Regional Economic Development Collaboration

Resiliency Toolkit

Published March 28th, 2025

The Eastern Shore Economic Resiliency Toolkit serves as a centralized platform offering a suite of data visualization tools designed to assist local governments, businesses, and organizations in understanding and navigating economic challenges, such as those posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Developed through a collaboration between regional economic development agencies and Salisbury University's Eastern Shore Regional GIS Cooperative (ESRGC), the site provides streamlined access to key economic indicators and trends.

Key Features:

Web Mapping Applications: These tools provide geospatial representations of economic data, allowing users to visualize regional economic patterns and trends across the Eastern Shore.
Key Insights: Comprehensive reports offer in-depth analyses of economic indicators while key points and summaries provide context and quick insights to support data-driven decision-making.
Tax Revenue and Tourism Revenue: Utilizing data from the Maryland Comptroller’s Office, these dashboards display Maryland sales tax collections across various years, counties, and industries. Users can filter data by fiscal year, region, and specific industry groups. The visualizations also correlate tax data with statewide COVID-19 case numbers and the influx of federal economic stimulus, offering insights into the pandemic's economic impact.
Business Sentiment Surveys: In partnership with local economic development offices and Salisbury University’s Business Economic and Community Outreach Network (BEACON), the website features results from a 50-question survey administered to gauge business sentiment. This data helps identify regional challenges and assists in long-term planning and policy development.

By consolidating these resources, the Eastern Shore Economic Resiliency Toolkit website aims to empower stakeholders with the information necessary to foster economic resilience and strategic planning in the region.

Partners
Developed by the ESRGC with funding from the U.S. Economic Development Administration, this project was managed by the Mid-Shore Regional Council and the Tri-County Council for the Lower Eastern of Maryland and supported by key Maryland economic organizations, including:

Business Economic and Community Outreach Network
Caroline Economic Development and Tourism
Dorchester Economic Development
Lower Shore Workforce Alliance
Mid-Shore Regional Council
Rural Maryland Council
Talbot County Economic Development and Tourism
Tri-County Council for the Lower Eastern of Maryland
Upper Shore Workforce Investment Board