EDC discusses benchmarking/sister-city working group to surface best practices

Commissioners discussed a proposed benchmarking or 'sister cities' working group that would identify challenges Portsmouth faces and seek comparable cities that have adopted successful solutions. The idea is to start with specific local problems (for example, workforce housing or transit) and then find cities that have tackled those issues to locate actionable ideas.

One commissioner urged active engagement from staff and council and recommended assigning commissioners to regions for asynchronous research ahead of a convening before the Nov. meeting. Another commissioner suggested scaling comparisons beyond similar population figures to include destination cities that face comparable tourism and infrastructure contexts. The EDC chair asked interested commissioners to volunteer so the group could convene and carry out research between meetings.