Berkshire Economic Recovery Project
August 18, 2021
Economic Recovery and Resilience Resources
for Berkshire County Municipalities
Community Compact
IT Grant Program

MA Division of Local Services
Applications open on September 15th

The IT program focuses on innovation and transformation at the local level, seeking efficiency, savings, and improved access.

Grants up to $200,000 will support the implementation of innovative IT projects by funding one-time capital needs such as technology infrastructure or software. Incidental costs for planning, design, installation, implementation and initial training are also eligible. Answers to frequently asked questions are available here.

Applications open on September 15th and close on October 15th, 2021. To preview instructions and components of the application, click here.
Community Compact
Best Practices Program

MA Division of Local Services
Rolling Applications opened August 15th

Under a Community Compact Best Practices agreement, a municipality implements at least one best practice they select from a variety of eligible areas. 

Applications for Year 7 of the program can be submitted by municipalities who did not apply in FY21. Every Berkshire County municipality is eligible this year. Passcodes were emailed on August 9th.

To view instructions and apply, please click here. Note that typical awards fall in the $15,000 to $20,000 range, and do NOT require a local match. Sample past projects are available here. For assistance in estimating a project budget, please contact us as soon as possible.
Additional Community Compact Cabinet FY22 Programs
In addition to the Best Practices and IT programs described above, FY22 CCC programs also include:


The E&R program supports regionalization and other efficiency initiatives, directed toward one-time or transition costs in projects with a plan for long-term sustainability. Applications open on January 10 and close on February 10, 2022. Project must be complete by September 15, 2022.

The Municipal Fiber program was created to assist municipalities with the construction of municipal fiber broadband infrastructure and related projects. Applications open on March 15 and close on April 15, 2022.
Berkshire Economic Recovery Project - Technical Assistance Program
BRPC and 1Berkshire have partnered to offer technical assistance for businesses, non-profits, and municipalities.

Our surveys indicate interest from municipalities in grant identification, cybersecurity, improvements to online communications (websites, social media, e-newsletters, online permitting), as well as training for boards and committees.

If you haven't already, please let us know if these topics resonate for your community, and share additional ideas for topics we should cover: lbrennan@berkshireplanning.org
ARPA Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund - County Allocations
Per statute, ARPA aid through the CLFRF in counties categorized as “not units of general local government”(Berkshire, Essex, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, Middlesex, Nantucket, Suffolk, and Worcester) are to be reallocated to municipalities within those counties. Like other CLFRF payments, the Commonwealth will distribute these funds in two tranches with the first tranche (50 percent) distributed now and the second tranche (the remaining 50 percent) distributed not less than 12 months after the first payment is made.

A memorandum describing this distribution is available on the DLS website here.
ARPA Grants through EDA
The Economic Development Administration (EDA) has announced six ARPA-funded grant opportunities, representing $3 billion in pending investment.

These opportunities include: 

Build Back Better Regional Challenge ($1 billion) to provide a transformational investment to regions across the country to revitalize their economies.

Good Jobs Challenge ($500 million) to develop and strengthen regional workforce training systems and sector-based partnerships.

Economic Adjustment Assistance ($500 million) to help communities across the nation plan, build, innovate, and put people back to work through projects tailored to local needs.  

Indigenous Communities ($100 million) to develop and execute economic development projects to recover from the pandemic, build economies for the future. 

Travel, Tourism and Outdoor Recreation ($750 million) to revitalize the hard-hit travel, tourism, and outdoor recreation industries.  

Statewide Planning, Research and Networks ($90 million) for state planning efforts as well as grants to build Communities of Practice to support EDA’s work with grantees.  
We encourage you to contact us as soon as possible if you're interested in applying, or in being a part of a regional application. Please email lbrennan@berkshireplanning.org with your potential project(s) and concepts. Learn more at: https://eda.gov/arpa/
Online Communication Best Practices
How are you using social media to engage and inform?
At a Massachusetts Municipal Management Association meeting in late 2019, managers discussed social media engagement strategies and shared best practices for quickly and effectively disseminating information in community settings. Presenters at the meeting included Amherst and Andover. Read an overview of the discussion here.

You may also be interested in the presentation: Social Media: Policies, Ethics and the Law

Practical resources such as sample social media policies for municipalities can be found here.

Berkshire Regional Planning Commission