REQUEST FOR RESULTS ECONOMIC VITALITY I WANT A STRONG, RESILIENT AND GROWING ECONOMY RESULTS SUMMARY: ECONOMIC VITALITY GUIDING PRINCIPALS

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1 ECONOMIC VITALITY I WANT A STRONG, RESILIENT AND GROWING ECONOMY REQUEST FOR RESULTS RESULTS SUMMARY: ECONOMIC VITALITY The City has a strong presence of universities and colleges that are key economic drivers for the City. There is also a strong presence of provincial and federal governments providing civil service employment and economic activity. The City has a growing, diverse, resilient and prosperous business community that is focused on developing, and attracting the right businesses. These businesses stimulate a growing and skilled labour pool. The business community focuses on priority sectors; Information and communications technologies, biosciences, engineering, education & research, arts & culture and aerospace & defense Fredericton is Atlantic Canada's Capital for knowledge based entrepreneurship, innovation and commercialization: THE START UP CAPITAL OF ATLANTIC CANADA. GUIDING PRINCIPALS City of Fredericton Municipal Plan (2.8) 2007 Vision Fredericton Municipal Arts Policy 2003 City of Fredericton Culture Plan 2014

2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY There are many important factors that lead to a strong, resilient and growing economy. As a municipality the City of Fredericton has varying degrees of influence and control over the drivers of economic vitality. A strong employment base and the economic activity generated by the universities, colleges, and Provincial and Federal governments are important to the economy in Fredericton. It is important to leverage this position as the capital and centre for higher education to build a growing, diverse, resilient and prosperous business community. The community economic strategy (Vision 2020) is focused on developing, and attracting businesses in high value knowledge based priority sectors such as information and communications technologies, biosciences, engineering, education & research, arts & culture, and aerospace & defense. It is important to stimulate a growing and skilled labour pool that powers innovation and commercialization. In turn commercialization of new businesses stimulates a growing labour market. The goal of Vision 2020 is to be known as Atlantic Canada's Capital for knowledge based entrepreneurship, innovation and commercialization: THE START UP CAPITAL OF ATLANTIC CANADA. Places and programs for basic business support, local business development, and immigrant investment attraction are important catalysts for growing a strong economic ecosystem. Places and programs that support innovation and commercialization and that incubate and accelerate new business ideas are important to create employment and generate export revenue. These programs are delivered by community agencies in partnership with universities, various levels of government, and private business stakeholders. Creating an economic ecosystem that supports innovation and commercialization and provides business support and development is beyond what the municipality can accomplish by itself. These are areas where strong partnerships and collaboration are needed. It is important to articulate the results to be achieved through these partnerships and define the City s role and contribution. 2

3 The City contributes to Vision 2020 by supporting partner agencies with funding, by providing full time staff support, with technology support through e-novations, and with collaboration and leadership from municipal Councillors and senior leaders. The strategic objective for the municipality is to focus resources and influence in the areas where it has the greatest leverage. The City s Economic Vitality strategy centers on its ability to create a desirable place that is attractive to a talented and skilled labour pool and new business investment. The City has a direct role to play in creating a desirable place by investing in municipal infrastructure and providing amenities that are sustainable and affordable. On top of that infrastructure the City delivers a vibrant cultural experience that draws in tourism and attracts new residents. Tourism and culture are important for economic vitality. Strong tourism has a direct economic impact, and the right type of cultural attractions and events create a desirable place where residents want to live, work, and play and an environment where entrepreneurs want to build businesses. This helps to grow a talented labour pool. The City s tourism strategy is focused on event based tourism with unique community based programs. There is a strong focus on meetings and conventions, motor coach tours, sporting events, and cultural festivals and events. The strategy is to focus on creating repeatable festivals and events that are attractive to both tourists and residents. The City s role is to develop these events and to marketing itself as a desirable place. This is an area where the City has the greatest impact on the Economic Vitality strategy. It is vital to market Fredericton s heritage, natural beauty, arts & culture, festivals and events in order to generate strong economic benefits through tourism and attract businesses and talented labour. The municipality also has an opportunity to market the City to entrepreneurs and businesses looking to locate here. The City can have a direct impact on growing the economy by creating marketing programs that communicate our story as a start-up capital and that showcases our success. The goal is to lure regional and head office operations and new business investment. There are three key performance indicators that are used to measure success in the Economic Vitality Program. The number of hotel room nights measures the impact of the tourism strategy, the number of new businesses that start-up or relocate to the city measures success in attracting business and commercializing new ideas, and the size of the labour pool and percentage of employment measures the effectiveness of attracting a skilled labour pool. 3

