Leveraging cultural assets to grow local and regional economies

Creativity, culture and quality of place are increasingly important drivers of economic and broader community development in municipalities and regions across Canada. Millier Dickinson Blais helps communities to leverage these assets through leading practices in cultural development.

Municipal and Regional Cultural Planning

Our team at Millier Dickinson Blais has completed cultural plans for municipalities and regions of all sizes and circumstances across Canada. Municipal cultural planning is an integrated approach to local and regional cultural development that puts culture at the centre of planning and economic development agendas.

Cultural Mapping

Cultural mapping is increasingly understood as an essential planning and economic development tool in Canadian municipalities. Cultural mapping is a method of systematically for identifying and leveraging the full range of a community’s cultural resources. Our cultural mapping tools produce cultural portals that provide communities, regions and countries (e.g. Bermuda) with ‘one-window’ points of access to local cultural resources for both residents and tourists.

Culture and Creative Economy Analysis

The impact and effectiveness of cultural planning in many communities has been reduced by weak economic analysis and inadequate understanding of the role culture plays in growing local and regional creative economies. Our team at Millier Dickinson Blais brings a depth of experience to help communities better understand these assets and relationships.

Training and Capacity Building in Culture-led Economic Development

Creativity, culture, and quality of place have become critical drivers in local economies yet remain poorly understood in municipalities and economic development agencies. We offer customized workshops to help build skills and understanding in these essential new economic development competencies.