Market Street believes that every client is unique...every project requires a customized response. We will work with you to determine which of our services fit your needs.

Menu of Services:

Economic and Demographic Profile
It is essential that an economic and community development process be based on a clear, honest assessment of current realities. An Economic and Demographic Profile utilizes official local, state, and national data sources to conclusively analyze the key indicators illustrating what has happened in a community in the recent past. All data are analyzed in the context of state and national trends to provide perspective on key local strengths and challenges.

Competitive Assessment
A Competitive Assessment analyzes a combination of factors that determines a community’s competitiveness as a place of business for entrepreneurship, existing, expanding, and relocating companies. The traditional notion that a community’s competitiveness is based solely upon its availability of developable sites and the necessary infrastructure to move goods to market has been superseded by a more holistic need to offer expanding and relocating companies a trained (and trainable) workforce, state-of-the-art communications infrastructure, and a quality of life that will facilitate employee recruitment and retention, among other factors. Thus, a Competitive Assessment analyzes in detail a community’s competitiveness relative to: education and workforce development, business costs, infrastructure, and quality of life.

Organizational and Structural Analysis
To determine whether a community is utilizing its existing capacity to its fullest extent, it is necessary to understand the current staffing, financial, and programmatic capacity of the area’s economic and community development organizations and affiliated agencies. This analysis assesses current organizations, programs and partnerships and determines if stakeholder groups are effectively cooperating and communicating or are operating in “silos” that inhibit the sharing of resources and the joint development of certain programs and processes.

Community Input
Critical to the success of a community’s strategic process is the inclusion of key local constituencies in the development of the core tenets and priorities of the plan. Reaching out to as many community stakeholders as possible during plan development builds consensus around a plan’s goals and objectives, and creates the “buy in” necessary for effective implementation. Community input is inclusive of a number of different outreach techniques, including one-on-one interviews, focus groups, online surveys, and meetings with important community leaders.

Target Cluster Analysis
The Target Cluster Analysis takes a “bottom up” approach to cluster identification. It will begin by examining the unique attributes of the workforce and the region, rather than beginning with a “top down” examination of industrial composition. The Analysis assesses a community’s existing target business sectors to determine if additions or revisions are necessary to optimize the area’s chosen targets. The analysis also includes the potential development of additional target categories. Target business sector recommendations are based on national economic trends, existing regional assets, and an understanding of key competitive advantages such as workforce skill levels, geography, and infrastructure.

Marketing Assessment
Market Street does a thorough review and assessment of a community and/or economic development organization’s marketing efforts to determine if they reflect best-practice methods for increasing awareness and investment in the area.  Tools and processes examined include: websites; collateral materials; inbound/ outbound marketing events; trade shows; public relations; internal/external marketing; branding and identity efforts; media relations; and others.

Economic Development Strategy
The Economic Development Strategy is the means by which a community can determine its roadmap for success. A strategy confirms and enhances existing successful programs and efforts, and provides best-practice recommendations for developing the capacity and infrastructure necessary to remain competitive in today’s economic landscape. The strategy leverages past successes and current capacity to effectively position a community to enjoy sustainable, balanced, and equitable growth into the near- and long-term futures. It also details the additional actions necessary to attain a community’s optimal level of competitiveness. The basis of a strategy comes from all the previous qualitative and quantitative research conducted in a community to date.

Workforce Development Strategy
The Workforce Development Strategy leverages qualitative and quantitative research to help communities develop a “seamless system” for transitioning students and adults into quality local employment. Research focuses on workforce “supply” (existing and potential workers, education and training resources) and “demand” (employment growth and top jobs available locally) to ensure that the two are in sync relative to addressing the community’s priority workforce needs. Any gaps identified between the supply and demand sides are addressed through strategic recommendations that are designed to bring the public and private sectors together to best prepare local residents for high-paying careers.

Implementation Plan Guidelines
In each project, when the strategy process is complete, that’s when the real work begins. Timely and effective implementation is critical to the ultimate success of any community’s economic development strategy. Each community receives guidance in all aspects of implementation efforts, including the selection of strategic options, prioritization of implementation actions, development of a realistic time frame for implementation, and a review of funding priorities and potential funding sources. Communications assistance is also provided so that the community has a host of marketing and outreach tools to spread the word about the strategy and elicit the participation of all community stakeholders in implementation efforts.