To ensure that equity was woven into the very framework of its CEDS, the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission in Massachusetts  approached the process with a People-Community-Economy framework. The framework centers people as the agents and beneficiaries of economic development work, recognizing that it is individuals who form communities and build economies. Approaching the CEDS process with this framework in mind helped ensure that the needs of people—and their diverse experiences with community and economic development—were at the center of the project.

BRPC’s CEDS includes strategies for leveraging the increased diversity of newcomers moving into the region, including immigrants and refugees from all over the world, to inspire creative entrepreneurship and innovation. In the last six months, four new restaurants and shops with ethnic cuisine and culturally diverse products opened on Pittsfield’s Main Street.  Workforce development strategies are another key to diversifying the economy and increasing access to high-wage job opportunities. BPRC’s CEDS goals include both recruiting and growing companies offering high-wage jobs on the frontier of technological advancement in their fields, in conjunction with workforce training programs.