Archive for August, 2016
Wednesday, August 31st, 2016
 On the Road with Northern Border Regional Commission Grant Recipients Commissioner Jeffrey Rose and Deputy Director Chris Way joined federal and local officials in North Conway and Ashland last week for a look at two projects receiving grants this year from the Northern Border Regional Commission.
At the site of the future expansion of the New England Ski Museum, they were briefed on the expansion getting started; the museum received a $100,000 grant from the NBRC. In Ashland, which received a $250,000 grant, they heard about plans to increase capacity at the town’s wastewater plant.
As diverse as these projects are, both will contribute the infrastructure of their communities and boost economic development.
These projects were two of 13 receiving the grants from the NBRC, which distributes grants each year to northern communities in New York, Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire. Communities located in Coos, Carroll, Sullivan and parts of Grafton County are eligible to apply.
Created by the US Congress in 2008, the NBRC’s mission is to help alleviate economic distress and encourage job creation throughout the northern regions in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York. The New Hampshire Division of Economic Development provides technical assistance and processes grant applications submitted for consideration. For more information about the next round of NBRC grants, contact Way at 271-2341 or visit www.NBRC.gov .
Tags: Ashland, NBRC, New England Ski Museum, North Conway, Northern Border Regional Commission
Posted in NH Business Matters | Comments Off on North Conway and Ashland: Catching Up with Some Recent Northern Border Regional Commission Grant Recipients
Wednesday, August 31st, 2016
The webinar is free, but registration is required to receive the webinar access instructions.
 Visit ChooseNH.com for available commercial and industrial real estate in New Hampshire. The availability of commercial and industrial properties and comprehensive data about the state are now available to business owners, investors and site selectors at ChooseNH.com.
The New Hampshire Division of Economic Development launched the site in partnership with the New Hampshire Commercial Investment Board of Realtors. Listings by NH CIBOR members automatically load to the site; non-NH CIBOR members may learn how to upload their properties at a free training webinar from 3 to 4:30 pm, Sept. 15.
In addition to the real estate information, the website is also a source for data such as community profiles, demographics and business analysis.
“This is an essential tool for anyone interested in moving or expanding their businesses to New Hampshire and we now join many other states that offer access to the information needed for strategic planning,” said Carmen Lorentz, director of the Division of Economic Development. “Having this kind of information readily available in one place is critical for decision makers mapping out the future of their business.”
Representatives of municipalities with commercial real estate for sale or lease, as well as commercial property owners and commercial real estate agents who are not members of NH CIBOR should plan to enroll in the Sept. 15 webinar. It will explain how to upload property and how to use the site’s other features.
The webinar is free, but registration is required to receive the webinar access instructions.
For more information, contact Michael Bergeron or Cindy Harrington, business development managers at the Division of Economic Development at 271-2591.
Tags: ChooseNH.com, commercial real estate, industrial real estate, NH CIBOR
Posted in NH Business Matters | Comments Off on New Hampshire Economic Development Launches Commercial Real Estate Resource; Register Today for Training Webinar
Monday, August 29th, 2016
A recent article on Forbes.com noted that questions about impact investing have undergone a significant shift, from “What is impact investing?” to “How do I do impact investing?”
Three New Hampshire institutions −Live Free & Start, the NH Charitable Foundation and the NH Community Loan Fund − answer that question for Granite State investors and prospective investors. The fifth in a series of public forums, Investing in New Hampshire, will be held from 4:30 t0 7 pm, Sept. 22, at SNS, 775 Industrial Park Rd., Littleton.
“A successful startup ecosystem and strong business climate require, among other things, access to capital,” said Mark Kaplan, a Live Free & Start advisory council member and chairman of its Capital Access committee. “This focus by LFS comes as the state’s five incubators and other economic development groups are creating a vibrant startup ecosystem and angel groups have a desire to become more active. These seminars will educate people about opportunities to invest in New Hampshire, making capital more available to entrepreneurs.”
The forum features representatives of the three presenting organizations describing what they offer to impact investors:
- Kaplan;
- John Hamilton, vice president of Economic Opportunity at the NH Community Loan Fund;
- Kevin Peterson, senior program officer at the NH Charitable Foundation
“Live Free & Start is not an investor or conduit for investment, but it can stimulate and catalyze activities leading to investment,” Kaplan said. “The first step in doing that was a very-well-attended angel conference that has led to new members in angel groups. The next step are these forums, which take a broader view of the opportunities to invest with impact in New Hampshire through other means as well.”
Hamilton said the Community Loan Fund has welcomed impact investments for more than three decades.
