Advanced CEDTP Courses

This course has been developed to increase participants’ understanding of the importance of building, retaining and expanding a strong business community. It also promotes understanding of business retention and expansion (BRE) as a primary economic development strategy. Specific topics include:

• How to plan, establish and manage a BR&E program;

• Examples of Business Visitation Programs (BVPs), Import Replacement Programs (IRPs) and other BR&E programs;
• The critical nature of ‘red flags,’ (issues or challenges to local businesses) and how to respond;
• How to encourage an entrepreneurial and ‘pro-business’ environment of support for business;
• The concept of business incubation and nurturing HBBs;
• Government roles in BR&E programs; and
• Resources for supporting and sustaining business.

This course has been designed to increase participants’ understanding of the importance of business investment and attraction as a strategy in economic development. It will introduce and profile how business investment attraction can benefit your community, and enable you to understand what encourages existing businesses to expand their operations. Specific topics include:

• Ways to determine if your community is in fact ‘investment ready’

• How to identify your target industry through competitive advantage analysis

• How to create an Investment Marketing Strategy

• Examples of business investment attraction tools

• Introducing the topic of Site Selectors and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)

• Different phases of Site Selection

• Methods of measuring your BIA program success
  

• Project risk factors