The document summarizes a presentation given by the Economic Developers Council of Ontario (EDCO) about their work supporting economic development professionals in Ontario. EDCO is the largest provincial economic development association in Canada with nearly 600 members from across Ontario. They provide professional development, disseminate information, and act as a liaison between various levels of government and businesses. One of their key initiatives was a 2007 project that involved mock site selector visits to communities to assess their investment readiness. The visits found that many communities lacked essential readiness factors like available industrial sites and updated economic development strategies. The presentation recommends steps like education programs, website enhancements, and a certification program to help communities improve their investment attraction capabilities.
17. Community Visit - Readiness Scoring 2007 Scoring Category Possible Score Community Reception 35 Labour 50 Transportation 35 Utilities 35 Community Appearance 35 Sites/Buildings 60 Schedule 15 Community Stability 20 Intangibles 15 TOTAL 300
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19. Community Visits – The Good Developable land offered at reasonable cost and development fees Attractive, thriving downtown Good Utility Infrastructure Local improvements underway Proven connection between training resources and industry
20. Community Visits – The Bad Site not cleared for development, low power lines straddle future entrance High cost of land and development fees Lack of connection between industry and local training resources Utility infrastructure not in place and/or capacity not available for new industry
21. Community Visits – The Ugly Long abandoned hospital is testimony to a breakdown in local leadership Brownfield site is far from being ready for development Existing building not ready for a new tenant Lax rules for outside storage makes industrial parks less desirable
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37. LinksGovernment of Ontario Website2ontario.com - Ontario Government website for comparative investment data, real estate and community informationOntario Exports - www.OntarioExports.comOntario Ministry of Economic Development - www.InvestinOntario.comOntario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MAH)Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines (MNDM)Ontario Ministry of Public Infrastructure Renewal (PIR)Places to Grow - Growth Plan for the Greater Golden HorseshoeOntario Ministry of Tourism (MTR)Ontario's Tourism Regional Economic Impact Model (TREIM)Ministry of Tourism Investment Development OfficeOntario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA)Ontario Rural Plan - Growing Strong Rural CommunitiesRural Economic Development Data and Intelligence (REDDI) - REDDI can help with your local economic development planning from strategic planning to downtown revitalization and project financingEDCO-LETI (Local Economies in Transition) - Community Investment Readiness Self-Assessment ToolAssociation of Municipalities of Ontario - www.amo.on.caOntario Association of Community Futures Development Corporations
This slide is from the Site Selectors retained perspective.
Talking points: Scores ranged between199 and 273. The Southwest and Golden Horseshoe Regions seemed to score the highest in this exercise. Northwest Region presented many challenges.
Talking points: What we were looking for: Up to date and forward looking Regional approach to coordinating marketing and attraction efforts Provide professional assistance – present themselves professionally and are honest, punctual, and thorough in all dealings Data Rich – lots of available and up-to-date data! Know themselves – communities that keep themselves up to date (maps, etc), recognize their strengths and weaknesses Involve real estate community – brokers, property owners, developers are part of the ‘team’ Educated stakeholders – involve board members, politicians, government officials, business community as part of the ‘team” Support local business – take visitors to local restaurants as opposed to national chains
Communities visited and those who responded to the RFP exercise, frequently could not demonstrate a supply of serviced “ready to go” or “shovel ready” industrial sites and buildings; • Frequently, communities lacked an up-to-date economic development strategy that identified strengths and appropriate industry targets for investment attraction/retention; • The information in many community profiles was not of quantity or quality to sufficiently inform site selection decisions; • Most economic development web sites provided limited information and a limited level of functionality. • Weak linkages were observed between economic development and labour force development activities. Local training and adjustment boards were not consistently linked into economic development efforts. Technical training resources and course offerings at local post secondary educational institutions were not aligned with the requirements of local employers. • Site selectors felt that development fees and land costs are potentially prohibitive to many new investments, especially for projects that are considering both U.S. and Canadian communities – this is now being further exacerbated by the high value of the Canadian dollar vis a vis the U.S. dollar. • Local elected representatives and senior administrators were not always aware of the benefits of community preparedness for investment, and what it involves in terms of time, effort and expense; • In comparison to U.S. and European jurisdictions, inter-municipal cooperation on a regional basis is underdeveloped and underutilized There is substantial room for improvement in terms of: local/regional collaborative and cooperative economic development actions; greater connectivity and cooperation between lower tier, upper tier, and Provincial levels of government with regard to economic development
Communities visited and those who responded to the RFP exercise, frequently could not demonstrate a supply of serviced “ready to go” or “shovel ready” industrial sites and buildings; • Frequently, communities lacked an up-to-date economic development strategy that identified strengths and appropriate industry targets for investment attraction/retention; • The information in many community profiles was not of quantity or quality to sufficiently inform site selection decisions; • Most economic development web sites provided limited information and a limited level of functionality. • Weak linkages were observed between economic development and labour force development activities. Local training and adjustment boards were not consistently linked into economic development efforts. Technical training resources and course offerings at local post secondary educational institutions were not aligned with the requirements of local employers. • Site selectors felt that development fees and land costs are potentially prohibitive to many new investments, especially for projects that are considering both U.S. and Canadian communities – this is now being further exacerbated by the high value of the Canadian dollar vis a vis the U.S. dollar. • Local elected representatives and senior administrators were not always aware of the benefits of community preparedness for investment, and what it involves in terms of time, effort and expense; • In comparison to U.S. and European jurisdictions, inter-municipal cooperation on a regional basis is underdeveloped and underutilized There is substantial room for improvement in terms of: local/regional collaborative and cooperative economic development actions; greater connectivity and cooperation between lower tier, upper tier, and Provincial levels of government with regard to economic development
Great demand for more community visits and evaluations by site selectors – evident at Regional Seminars Municipal councils need to understand what economic development is and how to create an investment friendly climate Spread the message about economic development and the LETI initiative.
It is important to communicate to communities that they should participate in this program for consistency purposes.