“Our options range from Opportunity NH Investments, which pay fixed-rate returns and support job creation and retention, affordable housing, child care and other vital community services, to potentially higher-yield co-investments in growing businesses,” he said.
“We made our very first impact investment in 1971, by providing a loan to preserve historic buildings in Harrisville,” said Peterson. “Working alongside our grant and scholarship dollars, impact investing creates an opportunity to make sizeable, long-term investments to strengthen New Hampshire communities.”
“Through our impact-investment program, we can invest philanthropic capital in innovative business ventures and solid nonprofit organizations aligned with our mission to improve community well-being.”
The presentations will finish at 6 p.m., followed by a networking reception at which attendees can ask questions. All are free and open to prospective and current investors and to philanthropists. This event is for educational purposes only; it’s not intended for individuals or businesses seeking investment or capital.
The seminar is free, but registration is required.
Tags: impact investing, Live Free and Start
Posted in NH Business Matters | Comments Off on Everything You’ve Always Wanted to Know About Impact Investing
Wednesday, August 24th, 2016
Philip Bryce, director of the NH Division of Parks and Recreation, is today’s guest blogger. – Ed.
 (Weeks State Park above) In celebration of the National Park Service’s Centennial anniversary, New Hampshire State Parks will offer free admission into day-use parks tomorrow (Aug. 25). Visitors to day-use parks just need to say Happy Birthday to the park staff and the entire vehicle will receive free admission. In 1983, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and environmentalist Wallace Stegner proclaimed, “The national parks are the best idea we ever had. Absolutely American, absolutely democratic, they reflect us at our best rather than at our worst.”
Tomorrow (Aug. 25), New Hampshire State Parks celebrate the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service.
On this day in 1916, Congress passed the National Park Service Organic Act and upon its approval by President Woodrow Wilson, the National Park Service was established to oversee the 14 national parks and 21 national monuments that existed at the time.
Over the past century, the National Park System expanded to now include 412 official units covering more than 84 million acres.
Yellowstone was the first national park, created in 1872. The story of its founding is an interesting one, as detailed in this excerpt from Parks and Recreation magazine.
In 1870, the members of the Washburn-Langford-Doan expedition were traveling south of Helena, Mont. to witness the wondrous collection of thermal peculiarities bubbling up through the Earth’s crust. At the last evening’s encampment, the conversation turned to how the area might be divvied up among the expedition’s profit-minded entrepreneurs.
But one member of the party, a lawyer named Cornelius Hedges, suggested a higher purpose for Yellowstone’s thermal wonders: They should be protected, he said, in the form of a national park for the benefit and enjoyment of the people. The idea caught on and, soon thereafter, President Ulysses S. Grant signed the Act creating Yellowstone National Park.
The Organic Act that created the NPS in 1916 to oversee these parks defined its mission as “to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and wildlife therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.”
The charge was to protect and preserve the nation’s “crown jewels,” while simultaneously making them available for public use. This dual and somewhat conflicting mandate has been the source of ongoing debate throughout NPS history.
The NPS has a presence in our state through a number of programs; most notably for us is the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which provides grants to communities for recreational projects and to us to supplement our capital funds from the legislature for our own projects. It is also responsible for two NPS properties: Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site and the Appalachian Trail.
For more information, visit the NPS website.
Tags: Day use parks, National Park Service, NH Division of Parks and Recreation; Philip Bryce
Posted in NH Business Matters | Comments Off on Celebrate National Park Service Centennial Anniversary at Some New Hampshire State Parks
Tuesday, August 23rd, 2016
The New Hampshire Aerospace and Defense Export Consortium signed a memo of understanding with a respected British consortium, opening possible trade and business opportunities for Granite State companies.
Under the agreement, NHADEC and the Farnborough Aerospace Consortium will cooperate and coordinate actions among their members. NHADEC is the first of its kind export consortium in the U.S. and is expanding rapidly, keeping pace with the significant growth of the industry in New Hampshire and New England. Founded in 2013, its first cooperative agreement was signed in its first six months with AeroMontreal.
 David Barnes, CEO of Farnborough Aerospace Consortium, left, and Donald Tyler, president/CEO of Corfin Industries in Salem “We look forward to playing a leadership role with the Farnborough Aerospace Consortium, in fostering and supporting trade, business, and investment opportunities between our members, and further solidifying this most important of transatlantic relationships,” said Don Tyler, president of Corfin Industries of Salem, and a founding board member of NHADEC.
The Farnborough Aerospace Consortium, established in 1994, is one of the oldest aerospace and defense associations in the United Kingdom. It has more than 120 members and is a not-for-profit trade association facilitating business between large global primes and the supply chain.
