Small Business Internship Program (SBIP) The Small Business Internship Program provides small and medium-sized enterprises financial support to hire a post secondary student intern to assist them in their adoption of e-business strategies to increase their productivity and competitiveness. See website for details. www.ic.gc.ca/sbip As a sub-contractor of all Northwestern Ontario applications, please contact Dan at Northwestern Ontario Development Network (NODN) with SBIP applications.
On January 12, 2012 NODN conducted a Corporate Strategic Planning session with its membership and funder in Dryden, Ontario. NODN engaged Crupi Consulting Group to facilitate the session and to provide a report of the findings of the session. The specific tasks that were set for the session were the following:
1) Analyze NODN’s role in Northwestern Ontario Regional Economic Development; 2) Conduct a Visioning Exercise for NODN; 3) Conduct a Northwestern Ontario SWOT Analysis 4) Create and prioritize Regional Economic Development deliverables (immediate, short and long-term).
Investment, Trade and Regional Planning opportunities in NWO was held Jan 12.2012 in Dryden
Thank you to delegates, Instructor Maggie Ionescu-Hryhorenko, the Project Management Insititute, SNCFDC and FedNor for supporting a successful Project Management training 2 day workshop November 8-9, 2011 in Terrace Bay, Ontario. Pictures and any follow up instructor information from the training session will be posted in the PMI event section on this website
Ontario is expanding the eligibility of Infrastructure Ontario's Loan Program
Ontario is expanding the eligibility of Infrastructure Ontario's Loan Program to include additional not-for-profit sectors that provide infrastructure for families and people in local communities. Eligibility for the program is being expanded to not-for-profit organizations that own or operate community hubs where both community health and social services are offered, as well as not-for-profit sports and recreation organizations that provide facilities to serve the needs of Ontarians. By expanding the program, Ontario is helping not-for-profits to: • Acquire debt financing to help meet their infrastructure needs • Increase their access to infrastructure financing • Improve health care and social services in communities Working to strengthen not-for-profit infrastructure is part of Building Together, Ontario's long-term infrastructure plan to repair, rebuild and renew infrastructure in communities throughout Ontario. Please see the following websites for more information:
What is the connection between the built environment and sustainable economic development? To find out, check out the new Municipal Planning and Financial Tools for Economic Development Handbook. The handbook and accompanying InfoSheet focus on preparing for the economic challenges of the 21st century through planning and financial tools that can be leveraged to support municipal economic development goals. The handbook features a municipal checklist for investment readiness as well as snapshots and case studies on how Ontario communities and other jurisdictions are capitalizing on their assets. This handbook is a valuable resource for municipal councillors, economic development officers, planners, policy makers, engineers, architects, designers, and many others.
Millier Dickinson Blais is celebratingthe second birthday of This is Not a Newsletter (TINAN) and the Ec. Dev. 2.0 Digital Toolkit this month.
Can Innovation Be Measured?
New York has received a bit of buzz lately as "the next innovation hub". Innovation is certainly a focus of the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), which has created an Innovation Index that tracks innovation activity over time to uncover key trends and characteristics. The Innovation Index input measure tracks research and development spending, finance and human capital - all important factors, but is it overlooking a key piece to the puzzle? Cliff Kuang, the editor of Fast Company's Co.Design highlights the need for a new input to be incorporated into innovation measures: social capital. Simply, his thesis is that innovation often stems from collaboration, networking and just being around people who are passionate about what they do. In fact, many in NYC are seeing opportunities to become an "ecosystem of innovation" and are capitalizing on the sometimes untapped potential of linkages and networks. While it may not have been perfected yet, the Innovation Index is a helpful model for economic developers looking at ways to foster and measure innovation.
Millier Dickinson Blais - 589 Barton Street, Suite 203, Hamilton, ON L8E 6E4, Canada - www.millierdickinsonblais.com
Export Marketing Assistance program Application forms can be found by following the "Northern Ontario Exports" link at www.investnorthernontario.com Completed forms can be forwarded directly to Scott Rennie, Project Manager at scott.rennie@sudbury.ca or by fax at 705-671-6767.
The North Superior Workforce Planning Board is pleased to release a new report, Graduate Retention and the Economy of Northwestern Ontario prepared by Dr. Livio Di Matteo.
This report was designed to:
Review the graduate retention issue as an important economic driver in the region
Examine factors influencing decisions to stay within or leave the region after graduation
Provide a survey of available evidence on graduate retention in Northwestern Ontario with the aim of setting directions for future policy analysis
Review the composition of the region’s population and labour force in terms of educational attainment
Provide information on Canadian and international graduate retention/incentive strategies and
Develop recommendations for the development of a Northwestern Ontario strategy
Please find the attached report. You may also wish to listen to Dr. Livio Di Matteo’spresentationupon the release of this study by visiting our website: www.nswpb.ca/graduate_retention
Sent on Behalf of Marg Scott, Executive Director, North Superior Workforce Planning Board.
Click here for the September 2010 edition of Workforce Focus, providing current labour market information for the Thunder Bay District. This edition looks at Professional, Scientific and Technical Services, focusing on employment trends, forecasts, and local composition for the Thunder Bay District.
Workforce Focus is a periodically published newsletter providing current labour market information relevant to the Thunder Bay District. For earlier editions of Workforce Focus as well as other valuable economic and workforce-related resources, click here: http://www.nswpb.ca/resource_centre.
NODN AGM June 14.2012
Registration Form Mark your calendar June 14, 2012 Whitewater Golf ...
