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  • January 07, 2014 12:03 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)
    If professional development is one of your New Year's resolutions then you'll want to register now for EDA's online course Business Retention and Expansion (BR&E) offered through the University of Calgary.

    Business Retention and Expansion (BR&E) is a primary economic development strategy. It supports and fosters the development and growth of the business community. The result of a strong BR&E strategy is a healthy and thriving business community which in turn provides a long term sustainable community foundation.

    This online course runs:

    January 21 - February 18, 2014
    for a total of 15 hours
    Don't miss out; Register here

    This course is offered by Economic Developers Alberta (EDA) and is eligible for credit towards the Management Certificate-Economic Developers offered through the University of Calgary in conjunction with EDA.



  • January 06, 2014 12:09 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)
    2014 is an important year for Economic Developers Alberta; it is our 40th anniversary of providing the economic development profession in Alberta with information, professional development and networking opportunities.

    By attracting more than 300 economic development professionals and elected officials from across North America; our Annual Conference and AGM is designed to provide you with updates on economic development issues and trends, best practices, inspiring keynote addresses and valuable networking opportunities.

    Register now to be part of our 40th Anniversary Conference and AGM. January 17 is the deadline for our early bird pricing.

    Become a sponsor of this anniversary event here.

    The 2014 Conference will be held:
    April 9-11, 2014
    Delta Kananaskis Lodge in Kananaskis, Alberta.

    Our theme is: "Promoting Commitment, Community and Collaboration for 40 Years."
    Follow us in twitter: @edaalberta #EDA2014

    See you at the Conference

  • December 20, 2013 10:15 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)
    On behalf of Economic Developers Alberta, I would like to wish you, our members, a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Thanks to your support, 2013 was a productive year.

    EDA had many highlights in 2013. We responded quickly to the worst flood in the province’s history recognizing there are serious economic impacts resulting from a natural disaster such as this. Our Economic Disaster Recovery Project (EDRP) is well underway to providing recommendations to flood impacted communities on how to recover from a natural disaster and how to put recovery plans in place should this type of disaster, or any other economic interruption, happen again. I have been very impressed by the dedication of the project volunteers as well as the community leaders who hosted productive meetings and tours. Thank you all.

    EDA’s newest project AlbertaBusinessCounts will prove to be very useful to economic development professionals in the province. This is software designed to store and analyze data on existing industries in Alberta communities. A special licensing agreement enables EDA to make this software available to economic development organizations.

    EDA also offered several professional development opportunities in 2013. From our unique “Lunchinar Program;” to Webinars on a variety of topics; to our trainers crossing the province to conduct our Community Economic Development Training Program (CEDTP); a highlight was taking our CEDTP courses online through the University of Calgary. We have already offered Economic Development Establishing the Foundation on-line twice. Our Business Retention and Expansion course is being held in January with more online courses to follow shortly.

    Our 2013 Annual Conference and AGM in Kananaskis was once again a huge success with over 300 delegates from across North America. We are excited about the 2014 Conference, as EDA will be celebrating its 40th Anniversary. Join us as we celebrate "Promoting Commitment, Community and Collaboration for 40 Years."

    We plan to build on these successes and look forward to enhancing your economic development profession further in 2014.

    -Richard Pauls, EDA President
  • December 16, 2013 10:40 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)
    A recent cabinet shuffle has positioned Deputy Premier Dave Hancock as the head of a new Alberta government department; Ministry of Innovation and Advanced Education. This ministry will have a similar focus as before, with a split between economic development and advanced education. The focus of this department will remain on economic development policy and information products, industrial development, regional economic development, and small business entrepreneurial development along with supporting the Alberta Economic Development Authority
  • December 09, 2013 4:32 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)
    Economic Developers Alberta (EDA) is pleased to announce it is providing economic development professionals in the province with a consistent province-wide method for gathering data needed to identify and analyze business needs at the local, regional and provincial level. Our program is called AlbertaBusinessCounts.

    EDA now holds the provincial master license for Executive Pulse, software designed to collect and analyze data on existing industries in Alberta. A special licensing agreement enables EDA to make this software available to economic development organizations.

    "By using AlbertaBusinessCounts, economic development professionals can build relationships with existing Alberta businesses which means significant economic impact and more productive economic development activity," said Leann Hackman-Carty, EDA Chief Executive Officer. "An effective economic development CRM maximizes business retention and expansion opportunities and the information that will be gathered about needs, trends and opportunities creates competitive intelligence."

