A research and reporting project funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and the Department of Community and Economic Development, the Business Retention and Expansion Program’s (BREP) goals were to measure the pulse of the business community across the state. The Department of Labor wanted to know about the business climate in the counties; including access to capital, local infrastructure, training and labor needs, as well as the overall business forecast.
For this contracted assignment, Gary Hines acted as Regional Project Manager for the 7 Counties that surround the Greater Philadelphia. Tasks included managing over 25 outreach specialists who interviewed company owners and CEOs and enter data in a statewide reporting system. Gary coordinated and executed territories and target industries, managed budgets and payments and connected organizations to statewide business resources. Managed over 25 outreach specialists in 7 counties with yearly budgets of $300-$500K and up to 200 surveys completed each year (2006-2009).