Greater Portland Council of Governments

Strengthen the cities and towns of Greater Portland and the Lakes Region by providing excellent, responsive services and leading the region toward sustainable prosperity.

• About Us
  The Greater Portland Council of Governments (GPCOG) is composed of 30 member municipalities, stretching from Casco Bay to western Cumberland County. Since 1969, GPCOG has been an instrument of and for communities, helping cities and towns help one another.
  
  We – meaning GPCOG’s member municipalities and GPCOG’s staff – work together to help municipalities save money and deliver strong services to residents by sharing data, best practices, and innovations in government. As a region, we collaborate and forge solutions that address our transportation, economic development, and natural resource challenges. Our work grows jobs, supports healthy and complete neighborhoods with diverse housing options, builds efficient and clean transportation, and protects the places and resources that make the region so special.
• Our Impact
  • Trusted, neutral convener and facilitator. GPCOG brings people to the table. We are a primary venue for municipal leaders and elected officials to exchange information and explore a variety of topics. We also bring non-municipal stakeholders into regional discussions, uniquely positioning us to encourage and convene cross-sector, cross-jurisdiction conversations that foster understanding and creative thinking about the region’s challenges and opportunities.
  
  • Catalyst for regional consolidation, collaboration, and initiatives. In addition to convening important regional conversations, we move groups to collective, regional action. Noted past successes include multi-town agreements to share public safety services, ecomaine, the regional crime lab, and Sustain Southern Maine. GPCOG cooperatively purchases equipment and services that saves money for municipalities, and helps cities and towns form interlocal agreements and design shared services.
  
  • Resource to municipalities. Our staff has a wide variety of expertise that can assist individual municipal needs as well as those of the region, including data and mapping, planning and zoning, economic development, transportation, sustainable energy solutions, public health, and civic engagement.
  
  • Conduit for funding. We connect people to resources. We connect municipalities to state and federal funding opportunities and forge public-spirited partnerships that leverage private and philanthropic investment. We also write grants to resource key regional projects, such as the New England Ocean Cluster House and Fork Food Lab. Our capacity is very strong in identifying grant opportunities, doing project development, writing successful grants, and administering federal grants.