthew Brewster, Next Street
Toni Buckley, Berkshire Immigrant Stories and Berkshire Community College
Brenda Burdick, General Dynamics Mission Systems
Tim Burke, Mill Town Capital
Jonathan Butler, Nathan Haddad, and Lauri Klefos, 1Berkshire
Frank Canning, MassDevelopment
Angela Cardinali, Berkshire Farm & Table
David Carver, CT Management Group
Donna Cesan, Town of Adams
JD Chesloff, Massachusetts Business Roundtable
Michael Coakley, City of Pittsfield
Jeffrey Cohen, Eagle Mill Redevelopment
Julie Cowan, MassDevelopment
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Paula Consolini, Williams College
Doug Crane, New Dalton Group
David Cruise, MassHire Hampden County Workforce Board
Gene Dellea, Berkshire Health Systems
Julia Dixon, creative entrepreneur and consultant
Lisa Donovan, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
Don Dubendorf, 1Berkshire Board of Directors
Jake Eberwein, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
Bill Ennen, Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development
Tyler Fairbank, the Fairbank Group
Michael Ferry, Berkshire Bank
Brent Filson, Lever, Inc.
Helena Fruscio Altsman, Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development
Alexandra Fuchs, Boston Symphony Orchestra/Tanglewood
Emmalyn Gaertner, Community Development Corporation of South Berkshire
Lori Gazzillo Kiely, Berkshire Bank Foundation
Tim Geller, Community Development Corporation of South Berkshire
Keith Girouard, Massachusetts Small Business Development Center
Pam Green, Smith Green Wax & Gold, LLP
Joanne Haracz, McMahon Transportation Engineers & Planners
Kris Hazzard, Berkshire United Way
Adam Hinds, State Senator
Rod Jané, Berkshire Innovation Center
Denise Johns, Berkshire Community College
Beryl Jolly, the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center
Pat Larkin, Massachusetts Technology Collaborative
Nat Karns, Berkshire Regional Planning Commission
Margaret Keller, Community Access to the Arts
Page 78
Christopher Ketchen, Towns of Lee and Lenox
Ellen Kennedy, Berkshire Community College
Shawn Kinney, Berkshire Sterile Manufacturing
Wendy Krom, Berkshire Interfaith Organizing
Kate Maguire, Berkshire Theater Group
Wayne Marzotto, General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems
Brooke Mead, Berkshire Immigrant Center
Olivier Meslay, The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute
Mindi Morin, Canyon Ranch Lenox
Elliott Morss, business consultant
Bill Mullholland, Berkshire Community College
Wendy Northcross, Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce
Nick Paleologos, Berkshire Theater Group
Cynthia Pansing, Berkshire Agricultural Ventures
Jodi Rathbun-Briggs, Greylock Federal Credit Union
Christopher Rembold, Town of Great Barrington
Dean Rizzo, Sand Dollar Strategies
Rich Rowe, Crane Currency
Deanna Ruffer, City of Pittsfield
Jill Sasso Curtis, Berkshire Community College
Jim Schantz, Schantz Galleries Contemporary Art
Matt Sheehy, Williams College
Heather Shogry-Williams, MassHire Berkshire Workforce Board
Beth Siegel, Mt. Auburn Associates
Christopher Sikes, Common Capital
Lia Spiliotes, Community Health Programs
Jennifer Tabakin, Town of Great Barrington
Peter Taylor, Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation
Page 79
Linda Tyer, Mayor, City of Pittsfield
John Waite, Franklin County Community Development Corporation
Susan Witt, Schumacher Center for a New Economics
Carlo Zaffanella, General Dynamics Mission Systems
Barbara Zhuetlin, Berkshire Grown
Page 80
Appendix 4
BRPC Investment Database Sample Report
Page 81

Berkshire Blueprint 2.0

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FULL REPORT

Prepared for 1Berkshire by

Jay Anderson, Pittsﬁeld Cooperative Bank

Jonathan Butler Tyler Fairbank

PROJECT OVERVIEW AND METHODOLOGY

1. An intensive analysis of the county’s ﬁve key economic clusters.

FRAMEWORK FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

The Berkshire Narrative

Population and Labor Market Trends: Existing Realities

1. Strong and Growing Clusters

1. Strong and Growing Clusters

Source: Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, July 2018

3. Signature Programs and Initiatives

Jobs and Skill Development

Economic Development Capacity

Recommendation #1: Develop a Set of System Operating

1. Create a Unified and Effective Leadership Team

2. Adopt a Clear Set of Strategies Directed at Strengthening the Clusters

4. Initiate a Culture of Systems Performance

Recommendation #2: Grow and Strengthen Clusters

Overview of Industry Clusters

• Economic and employment impact

A. Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering Services

Cluster Activity, Assets, and Oppor tunities

High value Added to the Economy

A Local Supply Chain

Industry-Led Best Practices Dialogue

The Berkshire Innovation Center

Systems for Attracting and Keeping Talent

The Demise of Berkshire Applied Technology Council (BATC)

Industry Advisory Groups

High Energy Costs

Innovation among Smaller Manufacturers

2. Develop a Strong Local Supply Chain and Generate Spin-Offs

3. Build a Formal, Peer-To-Peer Best Practices Learning Network

Cluster Activity, Assets and Oppor tunities

Large Growing Industry

Diverse Business Establishments

Strength of Central and Southern Berkshire County

Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation and MCLA

Market Adaptions by Creative Enterprises

Engagement of Local Residents

Perceptions of Economic Importance

• Greater access to business and ﬁnancial development services

1. Organize Convenings of the Major Cultural Institutions

2. Develop an Intensive Business Resources Awareness Campaign

3. Expand Assets for Artists

5. Provide More Creative Resources Workshop Opportunities

6. Create Partnership between the BIC and Creative Community

C. Food and Agriculture

Cluster Activity, Assets, and Oppor tunities

Employment Growth Since 2010

Growing Number of Farms

Convergence with Other Key Industry Clusters

Favorable Trends for Local Food

Knowledge and Capacity of Farmers

Concentration of Seasonal Product

1. Expand Food Processing and Distribution Capacity to Grow Markets

2. Build Best-In-Class Food and Farm-To-Table Training Centers