“At this very significant time in our international business situation, we are delighted to have the opportunity to strengthen links and opportunities between the aerospace industries in the southeast of England and in New Hampshire in the USA,” said David Barnes, CEO of the Farnborough consortium. “The signs are that there will be much to be done together, to the advantage of both of our aerospace communities. We in the UK are determined to make it work.”
More than 300 New Hampshire companies are involved in the aerospace and defense sector, one of the state’s key industries driving the economy. For more information about NHADEC, visit www.NHADEC.com.
Tags: Farnborough Aerospace Consortium, New Hampshire aerospace, NH Aerospace and Defense Export Consortium
Posted in NH Business Matters | Comments Off on New Hampshire, UK Aerospace Consortia Sign MOU: Trans-Atlantic Relationship Opens Trade, Business Opportunities
Monday, August 22nd, 2016
(Business Resource Specialist Mollie Kaylor covers southwestern New Hampshire for the New Hampshire Division of Economic Development. This is an occasional feature highlighting our team’s work with industries and communities. Contact us to connect with your regional business resource specialist. – Ed.)
 Mollie Kaylor Municipal and economic development folks are familiar with this scenario: Searching for valuable data to include on that strategic plan or grant application or report quantifying the impact of a new business in the community.
Data is everywhere, but the challenge is finding the right data for your project.
The Division of Economic Development can help. We are subscribed to the economic modeling resource, Emsi, which creates comprehensive labor market information and economic analysis from over 90 federal, state and private sources.
As one of five business resource specialists within the division, I’m out every week meeting with companies and communities about tools they need, including Emsi.
I recently worked with one of the towns in my region as it developed a strategic plan to help established businesses expand and to attract new businesses. Reliable demographic and economic data was needed at all levels – local, regional and national – to determine the trends on which to focus. Working together, we inputted our parameters and were able to generate several Emsi reports containing the best data for this project.
We began by using the Economic Overview report, which we ran several times, each time defining the geographical area differently – U.S., state, county and town. This report provides helpful general information, such as demographic data, the number of jobs by industry, educational information, GRP by industry, import/export by costs by industry, and an overview of growing and declining occupations.
The next reports further explored the seven key southwest New Hampshire industries, identified in the FY 16-17 NH Economic Development Strategic Plan. We ran several industry specific reports, including the Industry Snapshot and Compare Industry across Regions information. All reports, including the comparative report, can be customized, so we were able to define the regions we needed to view. Among the helpful data elements this report provides are projections of the number of overall jobs in the industry, as well as the top occupations.
Another interesting report we used was the Regional Demand for Industry, which identifies the demand for specific industries and whether the demand is met in the region. Finally, we ran a couple different supply chain reports for a look at specific industries’ purchases and sales figures; this supply chain data can be very helpful in identifying potential businesses for the area.
This example includes just a few of the many custom reports our team can work with you to generate. Please don’t hesitate to contact our office if you have a project in mind, or if you would just like some additional information about this useful tool.
Mollie Kaylor
Business Resource Specialist
NH Division of Economic Development
Tags: business resources, economic development data, Emsi, Mollie Kaylor
Posted in NH Business Matters | Comments Off on Data, Data Everywhere: Our New Tool to Help Drill it Down
Thursday, August 18th, 2016
 Director Lorentz and Dr. Eric Feldborg On the third Wednesday of every month, New Hampshire Business Matters hits the airwaves on 107.7 The Pulse with interesting topics that relate to making our economy stronger.
As yesterday was the third Wednesday of August, Director Carmen Lorentz was on WTPL-FM with guest Dr. Eric Feldborg, director of Career and Technical Education at the NH Department of Education.
While it’s not quite time to brew the pumpkin spice coffee, back-to-school season is just around the corner. Carmen and Eric had a great discussion about the value of career and technical education centers and the opportunities they offer for students.
If you’re unfamiliar, listen to the show and share with parents of high school students.
Lorna Colquhoun
Communications Director
Division of Economic Development
Tags: CTEs, Department of Education, NH Career and Technical Education, WTPL-FM
Posted in NH Business Matters | Comments Off on Career and Technical Education Centers Launch Opportunities for New Hampshire High School Students
Monday, August 15th, 2016
 As featured in Technical.ly In case you missed it, Technical.ly featured New Hampshire in its edition late last week; specifically the Granite State’s tech scene, which was written by Matt Cookson of the New Hampshire High Tech Council.
Our tech sector is unique, as it is not dominated by a handful of big-name players. Our backbone is composed of small-and medium-sized businesses that fuel our economy and bring a history of innovation and entrepreneurship. New Hampshire innovators developed the first video game, Velcro, the fax machine, the heart stent, among other inventions.
