The 12 Things You Need to Know for Successful Economic Development

Presenting organization: BC Economic Development Association

Description 

This interactive session covers the new resource manual launched in the summer of 2017 by BCEDA and is specifically designed for Indigenous Communities. The reasons why an Indigenous community will engage in economic development activities varies greatly. Each community has unique characteristics and own reasons for actively engaging in economic development. Communities understand to create economic diversity, maintain and expand infrastructure, create a sustainable economy and to increase their ability to meet the needs of residents and businesses; they need to develop their economic development focus and goals. The more you understand about economic development, the more effective you can be in supporting your community’s economic development efforts.  At the end of the workshop participants will have to vote for the topic they want more information on and the presenters will then prepare a workshop for the next day – “Participants Choice – Expanding your Economic Development Program”

What Participants will learn

• A better understanding of what tools and initiatives communities need to focus on to build a strong, sustainable and successful economic development program. 

Presenter(s)

• Dale Wheeldon, President and CEO, BC Economic Development Association
• Colleen Bond, EDCD Consulting

Presenter Biographies 

Dale Wheeldon has 26 years of economic development experience and is the CEO of the BC Economic Development Association and one of the founding partners of EDCD Consulting.  Starting out as in economic development in a rural BC community he then moved to Chilliwack where he worked to make Chilliwack one of the leading economic development communities in BC. He is in demand as a speaker with a presentation style combining humour with simplicity for understanding complex issues.

Colleen Bond is a certified Economic Developer with 24 years of economic development experience. She has extensive knowledge in building economic development programs for business retention and expansion, business attraction and foreign investment attraction.  Colleen has worked from grassroots to government organizations in a variety of community development and capacity building roles earning awards along with way.  Colleen co-founded EDCD Consulting to provide consulting services to economic development agencies at all levels of government.