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6. REFRESHing THE
CITY'S ECONOMIC STRATEGY ranimer la stratégie économique de la
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DOCUMENTATION
Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee
Comité des services organisationnels et du
développement économique
and Council / et au Conseil
03 April 2009 / le 03
avril 2009
Submitted by/Soumis par : Nancy Schepers,
Deputy City Manager/Directrice municipale adjointe,
Infrastructure Services
and Community Sustainability/Services d’infrastructure et Viabilité des
collectivités
Contact Person/Personne ressource : Michael Murr,
Acting Director/Directeur intérimaire, Community and Sustainability Services/Services de viabilité et des
collectivités
(613) 580-2424 x 25195 michael.murr@Ottawa.ca
SUBJECT:
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OBJET :
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That Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee recommend Council receive this report for information.
Que le
Comité des services organisationnels et du développement économique recommande
au Conseil de prendre connaissance du présent rapport.
The City’s economic development
programs and activities touch Ottawa businesses and residents everyday. Whether
it is the business owner who is helped by the Entrepreneurship Centre; rural
tourism operators who need assistance to expand their customer base; businesses
that want to establish a BIA; organizations that need help when bidding for and
hosting major events like the FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada 2007 and the
2009 IIHF World Junior Championship; or local
companies who are looking to sell their products around the world, the City’s
investment in economic development has been leveraged to affect many segments
of our economy. Activities such as
those listed above have been supported by the City of Ottawa through
initiatives identified in the City’s Economic Strategy.
Approved
in 2003, the City of Ottawa’s current Economic Strategy is one of five
interrelated plans associated with the Ottawa 20/20 Growth Management Strategy.
Through extensive public consultation with The Ottawa Partnership (TOP), the
business community, and the general public, the Economic Strategy identified a
series of policy objectives and specific priority actions to support the export
market sector (specific industry clusters such as telecommunications, tourism,
software, etc.), the local market sector (i.e. retail, consumer services,
restaurants, entertainment, etc.) and the rural economy. A large focus of the
strategy targeted the innovation-based export market sector because it utilizes
Ottawa’s knowledge-based labour pool advantage and attracts revenue into the
community from abroad for recirculation within the local economy.
To
accelerate the implementation of the Strategy and to capitalize on the
specialized work of our community partners in economic development, the City
has used a hybrid model to deliver Economic Development services. As such, the City partners with agencies
such as the Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation (OCRI), the Ottawa
Gatineau Film and Television Development Corporation (OGTFDC) as well as
Ottawa’s Countryside to advance programs, initiatives and policies identified
in the Economic Strategy.
Since
its approval in 2003, a wide range of Economic Development projects and
initiatives have been advanced based on the policies contained in the Strategy
including:
·
Redevelopment (underway) of
the Ottawa Congress Centre (now known as the Ottawa Convention Centre),
including an investment of $40 million by the City, within a project totalling
$180 million
·
Algonquin College Centre for Construction
Trades and Building Sciences. The new
facility will expand the College’s training capacity and help to address the
chronic shortage of skilled trades in Ottawa
·
New La Cité collégiale Centre
des Métiers campus in Orléans which builds the City’s work force capacity in
the building trades
·
Orléans Town Centre and
Shenkman Arts Centre Public-Private Partnership increases capacity for arts and
culture businesses and their integration with the general business community
·
Instituting toll-free calling
across Ottawa to reduce costs for businesses and residents
·
Completion of broadband
access to all urban and rural areas of Ottawa, which has been shown to improve
sales and profitability for many businesses, help retain businesses in their
present locations, and facilitate telecommuting for rural residents
·
Creation of a Business
Advisory Committee to facilitate two-way communication between the Ottawa
Business Community and the City
·
Establishment and support of
Ottawa’s Countryside to promote rural businesses
·
Investment and support of the
Entrepreneurship Centre, which delivered services to 2,600 entrepreneurs in
2008 (1,700 new businesses formed, employing 4,500 workers) and has expanded
with satellite offices in Orléans and Kanata
·
Investment and support of the
Ottawa-Gatineau Film & Television Development Corporation which has
facilitated productions in Ottawa (e.g. “Project Runway Canada”) for direct
economic impact as well as showcasing an Ottawa backdrop to a wide audience
·
Attraction of major sporting
events to Ottawa (e.g. FIFA U20 World Cup, World Junior Hockey Championships,
Ontario Summer Games, Bell Capital Cup, CN Canadian Women’s Golf Championship,
BMO Skate Canada Junior Nationals, CIS Men’s Basketball Championships,
HomeSense Skate Canada International).