4 CONTENTS Executive Summary... 2 Economic Vitality Results Cause and Effect Factor Map... 5 Program Strategies Criteria for Service Delivery... 6 Business support, development & attraction... 6 Innovation and Commercialization... 7 Talented & Skilled Labour Pool... 8 Desirable Place... 9 Strong Tourism Economic Confidence Leadership Corporate-wide Enabling Strategies and Priorities Dashboard Key Performance Indicators Indicator #1: Room nights Indicator #2 Start-ups and commercialization success Indicator # 3 Employment

5 ECONOMIC VITALITY RESULTS CAUSE AND EFFECT FACTOR MAP I want a strong, resilient and growing economy Business support, development & attraction Innovation and Commercialization Talented & Skilled Labour Pool Desirable Place Strong Tourism Economic Confidence Leadership Attract established businesses Idea creation Workforce training Livability amenities Programs & Experiences Communicate our story Leveraged position as the capital Private sector partnerships Support for innovators Job creation Safe Community Marketing & Promotion Community marketing Sustainable Universities Partnerships between public entities Growth sector attraction & investment Targeted growth sector diversity Places for clusters and innovation Incubation and acceleration Pipeline of opportunities Attract and retain newcomers Repatriate skilled labour Access to doctors and healthcare Infrastructure investment Community Development Plan Air Access Festivals and Events Sporting Events Meetings & Conventions Showcase Successes Sustainable Federal and Provincial Presence Collaboration and coordination Local business growth & counseling Export revenue Sustainable Cost of Living Group tours and motor coach Immigrant investment Dynamic Culture Strong BIAs/ Restaurants 5

6 PROGRAM STRATEGIES CRITERIA FOR SERVICE DELIVERY The Economic Vitality Results Cause and Effect Factor Map identifies seven factors that create A focused, diverse, resilient and prosperous community that develops, attracts, and retains labour talent and businesses BUSINESS SUPPORT, DEVELOPMENT & ATTRACTION BUSINESS SUPPORT, DEVELOPMENT, AND ATTRACTION Support & development for existing and new businesses across all sectors are important. Access to business planning, mentorship and networking are vital to local businesses wanting to start and grow, and for entrepreneurs wanting to locate in Fredericton to launch and grow their businesses. Strategies should include initiatives that provide support (training, professional development, mentorship) to core businesses in the City of Fredericton, and initiatives that build and nurture the Fredericton region s brand. Initiatives should support efforts to strengthen businesses that are locally owned and/or controlled. PRIVATE SECTOR PARTNERSHIPS AND PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN PUBLIC ENTITIES Private Sector Partnership In specific project areas where private sector companies cannot facilitate business development on their own the City and the private sector must cooperate to identify what gaps exists in specific sectors and what barriers to economic development are present. Private sector partnerships between various stakeholders including the City should be used to develop opportunities and solutions that fill those gaps in order to achieve overall economic success. Partnerships are required with all levels of Government (Municipal, Provincial & Federal) to ensure economic goals, strategies and programs are aligned and coordinated. This includes supporting partner organizations, BIA s, agencies and groups promoting economic development. Building a strong economic development ecosystem means fostering stronger intergovernmental partnerships and supporting allied organizations in their efforts. Strategies should include initiatives that leverage financial support and foster partnerships with other organizations, other levels of government and the private sector. GROWTH SECTOR ATTRACTION & INVESTMENT A team approach to respond to new opportunities/challenges to keep businesses/locate them in Fredericton. TARGETED GROWTH SECTOR DIVERSITY A strong economic ecosystem has a number of targeted sectors and a diversity of businesses in each sector. Diversity creates resiliency in challenging economic times (retail, ICT, consulting, universities, government etc ) Initiatives should ensure that efforts are creating a diversity of institutions and businesses within targeted sectors. The Municipal Plan calls for Council to seek 6

