As far as city websites go, Gloucester’s fails — at least according to one Northeastern professor and economist.
There are many things that the city is doing right — and many it can also work on — in terms of promoting economic development. But one of those fixes that’s crucial is revamping the city’s website, Barry Bluestone, a professor at Northeastern University and noted economist told city officials and business leaders Thursday morning.
Bluestone visited Gloucester to go through his Economic Development Self Assessment Test — or EDSAT — with city officials and community members and to revisit the answers given on it a year ago.
The survey — 220 questions total — asks about everything from permitting to residents’ levels of education and other matters essential to economic development and attracting industry to the city.
The results are instantly tabulated by computer, but Bluestone said he plans to return to Gloucester in about a month to deliver them. Rockport had the results of a similar survey of that town revealed last week.