    Some of the key benefits of AlbertaBusinessCounts are:
    • It interfaces with Outlook, Microsoft Office program and can import/export into Quickbooks and mobile devices.
    • Users have access to thousands of existing pre-defined and user-friendly economic and business development, labour and project management surveys.
    • Users can gather datasets, layer analytics to track corporate hierarchies on a local, national and international level, link value-chain/third party contacts to companies or land developments.
    • There is a highly functional reporting capacity and analytics converting data into competitive intelligence.
    • The software has the highest use of economic development organizations in North America.
    AlbertaBusinessCounts is available for your community to license now. Read more about the licensing agreements and sign up here.

  • November 28, 2013 5:01 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)
    November 28, 2013
    Newmarket, Ontario

    Prime Minister Stephen Harper today participated in a pre-budget consultation in Newmarket, Ontario, with business representatives from the Greater Toronto Area. This roundtable discussion marks the launch of a series of events in communities across the country, as well as online consultations, aimed at engaging Canadians in Economic Action Plan 2014 deliberations.

    “Our Government’s number one priority remains creating jobs and economic growth to help hard working Canadians and their families prosper. We will balance the budget by 2015 by controlling costs, while keeping taxes low,” said the Prime Minister. “Through these consultations, Canadians will have the opportunity to help inform the next phase of Canada’s Economic Action Plan, which will position Canada as a leading competitor in a challenging global economy.”

    Pre-budget consultations are part of the annual budget cycle. In addition to the roundtable discussions, Canadians are also invited to submit their views online beginning today.
  • November 27, 2013 12:22 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)
    OTTAWA, ONTARIO- The Honourable Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade, today released a new trade plan that reflects the changing global landscape, focuses on core Canadian strengths, aligns Canada's trade, development and foreign policy tools to advance commercial interests around the world, and sets concrete targets to grow the presence of Canada's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in emerging markets. The comprehensive report, entitled the Global Markets Action Plan: The Blueprint for Creating Jobs and Opportunities for Canadians Through Trade, was announced during a keynote speech Minister Fast delivered to the Economic Club of Canada in Ottawa.
    Five-Year Target to Increase SMEs Exporting to Emerging Markets: The Global Markets Action Plan will set out how the government will work with Canada's critical SME sector to grow the sector's footprint in emerging markets to meet the following targets:
    • Grow Canada's SME export presence in emerging markets from 29 percent to 50 percent by 2018.
    • This would grow Canada's SME footprint in emerging markets from 11,000 to 21,000 companies.
    • This growth would create over 40,000 net new jobs.

  • November 13, 2013 10:22 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Economic Developers Alberta (EDA) Develops Plan To Help Flood-Impacted Communities

    The “Economic Disaster Recovery Project” is a grassroots program designed to shorten economic recovery time


    November 13, 2013, Calgary AB- Economic Developers Alberta (EDA) has designed a program to help Alberta communities rebuild their economies after the worst flood in the province’s history.

    Called the Economic Disaster Recovery Project (EDRP), it is a volunteer-led initiative that equips economic development professionals in flood-impacted communities with the tools and best practice information to re-establish their community’s economic competitiveness.

    “Economic development professionals lead a community’s economic rebuilding efforts because they are highly specialized practitioners who can recognize economic opportunities and know how to retain the existing business wealth in a community,” said Richard Pauls, EDA President. “One of the important elements of the Economic Disaster Recovery Project is convening the economic development professionals in flood impacted communities with external economic development experts who will then make recommendations to help restore these economies.”

    The EDRP will also provide flood-impacted communities with a variety of steps they can take to help shorten their economic recovery time after this disaster while at the same time build local capacity should the need for this type of response be required again in the future.

    The EDRP is lead by Economic Developers Alberta and the British Columbia Economic Development Association (BCEDA), with the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) as the its third organizational partner.

    Between November 13 and December 6, 2013 volunteer economic development professionals will be visiting: Crowsnest Pass; Waterton Lakes; Town of High River; Vulcan County; Bragg Creek (Rocky View County); Town of Cochrane; Town of Canmore; Town of Sundre; Town of Black Diamond; and Turner Valley.