This is a great window on the exciting tech vibe that’s growing in New Hampshire and becoming an important part of our economy.
For more information high tech in New Hampshire, contact business development managers Michael Bergeron or Cynthia Harrington.
Tags: New Hampshire High Tech Council; Matt Cookson; New Hampshire tech scene, New Hampshire Innovation
Posted in NH Business Matters | Comments Off on New Hampshire’s Tech Scene Highlighted on Technology Website
Friday, August 12th, 2016
The Dartmouth Regional Technology Center is a hive of energy, enthusiasm and innovation. With 95 percent occupancy, it’s home to the next generation of New Hampshire companies that will be making an impact on the 21st century.
Look no further than biotech company Avitide, which announced last month it will expand its discovery and manufacturing operations at the DTRC. Other companies there to watch include Celdara Medical, Fresh Air and PreventAGE Health Care.
Life sciences are a key industry in the New Hampshire economy. There are nearly 7,000 jobs at 272 companies connected to it across the state and between now and 2020, it is expected to grow by 8 percent (compared to 6 percent nationally).
Last year, the Grafton Regional Development Corp. received a modest grant from the Northern Border Regional Commission; $45,000 to construct a second story pedestrian bridge to link the two separate incubator buildings with the North Country Council, in partnership with the Office of Entrepreneurship and Technology Transfer at Dartmouth College.
In the absence of this connector, engineers and scientists, to access equipment in the other building, had to go outside and walk around the structure. Often they would be carrying delicate tools and glass, which is no fun in the snow.
The construction now complete, there was a Bridge Party yesterday at the DTRC. Workers took time out to join dignitaries and partners in celebrating what seems to be a little investment.
But in bridging this gap, it’s made a big difference to the growing companies within, which in turn contributes to the health of our economy and this growing key industry.
Lorna Colquhoun
Communications Director
Division of Economic Development
Tags: Avitide, Dartmouth College, Dartmouth Regional Technology Center, Grafton Regional Development Corp., NH key industries, North Country Council, Northern Border Region Commission
Posted in NH Business Matters | Comments Off on Dartmouth Regional Technical Center Celebrates Bridging a Gap
Wednesday, August 3rd, 2016
Twelve New Hampshire projects will receive grants, totaling over $1.5 million, from the Northern Border Regional Commission to spur economic and community development in the North Country and Upper Valley.
Announced Aug. 2 by Gov. Hassan and US Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the recipients are:
- The New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development; $42,000 supporting the creation of a five-year economic development strategy for New Hampshire, aligning economic development resources across agencies and organizations to address the state’s most pressing economic development needs;
- The Town of Northumberland; $200,000 to build critical water and sewer infrastructure at the former Groveton mill;
- The Town of Littleton; $110,000 to construct one mile of multi-modal trail connecting an existing regional system within the River District Revitalization project;
- The Grafton Regional Development Corp.: $50,000 for improvements at the Enterprise Center in Plymouth, including the completion of an office suite, which will assist the center to incubate and build more startup businesses;
- The New England Ski Museum; $100,000 to renovate the former North Conway Community Center into a branch of the museum;
- The Town of Ashland Water and Sewer Department; $250,000 to help fund a new septage receiving station, which will help revitalize the town’s mill area;
- River Valley Community College; $50,000 to for renovations to the Lebanon Academic Center;
- The City of Berlin; $250,000 for the construction of the first phase of a multi-use trail and river walk adjacent to the Androscoggin River;
- The University of New Hampshire; $145,000 to continue the efforts of the NH Broadband Mapping and Planning program to accommodate mapping and analysis in northern New Hampshire, collect local data, extend speed test promotional efforts, and deliver three technical assistance workshops;
- Solider On; $250,000 to assist in the creation of a 52 units of affordable, service enriched, permanent housing for veterans;
- Tri-County CAP; $60,500 to expand the Friendship House in Bethlehem, a residential program that services low-income people recovering from substance use disorders;
- Friends of Wentworth Park; $42,500 for the relocation and completion of a restored historic wooden covered bridge over the Baker River Falls;
- Eastern Slope Airport, Fryeburg, Maine; $250,000 to build an aircraft hangar to attract new seasonal visitors and outside investors. Although in Maine, New Hampshire’s state partners were impressed by the project’s heavy economic impact on the Mount Washington Valley. This is a multi-state application in which the Eastern Slope Airport also applied for $250,000 from Maine’s NBRC allotment.
Tags: community development, grants, Northern Border Regional Commission
Posted in NH Business Matters | Comments Off on New Hampshire Projects Awarded Northern Border Regional Commission Grants
|
