Local Partnerships

Strong local partnerships create stronger communities.

When Baltimore's institutions and businesses work together, we create more opportunities for everyone—from small business owners to job seekers to residents.

GCE connects Johns Hopkins' resources with our local business community, helping to create opportunities that benefit everyone.

The future of Baltimore's economy depends on strong collaboration between major institutions, local businesses, and community partners. As facilitators of these vital connections, GCE helps to:

Create more opportunities for locally owned businesses.
Generate sustainable jobs for city residents.
Build lasting local partnerships that benefit our neighborhoods.

Three people smiling and standing together, wearing "HOPKINS" t-shirts at a community event.

Key Partnership Programs

Through carefully structured collaboration and measurable commitments, the following programs deliver real results for Baltimore's businesses and residents.

HopkinsLocal

HopkinsLocal represents our flagship approach to leveraging Johns Hopkins' economic influence for Baltimore's benefit. Since 2015, this initiative has created meaningful changes in how Johns Hopkins engages with local businesses and residents.

HopkinsLocal focuses on four main areas:

Build Local

HopkinsLocal is transforming how construction projects create opportunities for Baltimore businesses. The initiative helps local construction companies grow and compete successfully by:

Partnering with local construction businesses
Providing mentorship and growth opportunities for contractors
Creating paths for smaller companies to compete for major projects

Hire Local

A strong workforce builds a strong city. The program taps into Baltimore's talent pool and creates meaningful employment pathways by:

Connecting Baltimore residents with career opportunities
Focusing on positions that offer growth potential
Supporting workforce development programs

Buy Local

HopkinsLocal helps strengthen Baltimore's economy by directing more institutional purchasing to local vendors. The program works alongside GCE to identify opportunities and support businesses by:

Increasing purchases from local businesses
Helping local vendors navigate the procurement process
Creating sustainable business relationships within our community

Invest Local

HopkinsLocal strengthens Baltimore's economic foundation through strategic investments back into the community. The program creates lasting positive impact by:

Reinvesting resources to support local business growth and community development
Creating financial partnerships that build sustainable neighborhood economies
Developing programs that help local businesses thrive and expand

HopkinsLocal demonstrates how institutions can create meaningful economic opportunities that strengthen Baltimore communities.

Learn More

Our Vision for Local Partnerships

Strong local partnerships are key to Baltimore's economic future. Working alongside successful initiatives like HopkinsLocal, we see firsthand how collaboration between institutions, businesses, and communities creates meaningful change.

Our vision is to help expand these proven partnership models to create even more opportunities across Baltimore. We do this by:

Collaboration between institutions and local businesses in Baltimore

Supporting Proven Programs

We work alongside established initiatives that know how to create meaningful change in our communities. These partners understand local business needs and have developed effective programs to support growth and create opportunities.

Building Stronger Networks

We help connect organizations with complementary strengths and goals. When economic development organizations, local business groups, and institutional partners work together, they can create more opportunities than any single program could achieve alone.

Measuring Economic Impact

We track the results of partnership initiatives to understand their benefit to Baltimore communities. This helps our partners expand what works and ensure resources are used effectively.

Baltimore continues to develop a more inclusive and dynamic economy through sustained collaboration between major institutions, local businesses, and community partners. We are proud to be a part of these efforts.