These events have direct economic impact as tourism attractions,
highlight Ottawa as a sports city, and showcase Ottawa abroad
·
Creation of the Heart of
Orléans, Barrhaven, Glebe, and Wellington West Business Improvement Areas,
which along with the other 10 BIAs work to develop distinctive identities for
our commercial districts and to improve the success of our local businesses
·
Development of the City of
Ottawa Business Improvement Area Sustainability Program, which helps local BIAs
to be more successful by enhancing their capacity to undertake market research
and plan strategically for the future
·
Partnering with the Province
on Ottawa’s Regional Innovation Network and the Ontario Research Commercialization
Program to deliver advanced business advisory services, match mentors to
early-stage firms, provide specific market intelligence, validate firms’
technologies, and help firms strategically plan for their long-term success in
Ottawa
·
Trade expansion and investment
attraction program funding to increase the Ottawa Centre for Research and
Innovation Global Marketing Division’s capacity to generate and respond to
investment leads (73 in 2008), to host incoming investment delegations, and to
help Ottawa businesses develop new export markets
·
Development of a centralized
regional Arts and Cultural Events Calendar (Spotlight) to maximize tourism
economic impact and support local cultural organizations
·
Creation of a Brownfields
Redevelopment Strategy which increases the opportunity for development of
environmentally contaminated properties (2 applications approved - currently
340 residential units are under construction representing $25M in building
permit value)
·
Establishment of an Export
Cluster Collaboration and Support Program which has made progress in
encouraging students to enrol in post-secondary high-tech programs (software
cluster), in capitalizing on an opportunity created by Canadian Government
Industrial Regional Benefits (security cluster), and in collaborating to
develop new markets (wireless cluster in Taiwan and photonics cluster at Laser
2009 in Germany)
Additional
Ongoing Economic Development Initiatives for 2009
While
there have been many accomplishments as described above, six years have passed
since the approval of the 2003 Economic Strategy. The current economic conditions and environment have changed and
it is now appropriate to refresh the Strategy.
This point was reinforced on October 21, 2008 when Mayor O’Brien stated “We need to re-examine how
we, as a community, are prepared to move forward to address issues around
economic development for the short term and the future.” As such, on November 12, 2008, Council directed the
Economic Development Division to:
1.
Report back in Q1 of
2009 with a process to update the City’s Economic Strategy, including reviewing
the City’s current economic development delivery model; and
2.
Seek to partner with
its Business Advisory Committee, the Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation
(OCRI), The Ottawa Partnership (TOP), the Regroupement des gens d’affaires
(RGA) and labour to conduct a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats
(S.W.O.T.) analysis to determine who we need to bring to the table (what parts
of the private sector, business and labour) to develop a strategy to focus on
and amplify on the skills and assets that constitute our comparative advantage
for the period at which we emerge from economic slowdown/recession.
This
information report responds to these directives of Mayor and Council.
Currently,
nations around the world are going through some very difficult economic times
as the overall global economy is slowing down. Although Ottawa’s economy is
also slowing, the effects of the global recession are not currently as
pronounced in Ottawa as in other Canadian cities. In fact, as reported by Statistics Canada on March 13, 2009,
Ottawa’s economy is fairly stable with a current unemployment rate of 4.8 per
cent. Compared to the national rate of
7.7 per cent and Ontario’s rate of 8.7 per cent, Ottawa’s economy is fairing
well to date. While the City has a
number of initiatives underway to address the slowing economy, new short- and
medium-term strategies should be developed with the business community to help
mitigate the current economic downturn and position Ottawa for the future.
To
respond to Council’s directives and recognizing the current state of the
economy, staff will undertake a two-pronged approach to refresh the Economic
Strategy. First, staff will quickly
engage the business community to get a better understanding of their immediate
needs and will respond to these needs by developing a series of short-term
Economic Development Actions. A lot of
work has already been completed in this area, but this consultation will give
the City an opportunity to ensure we are reacting to the economic slowdown
accordingly. Second, the City will
undertake a SWOT analysis, concurrent with the short-term Economic Development
Actions, to help determine those sectors needed to be represented on the
Steering Committee for the Economic Strategy refresh as well as identify the
critical issues that need to be addressed in the strategy.
Developing a
Series of Short-Term Economic Development Actions (To be Completed Q2/2009)
To address the weakening of
Ottawa’s overall economy, the City in partnership with other agencies has
initiated or is considering a number of program enhancements to help the
business community and those affected by the economic slowdown.
Initiatives That Will Be Considered by Council in 2009
Immediate Actions Already Underway
Initiatives Currently Under Development
Other Opportunities Currently
Being Explored
·
Expansion of Angel/Venture
Capital Funding: The City of Ottawa could play a more active role in the Angel
Investor and Venture Capital Communities by investigating and understanding
where the City could potentially be a contributing partner through local
investment
·
Leveraging Entrepreneurial
Know-how: The City could work more closely with Ottawa’s leading Entrepreneurs
who have a track record of success to identify how the City could further
support entrepreneurship and small business development
Business Community Engagement and Outreach
To
ensure the above initiatives are meeting the overall needs of our business
community, staff will consult with a range of stakeholders and partners as well
as conduct a short survey of Ottawa’s business community.
