Mission
The Monterey County Business Portal is a public-private partnership that was launched as an initiative of the Competitive Clusters (C2) project and is designed to:
- Improve communications efficiency and accessibility of information for economic development within this geographically large county;
- Consolidate and upgrade existing static, non-database, business-related Web resources;
- Foster entrepreneurship for job creation and economic diversification within the region;
- Provide access to expert advice and deep knowledge in relevant industries via a trusted support network and knowledge base; and
- Improve the overall image of Monterey County as a business and technology-friendly community.
What We Do and Who We Are
The Monterey County Business Portal will improve accessibility of information and employer visibility to all demographic and geographic communities in Monterey County. It will also provide a much-needed resource for businesses to quickly and easily research local business conditions; obtain legal, tax and regulatory documents for city and county areas; obtain information on hiring practices, labor market, business and marketing plans, financing and other business needs; and network within the business community for general and industry-specific expertise. Furthermore, the Monterey County Business Portal will provide expert support to start-up companies and existing businesses in the region. Industry-specific information will be compiled to serve businesses that need specialized resources, such as high technology and biotechnology, which are target areas for development within the county’s long-term economic diversification plan. No comprehensive, Web-based resource meeting these objectives presently exists in the region.
The Monterey County Business Portal project is administered by the Monterey County Business Council and a steering committee of business and nonprofit leaders active in community service.
Meeting Identified Local Needs
The information economy has, in a number of ways, ignored Monterey County to date. Surprisingly, this fact confers some advantages, such as decreased cost of setting up internet resources. We have recently designed the Monterey County Business Portal based upon content beneficial to local users and upon identified needs in efficiency and information access in the county. The Portal addresses the region’s need to update Web-based information technology, allows for consolidation of fragmented information sources, and provides a cost effective way to reach out to to the world.
A Growing Public Resource
We are in the process of building a central information source and referral site for Monterey County residents which supports their business and career pursuits, and, most importantly, will provide access to trusted advisors and partners. We welcome contributions to the Portal, and seek your participation and suggestions. As examples of in-process content development, we are developing internet resources for the areas of entrepreneurship, economic and community development, local and state government, and science/technology, in alignment with our roots in the C2 program.
A Safe and Trustworthy Web Environment
The Monterey County Business Portal is a trust-based environment where personal information is never shared with advertisers or other sources of unwanted internet contact. Information may only be shared with a user’s permission, within a secure network. We believe that a culture of trust is defining of Monterey County.
Our Partners
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Proponents of Efficiency
People in the information age depend upon access to well-organized, easily maintained internet resources in an era of increasing time and efficiency pressures. One of our central goals is to help Monterey County residents and businesses accomplish more in less time, by launching a well-structured, centralized information store which connects users with critical information and, of equal importance, networks which can help them reach their life goals through mentorship, advisory services, direct information access and other channels.
A Community of Support and Inclusion
We welcome participation from the diverse communities comprising Monterey County, and our goal is to provide a resource valuable to all residents in their attempts to build economic prosperity and cultural depth within our county borders.
A Source of Opportunity
Competition: Staying competitive is more important than ever in today’s global economy. The Portal project will provide a single point of information and contacts which support competitiveness of Monterey County businesses.
Networks: Social, professional and information networks are the basis for obtaining quick access to expert opinion, investment dollars and other resources important to achieving local economic and community goals. The Portal will offer up-to-date networking tools for making connections that make a difference.
Jobs For The Future: By building efficient networks for business and the community, we will help families and communities prosper and stay together in Monterey County, through supporting the creation of high-value, low impact jobs based in technology, and by providing improved information access and support networks for members of our successful traditional industries.