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FDI Rises Up the Agenda

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is a cornerstone of traditional economic development, emphasizing the notion that investment from outside the community – and outside the country – can be lured into the community to drive job creation and economic activity. In recent years, internally-focused efforts like business retention and expansion, support for entrepreneurs and economic gardening have dominated the economic agenda, but the pendulum may be starting to swing back in the other direction. US President Barack Obama openly courts international investment (see here and here, for example), while Canada’s successful Invest Canada – Communities Initiative (ICCI) economic development funding program increasingly limits its support to the “attraction, retention and expansion of foreign direct investment.” (If you're interested in the ICCI program, funding applications for 2012 are being accepted from September 6th to October 21st. Click here for more details).

For many communities struggling with a slow local economy, outside investment is attractive. Knowing where to begin in the complex and competitive world of investment attraction, however, can be a challenge. This makes two upcoming events of particular interest to economic development professionals. The first is “Securing Investment for Canada & the USA”, which will be hosted by Quebec International in Montreal from September 11th to 15th. Then, in October, one of Europe’s leading FDI training firms offers its first North American session. The UK-based company Red Hot Locations will deliver its acclaimed “FDI International Training Seminar” seminar in Toronto on October 19th and 20th. Presenters at the Red Hot event include Craig Hagen of video game giant Electronic Arts, Jan Siemons of BCI Global, and Millier Dickinson Blais’ own Brock Dickinson.  Contact melaniestead@redhotlocations.com for more details.

Using Online Tools to Help Build Real World Communities

From the crowdsourced constitution recently presented to Iceland's parliament or the Change by Us project in New York City to the "Netflix-meets-Kickstarter" independent film site VODO, we've come across several innovative and inspiring applications of web 2.0 and social media tools for those involved in economic, cultural, and workforce development. In particular, these tools are providing new ways for citizens to connect with their communities. Mapnificent, for example, highlights the areas you can reach using public transport in a given time on a Google map (PadMapper and the OneBayArea map deserve a mention here too). historypin, on the other hand, provides a unique way for people to share a community's history by "pinning" photos, videos, audio clips, and descriptive and narrative text to a Google map. With their ability to provide new ways for us to share information and collaborate, these tools are great examples of the ways online tools can help to grow our real world communities.

New Policy Report on CED Cites Best Practices

"CED" or Community Economic Development is a popular development philosophy that emphasizes community control and internal capacity building as the key drivers of healthy local economic activity. The Canadian Community Economic Development Network (CCEDNet) has just released a report entitled Building a Federal Policy Framework and program in Support of Community Economic Development.  While CED activity has had significant positive impact in many communities, funding for CED initiatives has been sporadic and inconsistent, undermining the efforts of many organizations and communities to support long-term CED planning and program delivery.

This CCEDNet report – penned by Kirsten Bernas and Brendan Reimer – builds upon a successful model from the Province of Manitoba to suggest ways in which national CED support structures and policy frameworks could be created. Their approach recommends both a “Policy Framework” to allow the government to intervene more effectively in CED activities, and a Neighbourhood Revitalization Program” or NRP, which would allocate multi-year funding to projects in designated urban communities. The model is based in part on Manitoba’s successful Neighbourhoods Alive! program. To find out more, download the full report here.

21st Century Skills for a 21st Century Workforce

The foundation for a strong 21st Century workforce is built around the ability for workers to learn, think, solve problems, communicate, adapt, and maintain positive attitudes and behaviours. In study after study, employers have informed us that these are the skills they seek, but these are also the skills that tend to be missing among many job seekers. These 21st-century skills are also referred to as employability skills or essential skills and can be organized into six categories: numeracy; communication; critical thinking and problem solving; personal; interpersonal; and information management, technology and information systems. Building that foundation of skills, however, is a challenge, both in Canada and around the world (as can be seen in this infographic on educating the workforce of the future in America, for example).

In 2010, Provincial and Territorial Ministers of Education in Canada met to advance their Learn Canada 2020 agenda – an agenda that explored the 21st Century Learning movement. This comprehensive, pan Canadian learning agenda, the first in Canadian history, proclaims the education ministers recognition of "the direct link between a well-educated population and (1) a vibrant knowledge-based economy in the 21st Century, (2) a socially progressive, sustainable society, and (3) enhanced personal growth opportunities for all Canadians". For those in the United States, the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21) has emerged as a coalition determined to advance the 21st Century learning agenda in that country. These initiatives are part of the multi-faceted solutions needed by all who have a stake in building a highly-skilled, competitive workforce.