The Merrimack Valley Planning Commission partners with the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) to bring resources to the Merrimack Valley. Every year the EDA funds the Merrimack Valley Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS), a guiding strategic plan created by local economic development stakeholders throughout the region.

In December EDA announced that MVPC has been awarded $37,500 to support the development of a comprehensive online data portal for the Merrimack Valley. The portal will be helpful to the region’s ongoing Columbia Gas Disaster recovery efforts and essential in understanding how we can more efficiently direct resources to our communities. “One of the lessons we learned in the aftermath of the Merrimack Valley gas explosions was that a lack of coordinated data can slow a recovery. The Merrimack Valley Planning Commission is now leading us in preparedness by building a database of critical information that will help sustain and improve the recovery process now and should another crisis arise,” said Congresswoman Trahan.

“The information that will be collected can easily be used by all of our Merrimack Valley cities and towns in bolstering economic development efforts and planning. I applaud the MVPC for their work in creating this important tool, and for their efforts to secure this grant funding.” The Merrimack Valley Data Portal will use Geographic Information System (GIS) software as the foundation, the clearinghouse will be a public tool capable of instantly accessing the most robust available data for this region, including demographic, employment, industry, income, education, commuting, rental, and housing data. This innovative tool will make accessing essential planning and economic development-related data easier, faster, and more streamlined.