7 to diversify the City s economy and develop the City s economic growth potential resulting from its strategic location relative to major highways and markets in Canada and the United States. LOCAL BUSINESS GROWTH & COUNSELING Stimulate home grown business with specific business counselling services aimed at removing the start-up and growth knowledge barriers for local entrepreneurs. Strategies should include Initiatives that facilitate programs that specifically have a local focus for growth, and build on our local success. IMMIGRANT INVESTMENT Coordinate and support immigrant investment in the community, and attract new investment through marketing and promotion. STRATEGIC PRIORITIES BUSINESS ATTRACTION AND RETENTION i. Provide basic business planning, mentorship and counselling for local businesses wanting to start and grow. ii. Increase foreign investment in new businesses by coordinating and attracting new immigrant entrepreneurs. iii. Attract established businesses to invest in Fredericton INNOVATION AND COMMERCIALIZATION IDEA CREATION Specific/direct efforts to ensure ideas can become services/products. This includes partnerships with our educational institutions UNB, STU, NBCC etc. to foster information flow and develop strategies. Strategies should support Initiatives that foster idea transfer and new technology testing. SUPPORT FOR INNOVATORS Targeted efforts to nurture the unique position Fredericton has with regard to start-up businesses. Funding should be targeted to initiatives that facilitate the implementation and monitoring of VISION 2020 as it relates to Start Up Capital. Including support for the key sectors of high value and emerging industries. (Information and communications technologies (ICT), biosciences particularly plant sciences, bioinformatics, biomedical engineering and environmental services, engineering, education and post-secondary research, arts and culture, aerospace and defense, tourism, natural resources development, social entrepreneurship and cooperatives, and boomer services and support) 7

8 PLACES FOR CLUSTERS AND INNOVATION Availability of real estate and options, and physical spaces for new companies to pop up, work with other entrepreneurs, coaches and mentors and develop their business models is important for innovation and commercialization. (The Knowledge Park - ACcelR8, Planet Hatch) INCUBATION AND ACCELERATION Support for incubation centres/groups in various areas of the City, and creating capacity with expertise in commercialization is important for nurturing high growth potential entrepreneurs, and identifying and strengthening pathways to entrepreneurship. PIPELINE OF OPPORTUNITIES Create a pipeline of new opportunities and identify specific local entrepreneurial opportunities. EXPORT REVENUE Develop businesses whose source of revenue comes from outside the community STRATEGIC PRIORITIES INNOVATION AND COMMERCIALIZATION i. Provide leadership, collaboration, technology and financial support for agencies and organizations that provide direct support services for innovators and growth entrepreneurs. ii. Monitor the efficacy of innovation efforts with measures that show the number of startups supported and the number of commercialized products/services. TALENTED & SKILLED LABOUR POOL WORKFORCE TRAINING Ensure opportunities for skill development are local and match the workforce needs. Initiatives are required that maintain current information on the regional labour force characteristics, available skills and training needs, and that support workforce growth, awareness and training efforts. JOB CREATION Strategies should include initiatives that support bringing more jobs to the City by connecting talent with jobs, and ensuring there is a pipeline of talent to support all sectors, especially with a focus on innovation and commercialization. ATTRACT AND RETAIN NEWCOMERS Supporting the attraction and retention of talent are important and should include initiatives that ensure newcomers stay in the City. The City of Fredericton Cultural Plan outlines that attracting and retaining productive citizens is of vital importance and that the arts and culture are very important in attracting new residents and for the retention of youth. 8

9 Vision 2020 states that the most important community attribute is the quality and availability of talent. This involves fostering and targeting more international students and seeing them as a key part of our talent and entrepreneurial focus REPATRIATE SKILLED LABOUR Ensure both immigration and post secondary education retention strategies are aligned with keeping talent in Fredericton ACCESS TO DOCTORS AND HEALTHCARE Access to healthcare is a big determinant in deciding to live and work in an area. An effective focus on this factor could be a major strategic advantage for the City. STRATEGIC PRIORITIES TALENTED & SKILLED LABOUR POOL i. Focus arts and culture investments in areas that create a dynamic and vibrant culture that is attractive to new residents, youth and recent graduates ii. Partner with other levels of government and universities to communicate the career opportunities that exist in Fredericton iii. Measure progress on talent attraction initiatives including population / migration / immigration, and employment / unemployment. This might include measures for unemployment rate, job growth per sector, percentage or number of grads (University, NBCC etc ) employed in Fredericton, or successful workforce training placements per year. DESIRABLE PLACE LIVABILITY AMENITIES Initiatives should ensure the livability of the community is at the forefront and is designed to make Fredericton the right choice for business and talent. The city of Fredericton Cultural plan recommends that the City support the design of great places and spaces, and create an environment that encourages dynamic social and cultural interaction and inspires and stimulates the arts, our people, the economy and our overall quality of life. INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT Facilitate strategic infrastructure investment planning, development and improvement initiatives (physical, green and IT) that recognize and enhance the critical components of the City s infrastructure which directly impacts our economic potential and does not put undue burden on the tax rate. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN Ensure community planning properly considers the economic impact of policy change. Initiatives should coordinate development approvals, changes in zoning regulations, Land Use 9

