Whatever fire was lit under the Economic Development Corporation of North Simcoe during last year’s budget cuts, it could be ready to ignite into a blaze over the next few years.
The EDCNS faced severe limitations in recent years as councils across the region repeatedly asked for measurable key performance indicators that would warrant its large annual funding requests.
At the start of 2023, municipalities cut and slashed the EDCNS budget with the threat to convince councils they were a worthy organization or suffer the consequences.
Further to their demands, several of the mayors, deputy mayors, and members of local councils joined the EDCNS in an attempt to refocus the volunteer organization before the 2024 budget cycle.
Throughout October, EDCNS representatives visited the councils of Midland, Penetanguishene, and Tay and Tiny Townships with a presentation of their cumulative efforts: an innovation hub.
“It was a bit of my idea, but it didn’t take long for everybody to get excited about it on the board,” said board member Paul Marchildon, chair of the EDCNS Innovation Hub committee, who spoke on behalf of the EDCNS for each presentation to councils.
Inspired by innovation hubs and similar endeavours across the province, the EDCNS proposed a physical space where regional businesses of all sizes could share knowledge, network, and collaborate.
“The EDCNS stands for two things,” said Marchildon. “One is to help local businesses thrive, and two is to attract new business to the area.
“The idea of the innovation hub is really meant to be a collaborative space; it’s meant to bring all of the key players in the ecosystem together, connecting people and their opportunities and ideas.”
Stating the organization’s “north star”, Marchildon pointed to the three pillars of commerce in North Simcoe – manufacturing, agriculture, and tourism. He explained that while small businesses (such as start-ups and entrepreneurs) could receive mentorship and support from larger businesses (like local heavyweights Raytheon Elcan or Weber Manufacturing Technologies Inc., he noted as examples), a tiered membership scale would be explored with lesser businesses riding free from memberships and sponsorships of the large-scale companies.
“Whatever we want to do, we’re going to demonstrate innovation. We want to make sure we’re living our values; we’ll share our success stories, however small,” Marchildon explained regarding key performance indicators.
“I’m told from other organizations that have started this: ‘your success stories are going to be small at first but you’ll build on those and get momentum’. And it’ll encourage more people to say: ‘if that retailer got that success, then maybe I can try that and join as well,’” said Marchildon.
Claiming interest from provincial and federal levels of government on the incentive, Marchildon added that funding opportunities from grants would also be explored.
The four presentations gained approval from some council members across North Simcoe.
While supporting collaborative workshops and mentorships, Midland Coun. Jamie-Lee Ball asked if a physical space had been located for the innovation hub; Marchildon replied that it was being looked at but nothing had yet been found.
Praise was given by Tiny Coun. Dave Brunelle who attended one of the recent four events EDCNS was hosting in the region to spread word about the innovation hub to businesses and residents.
“It was a great evening with lots of collaboration, a very positive vibe; so I’m looking forward to partaking in this initiative,” expressed Brunelle. Tiny Mayor Dave Evans praised the EDCNS board for bringing the corporation into “a really positive direction now.”
As North Simcoe councils are preparing for their 2024 budget cycle deliberations within upcoming weeks, the question of funding weighed heavily on council heads.
Tay Mayor Ted Walker asked board chair Emma Canadic how much the EDCNS would be asking as part of the budget cycle.
“The full ask the EDCNS will be coming forward with is about $362,000 and so that will be divided up between the municipalities," explained Canadic. "Tay’s contribution will be about $60,000, and that’s based on a percentage of how much Tay had contributed two years ago at full contribution.”
Midland Mayor Bill Gordon gave his endorsement of the initiative, but cautioned that change wouldn’t happen overnight.
He stated: “This, to me, seems like a viable effort and worthy of our continued funding at our normal rate – and it’s going to be a three-year budget ask, as a spoiler alert – because you can’t start this and then just drop the ball and slide off year after year as ‘we just don’t like it’.
“This is going to be something that, for the rest of the term, we’ll be asked to commit to so it can get its legs under it in year one, really start to produce some measurable results in year two, and by year three it might even be well onto its path to sustainability,” said Gordon.
However, the biggest endorsement from the four municipalities may have come from Tiny CAO Robert Lamb.
“This is, and has been identified, as the missing link across all of north Simcoe County for 20-plus years that I’ve been in economic development. We are a long way behind where others have been,” said Lamb.
“You have to be a diverse economy; if you have too many eggs in one basket and you lose that major sector, then the whole area can crumble very quickly,” Lamb added, offering the automotive manufacturing industry as an example.
“Anything that our local economic development group can do to help diversify and increase the base that we have in our area… that joint knowledge that we have across the board is dead on. And it was one of the original visions we talked about 10-plus years ago when we started EDCNS as a collective,” Lamb concluded.
