Transcript Document 7326727

Strategies for CED
Part C
Project
A strategy for CED is a collection of
planned actions and activities developed to
assist in achieving a set goal.
Why do we need a strategy?
To achieve goals
Goals
While goals vary from community to community, the
following are most prevalent:
– quality jobs for the current population
– economic sustainability
– develop a diverse economic and employment base
A strategic plan
Typically a strategic plan encompasses more
than one strategy in order to achieve the
economic goals.
Some Strategies include:
1. business development
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Private enterprises
Cooperatives
Social enterprises
2. human resources development
3. social economy development
4. entrepreneurship development
A role for the public sector
Possible activities
– planning and development controls
– transportation and major infrastructure
– landscaping and streetscaping
– household services and housing
– enterprise zones
Challenges
Common mistakes in the
strategic planning process.
1. Leading with grants without a strategic program
and clear goals
– Local needs are shaped to fit a government
program instead of determining an approach
based on local need.
– The assets and limitations of the community are
often overlooked.
– Typically leads to failure as the program ends
when government funding ends.
2. Letting the tools determine the
strategy
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Civic leaders sometimes confuse tools with a
strategic plan.
Projects such as small business assistance, tax
relief, etc are not plans they are ingredients of
an economic strategy.
3. Starting at the wrong end of the
problem
– Businesses are attracted to the community
without knowing skill level requirements.
– Human resource development needs to be a
central component of the strategy.
4. Following the fad
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Trendy approaches such as tourism and high
technology are only suitable if the community
has the appropriate attributes.
5. Overlooking development capacity
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Strategies are adopted without an assessment of
the overall development capacity of the
community.
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Projects must fit with the area’s resources and
its competencies.
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Long-term commitment by the local public
authorities and corporate and labour leaders are
needed to carry out successful initiatives.
Assembling a Strategy
The following 4 factors form the base for
assembling a strategy
1. Target characteristics
– scope of the strategy
– development of new firms or work with existing
firms
– consideration of environmental
constraints/barriers to implementation
2. Methods of development
– appropriate methods
– might include:
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direct assistance to firms
improving procedures or processes
Expand into new markets
3. Local development institutional form
– institutional form to be compatible with the strategy
– a well thought out organizational form is needed before
strategies are selected.
– Different institutional forms include
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volunteer groups
non-profit or for-profit community development corps
business associations
neighbourhood organizations
4. Time frame
– short-term and long-term objectives
– consideration of how short-term goals are
incorporated into longer-term goals
Projects stemming from Strategies
• A plan of action must be developed for each of the strategy’s
projects
• What is an action plan?
– A description of the components of a proposed project that reflects
the economic development strategy.
• Objective of an action plan
– to provide enough information to test the project’s feasibility
Outputs
• Employment impact
• Linkages
• Community improvement
Project Finance
Funding versus financing
Funding
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public sector funding refers to the
acquisition of all fiscal resources to develop
and manage a project/program
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a continuing commitment regardless of
income generated
Financing
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identifying sources of capital to provide
initial financial resources
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anticipated project will generate revenue
to pay for itself