    “On behalf of the Town of High River, I am looking forward to EDA's Economic Disaster Recovery Project team’s involvement in the rebuilding and renewing of the town’s economy,” said Sharon McCormick Manager of Planning, Renewal Office, Town of High River. “The 2013 flood has both shaken our community and provided us with an opportunity to rebuild and redefine what we can be for the future. I am looking forward to the concrete steps that this project will be taking to help us in the development of a practical, resilient plan to restore and strengthen our economy in the short and long term. Our ultimate goal is to ensure High River is a vibrant, thriving community to work, invest, live and play in.”

    The elements of the EDRP include:

    -Community visits by volunteer economic development experts
    -These experts make recommendations on how to restore economies
    -Webinars on best practices in economic recovery delivered by economic development professionals
    -Training for elected officials giving them a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities in moving economic recovery plans forward in their respective region
    -A Toolkit developed by economic development professionals that will identify key resources, best practices information designed to shorten economic recovery time should a disaster happen in the future

    The EDRP is funded by a blend of private sector, not-for-profit and government partners. They are: The Government of Alberta; RBC Royal Bank; Shell Canada Ltd. and the Consulate General of the United States of America, Calgary.

    “I witnessed first-hand how Shell Canada staff came together to support our employees and our communities impacted by the flood,” said David Todd, Vice President, Shell Canada, Unconventionals. “This investment is a continuation of that commitment to support those communities – we will not only share our expertise on disaster preparedness but also work to help effected communities re-build their economic resiliency.”



    For More Information Contact:

    Leann Hackman-Carty

    EDA Executive Director

    403-807-7746

    leann@edaalberta.ca


    Sharon McCormick

    Manager of Planning, Renewal Office

    Town of High River

    403-603-3519

    smccormick@highriver.ca


    Shell Canada Ltd.

    Media Relations

    1-877-850-5023



    -30-

  • October 11, 2013 9:03 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)
    As you know, EDA is committed to enhancing your professional development so we’d like to tell you about a few opportunities:

    1. There is just one Webinar remaining in the EDA Lunchinar Program:

    Held Wednesday October 30, 12-1 pm (MST), click on the link to read about "50 Shades of Engagement-Powerful Strategies to Engage Community Members and Employees in Community Building."

    The EDA Lunchinar Program is a series of Webinars delivered over the noon hour on a variety of topics. Charmaine Hammond of Hammond International hosts the series.

    2. Gather a group of your colleagues and book EDA’s Business and Investment Attraction Course. EDA members, you get a discount if you book before the end of the year!


    By hosting this course you can decide who’s at the table to ensure your team is on the same page when it comes to delivering economic development in your region. This course will increase your understanding of the importance of business investment and attraction as a strategy in economic development; you’ll see how business investment attraction can benefit your community; and you’ll understand what encourages existing businesses to expand their operations.

    Email: admin@edaalberta.ca to arrange to take this course.

    3. In less than a month EDA’s ONLINE course "Economic Development-Establishing the Foundation" begins. Register with the University of Calgary.

    The course runs November 5-December 3, 2013 for a total of 15 hours.

    Not an EDA member? There are benefits to joining such as discounts to many learning opportunities.

    Join now
  • October 08, 2013 7:32 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)
    Don't miss out! There are just two Webinars remaining in the EDA Lunchinar Program.

    Register now for the next Webinar this Wednesday, October 9:

    "Turning Confrontation to a Collaborative Conversation"
    12:00-1:00pm (MST)

    $25.00 for EDA members
    $40.00 for Non-members

    Register Here

    Join Charmaine Hammond to learn the skill of turning a difficult conversation or confrontation back to a respectful dialogue. Charmaine is joined by Sharon Wilson a chartered mediator and a graduate of the Justice Institute of British Columbia. One of the first formally trained mediators in Alberta, Sharon has pioneered in the field of interest-based principled conflict resolution; developing processes, training and designing systems within organizations in government and industry.

    The final Webinar in the EDA Lunchinar Program is being held Wednesday October 30. Click on this link to read about "50 Shades of Engagement-Powerful Strategies to Engage Community Members and Employees in Community Building."

    EDA has partnered with Charmaine Hammond, from Hammond International Inc. Charmaine is an expert in showing professionals how to build resilient teams and a collaborative culture and is facilitating the Lunchinars.

    In the EDA Lunchinar Program, different guests and experts join Charmaine. You’ll hear several perspectives, be provided with the recording of the Webinar, and the Webinar summary.

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