Key
Stakeholders and Partners:
The City’s Economic
Development Division will partner with the City’s Business Advisory Committee
to conduct a survey of independent Ottawa businesses to understand their needs.
This survey will commence at the same time as consultations with stakeholders
and will engage:
·
Businesses that used the
Entrepreneurship Centre
·
Businesses from outside of
Ottawa that worked with OCRI’s Ottawa Global Marketing Service (and
subsequently invested in Ottawa, or chose not to invest in Ottawa)
·
Businesses that operate
within Ottawa’s BIAs
·
Business members of the local
Chambers of Commerce
·
Business members of Ottawa’s
Manufacturers Network
·
Business members of Ottawa
Tourism
Information
gathered from consultations and the survey of Ottawa’s business community will
be presented to a business forum to validate the short-term (12 to 18 months)
economic development actions. It is
staff’s intention to report back to CSEDC on these Actions before the end of
June 2009.
Refreshing the
Economic Strategy
Concurrent with the
Short-term Actions described above, staff will immediately initiate the refresh
of the Economic Strategy.
Step 1 - S.W.O.T.
Analysis (To be Completed Q3/2009)
The consultations,
local business survey and resulting short-term Actions will also be used to
help inform a SWOT analysis of Ottawa’s economy. As a part of the SWOT
analysis, facilitated focus group sessions with business operators will be
conducted to verify and more fully discuss the issues and items identified by
the business survey. In addition,
economic analysis tools will be used to quantify industrial strengths and
weaknesses and identify industry specific pressures.
The Economic Strategy
refresh process will build upon the short-term Actions and SWOT analysis with
emphasis on the medium-term issues and items that were not sufficiently
addressed during the development of the short-term Actions. Those businesses
and stakeholders involved in the short-term exercise will also continue to be
consulted as the City moves toward a refreshed Economic Strategy.
Step 2- Refresh
the Economic Strategy (To Be Completed Q2/2010)
Upon
completion of the SWOT analysis in Q3/2009, a Steering Committee will be
established to oversee the refresh of the Economic Strategy. Staff will report back to the Corporate
Services and Economic Development Committee with the results of the SWOT
analysis, the make-up of the Steering Committee, and the process to move
forward on the Economic Strategy refresh.
Strategies
will be designed to address the issues raised by the consultations and SWOT
analysis as well as meet the specific needs of various sectors of the
economy. Strategies will include
activity and outcome measurement and tracking to ensure progress.
Although
the process for the strategy refresh will need approval of the Steering
Committee, a basic outline is provided below:
|
Immediate
Actions |
Timing |
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Stakeholder
Consultation |
Q2:2009 |
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Survey
Businesses |
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Short-Term
Economic Development Actions |
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Business
Forum |
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Refresh
of the Economic Strategy |
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Complete
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT) Analysis & Benchmark
Economic Development Programming and Delivery Model against other
jurisdictions |
Q2
and Q3:2009 |
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Report
results of the SWOT analysis back to CSEDC, along with the make-up of the
Steering Committee, and the process to move forward on the Economic Strategy
Refresh |
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Establish
Economic Goals and Objectives |
Q1:2010 |
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Develop
Issue-Specific Strategies, Sectoral Strategies, Measurement Tracking Strategy |
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Complete
the Economic Strategy refresh, with Delivery Model and resource requirements |
Q2:2010 |
Steering Committee
Chaired
by the Mayor, the Steering Committee should consist of representation from a
broad group of stakeholders as identified through the SWOT analysis. Members could include representatives from
the high-tech sector, local chambers of commerce, the development industry,
event attraction/tourism sector, the rural economy and the federal government,
among others.
Projected completion date and
deliverables for Strategy Refresh
The
projected completion date is the end of Q2/2010. The refreshed Economic Strategy should consist of a series of policies
and coordinated initiatives as well as an Economic Development delivery model
and resource requirements.
The Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation’s new
President has been consulted on the process to refresh the economic strategy
but has not been able to provide formal comments to staff as he is only newly
installed in the position.
Ottawa’s
business community and economic leaders and stakeholders will be engaged
initially through consultations and surveys of needs, concerns and issues as
well as through focus groups and a stakeholder forum. The business community will continue to be consulted throughout
the SWOT analysis and Strategy Refresh.
A more
detailed consultation process for the Economic Strategy refresh will be
circulated to the CSEDC once the Steering Committee has been struck and has
determined its work plan.
There are no legal/risk management impediments in receiving this report
for information.
There
are no financial implications associated with this report as the costs to carry
out the Stakeholder Questionnaire and SWOT analysis can be accommodated within
the existing Economic Development budget.
N/A
DISPOSITION
This report is provided for the
information of Committee and Council.