10 Plans, Secondary Planning, and Neighbourhood Plans in a manner that factors in the economic impact of policy and rule changes. AIR ACCESS Initiatives that Support the development of YFC and increase accessibility to Fredericton and the world via air travel are critical for businesses looking to locate or continue growth in Fredericton. Air access is needed to support the movement of business staff, clients and visitors. This is vital to support businesses that generate export revenues and collaborate with other remote organizations. The Municipal Plan proposes that Council work with the Greater Fredericton Airport Authority to further improve direct air service from Fredericton to the United States and major business centres in Canada. SUSTAINABLE COST OF LIVING A sustainable cost of living coupled with a dynamic culture that make the City of Fredericton an attractive place to live enables businesses to recruit and maintain a healthy and stable work force. DYNAMIC CULTURE It is important to understand and embrace cultures economic value. Initiatives that continue to enhance the City s historic and cultural sense of place, and that encourage sustainability in the cultural sector are recommended strategies for Economic Vitality. The City of Fredericton Cultural plan recommends that the City strengthen organizations, activities, and facilities to ensure a secure foundation of the arts & cultural community, which is critical to Fredericton s quality of life, brand, retention and business attraction, and to promote economic growth through cultural investments which will support entrepreneurship, innovation, business attraction & retention, employment growth, and top talent. Investment in arts and culture promotes public and private sector economic growth, it brings capital and entrepreneurship to the community, and it makes our city a much better place to live. Culture contributes significantly to economic vigour and location as a place to do business. Cultural activities promote economic growth in Fredericton to an incredible degree. It is the crux of the tourist industry in the region, and it is one of our best advantages in attracting young people and new businesses. Growing Fredericton s cultural sphere will pay tremendous dividends supporting entrepreneurship, innovation, business attraction and retention, employment growth, and top talent. 10

11 Initiatives should: develop and promote Fredericton as a dynamic, sophisticated and cool place to live, work and visit, promote Fredericton s cultural assets and strengths as tools to attract and retain global interest from professionals, entrepreneurs, and investors, understand that Fredericton s cultural offerings tightly align with its talent attraction and retention and align municipal strategies around this fact, foster entrepreneurship and innovation in culturalrelated activities, use our cultural landscape as a way to increase the number of conventions STRONG BIAS/ RESTAURANTS Initiatives that facilitate a sense of place that supports efforts to attract both business and the workforce to Fredericton are required. Business will locate and remain in the city when employees and businesses visitors have pleasing experiences that include well built city centres and main streets and high quality restaurants. STRATEGIC PRIORITIES DESIRABLE PLACE i. Maintain investments in infrastructure renewal and replacement that deliver sustainable service levels ii. Be perceived as providing good value for taxpayers money iii. Maintain the City s natural beauty, historical and heritage assets including designated and protected buildings. iv. Be recognized as a good place to live, work and play STRONG TOURISM PROGRAMS & EXPERIENCES Strategies should include Initiatives that enhance tourism programming. Programming that creates opportunities for visitor s by working with businesses, and community groups to develop unique programs to attract visitor s (ed-venture s) are encouraged. MARKETING & PROMOTION Initiatives should effectively expand the market potential and promote Fredericton by getting the word out through strategic and targeted efforts. The Municipal Plan recognizes the City s significant tourism potential, and recommends a Tourism Strategy based on its strong heritage and cultural theme. FESTIVALS AND EVENTS The City of Fredericton Municipal Arts Policy recognizes the direct and induced benefits in the areas of economic development, tourism, education, and downtown/neighbourhood revitalization that are incurred through arts development, and values the arts as a way of enhancing Fredericton s quality of life and attracting new business. It suggests that the City offer financial support to non-profit arts organizations who wish to undertake an event, project 11

12 or activity of benefit to the community. It also recommends that Council shall investigate new funding opportunities in partnership with other levels of government and the private sector. SPORTING EVENTS Promote sport tourism, encourage regional, national and international events. MEETINGS & CONVENTIONS Initiatives are encouraged that specifically create focus and work on key sectors of festivals and events, sport tourism, and meetings and conventions. GROUP TOURS AND MOTOR COACH An important tourism activity is to attract group tours and provide a desirable destination for motor coach tours. STRATEGIC PRIORITIES STRONG TOURISM i. Increase event based tourism through sports tourism, conventions, and repeatable cultural festivals and events ii. Develop unique interactive community based programs to attract tourism iii. Market the strong heritage and cultural theme of the City iv. Provide measures such as the number of sporting events, the number of hotel room nights, the number of events/festivals/gallery events etc., and/or the number of conventions held in the city. ECONOMIC CONFIDENCE COMMUNICATE OUR STORY We need to build our brand beyond the borders of New Brunswick and showcase both our startup environment and our successful track record of incubating exciting knowledge-based firms. Develop marketing materials and campaigns to position Fredericton as a centre of excellence, research and development, innovation and entrepreneurship. COMMUNITY MARKETING Develop lure profiles for high ranked business opportunity sectors to complement business development efforts. SHOWCASE SUCCESSES Perform research as necessary to be well informed about successful economic and community development initiatives as well as industry best practices and market intelligence. STRATEGIC PRIORITIES ECONOMIC CONFIDENCE i. Develop economic marketing materials and manage marketing promotions ii. Provide and aggregate sources of information for potential entrepreneurs and business leaders looking to locate or start a business in Fredericton. Provide information that showcases the 12

