Trend Talks sponsored by Bangor Savings Bank is a cooperative program between The Chamber Collaborative of Greater Portsmouth and Leadership Seacoast to bring fresh, relevant, and timely information to the Chamber members and Leadership Seacoast alumni in the core Leadership Seacoast topics of Justice, Education, Arts / Culture, Economic Development, Government, Health & Human Services, and Environment.


Taking the Pulse of the Portsmouth Business Community
Hear from Nancy Carmer, City of Portsmouth Economic Development Director, and Molly Donovan, UNH Cooperative Extension Specialist for Community & Economic Development on the results of the Business Retention and Expansion Survey.

In 2016-2017, the City of Portsmouth in partnership with UNH conducted a Business Retention and Expansion (BR&E) Visitation Program.  This economic development program, developed by the University of New Hampshire’s Cooperative Extension, is a joint effort by citizens, community and business leaders living and working in City of Portsmouth to:

Through face to face visits with business owners/executives, an in-depth picture of the current economic climate emerged and opportunities for future economic development policies for retaining local businesses arose. Throughout the process, the City’s Economic Development Commission and business leaders worked alongside the UNH Cooperative Extension to analyze resulting data from surveyed businesses and develop economic strategies for enhancing the business environment.  A final report has been prepared by UNH to guide the response to business needs.