Blueprint for Success
A New Architecture for Business and Workforce
In June 2009 the Tri-County Workforce Investment Board (Hancock, Piscataquis and Penobscot Counties) and the Chief Local Elected Officials took the first step to building a more effective economic and workforce system for the region by hiring the region's economic development agency, Eastern Maine Development Corporation to also deliver the Workforce Investment Act services. EMDC now houses both the Workforce Investment Board (WIA) and is the service provider for all Workforce Investment Act services in the Tri-County region. Housing the workforce program board and the WIA operations with economic development services under one roof provides the region an opportunity to develop a new architecture for the area's economic and workforce development systems - one that is unique in the State of Maine.
With the support of Maine's Northstar Alliance Grant, the Maine Department of Labor and the Department of Economic and Community Development, EMDC has been working over the past several months to realign its traditional economic development mission to create the elements of this new architecture for the region's business and workforce systems.
Mobilize Eastern Maine is a needed, new, collaborative, bottom-up approach to community and economic development that will help Maine grow and prosper now and in years to come.
Mobilize Eastern Maine is a fresh approach to community and economic development that builds on indigenous strengths and authentic assets of Maine's people, places, and businesses.