13 entrepreneurial ecosystem, support system, and successful track record. LEADERSHIP LEVERAGED POSITION AS THE CAPITAL The Municipal Plan recognizes the importance of Fredericton as an economic centre for provincial and regional head offices, research and development, higher education, management and consulting services, information and communications technology, manufacturing, professional services, arts and culture, architectural and engineering services, aerospace and defence, the life sciences, and other tertiary industry. SUSTAINABLE UNIVERSITIES A stable employment base generated from sustainable universities is important for the economic vitality of Fredericton. Sustainable universities also encourage collaboration with the business community and support commercialization of intellectual property. SUSTAINABLE FEDERAL AND PROVINCIAL PRESENCE A stable employment base generated from the presence of Federal and Provincial government workforces contributes to the city s economy and work force. Initiatives to retain and attract a fair share of.government investments are key to maintaining the economic vitality of Fredericton as a Capital city. COLLABORATION AND COORDINATION No one entity can be successful at creating economic vitality on their own. To be successful all stakeholders must coordinate their initiatives and resources. The City can influence the process by providing leadership and convening people together to manage the conversation around economic development. There are many different stakeholders, levels of government, and groups with economic development initiatives and agendas. There is a role for the City to play coordinating activities, collaborating on ideas and managing the flow of information and aligning the agenda to leverage and coordinate efforts. STRATEGIC PRIORITIES LEADERSHIP i. Nurture strong relationships with senior levels of government and define what we want to achieve through those relationships ii. Strengthen partnerships with the universities to facilitate business development iii. Strengthen relationships with business community stakeholders iv. Assign municipal staff and Councillors as board members of economic development agencies 13

14 CORPORATE-WIDE ENABLING STRATEGIES AND PRIORITIES Sustainability is a corporate wide priority for every program and service. All services should seek to engage employees, have an impact on our community, close the gap in the operating budget, and foster an atmosphere of mutual respect between staff, City Council and the public. STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT i. Services should be aligned with the Program Results, dashboard indicators, and strategic priorities; ii. Demonstrate the ability to address multiple Program Results concurrently; iii. Advance existing or emerging strategic plans adopted by Council including enhancement plans, operational plans, or neighborhood plans; and iv. Look for opportunities for service pairing that leverages or combines functions across and within the organization with efforts to de-silo departments. VALUE i. Services should demonstrate good value by describing what can be expected to be delivered per dollar spent. Value is a measure of both efficiency and the effectiveness of a service. EFFICIENCY & INNOVATION i. Demonstrate application of Lean 6 Sigma methodologies for process improvement, efficiencies, and financial savings. ii. Streamline services to be more nimble and responsive to citizen needs and concerns. iii. Focus on providing high quality customer service and value-added initiatives. iv. Remove and eliminate waste through a culture of continuous improvement EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT i. Proposals should demonstrate the ability to engage employees and to improve and develop their leadership capabilities. ii. Service managers should promote employee productivity through strong attendance management practices, flexible work arrangements that meet operational requirements and that promote respect for employees and increase morale. WORKFORCE REDUCTION i. Effective service managers will combine employee engagement and innovation initiatives with succession planning in order to meet workforce reduction targets. BUDGET COMPLIANCE i. Proposals should demonstrate actual expenditures and revenues that are in-line with budget projections. Services should diversify revenue streams and reduce the reliance on general fund tax dollars where possible. Service strategies should maximize audience and citizen use, and increase capacity utilization 14

15 DASHBOARD KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS The dashboard key performance indicators show the results of the strategic priorities in action. These indicators should show progress in executing the most important strategic priorities and demonstrate success in generating the factors that determine program results. Indicator #1: Room nights This measure examines the number of hotel room nights sold in the City. This measure is an indicator of the number of visitors and a proxy for the other economic benefits of tourism (restaurant visits, shopping, entertainment, etc.) Indicator #2 Start-ups and commercialization success This measure is tied to one of the pillars of Vision Along with our economic development partners, we follow new businesses as they start, grow and succeed. Indicator # 3 Employment This measure will examine the size of the labour pool and employment as a percentage of the total labour pool.