More collaboration throughout the region’s towns and cities may pave the way to South Coast’s success, according to Rep. Joseph Kennedy.

Kennedy spoke to civic leaders Friday morning during a meeting of the SouthCoast Development Partnership held at UMass Law. He addressed some of the common concerns he’s heard about the region and proposed an economic development plan that may rectify those issues.

Kennedy represents Massachusetts’ 4th Congressional District, which includes several towns in the area, such as Taunton, Attleboro and Swansea. Dartmouth is in the 9th Congressional District.

He identified the three top concerns he hears most often regarding the region: the inability to find qualified workers, the cost of energy and that Massachusetts’ innovation economy is leaving too many people behind.

“The first piece is something I’ve tried to make the centerpiece at my time in Washington since day one,” said Kennedy. “For years, there have been hundreds of thousands of men and women looking for work in our state at the same time that hundreds of thousands of jobs go unfulfilled.”

Kennedy said this opportunity gap could be closed with better emphasis on science, math, engineering and technology (STEM) education and STEM-related workforce training.

As for energy costs, he said that renewable energy is clearly the wave of the future, but building a green economy is a process that can’t happen overnight. He said the path has two parts: accelerating renewable investment and ensuring that energy policy meets consumers’ needs in the meantime.

“This is where the South Coast is uniquely positioned,” he said. “South Coast has the infrastructure, the experience, the know-how and the resources to drive this debate.”

He said that while the state boasts one of the country’s lowest rates of unemployment, the problem is pervasive in some towns. A possible solution is to collect data and craft a plan for possible economic improvements.

“Start trying to think about the way we pursue an economy development strategy around the South Coast, leveraging the assets and the strengths of this region in a comprehensive, collective way” he said, adding that the district’s towns shouldn’t be viewed in isolation.

“And if we let go of the idea that the Greater Boston area has to define this region’s future, and start to think across city and state borders, think about what we actually have to put on the table — roughly 1.1 million people and a workforce of over 800,000.”

He said that after the assessment is complete, local leaders can decide whether working collectively is in their best interest or not.

Kenneth Fiola, Jr., the executive vice president of the Fall River Office of Economic Development, expressed concerns over the high unemployment rates that some gateway cities have experienced for decades.

“It’s almost like we’ve got to the point where, as Massachusetts continues to excel, we’ve accepted the fact that we are going to have cities that accommodate pockets of poverty,” said Fiola. “Why isn’t there a concise, strategically developed plan to address this issue? I don’t think it’s intentional, but I don’t think it’s been raised to the level of urgency.”

“The way this actually gets implemented is going to come from all of you,” Kennedy said to the meeting members.

“I think when you start to look at the opportunities around this region, there’s an awful lot of good stuff,” he said.