MOUNTAIN VIEW COUNTY - County council has been updated on activities and plans of the new Next Generation Economic Initiative (NGEI), which includes representation from Mountain View County (MVC).
The review came during the recent regularly scheduled council meeting, with Sandra Blyth, the Town of Olds' economic development manager, appearing as a delegation.
“NGEI is a large-scale, bottom-up initiative that we are helping advance in this region as well as others,” said Blyth. “Ultimately it is led and driven and developed by our industries.”
An economic development committee has been formed as part of the initiative which includes MVC, Olds College of Agriculture and Technology, Community Futures Central Alberta, Olds & District Chamber of Commerce, Century 21 Bravo Realty and Town of Olds/Invest Olds.
Division 7 Coun. Jennifer Lutz represents the county on the committee.
Four subcommittees have also been formed: workforce; access to capital; agriculture; and construction.
The initiative is an “extensive three-year industry and economic plan encompassing two key ares of development: economic foundation inputs (BREWD) and economic engine outputs (3C),” she said.
She explained that four key goals of the initiative are: developing regional alliances and partnerships; fostering a culture of entrepreneurship, enterprise and innovation; building on competitive advantages; and engaging leadership and effective governance.
“Our capacity to be able to partner and work together makes us a lot more competitive,” she said. “It streamlines things for us and allows us to access dollars that will help us move an economic strategy forward.
“We need to look at our local businesses. We have to look at how innovative we are as an economy and over the next two years we will look at that through the engagement of our businesses.
“One of the key pieces that is going to come out of this is our ability to see as a region how we are competitively advantageous.”
The BREWD process will include a survey of the business community, hosting a task force retreat and setting priorities, hosting an economic growth forum, and evaluating and monitoring progress, she said.
Coun. Peggy Johnson asked about workforce development and its relationship to affordable housing.
“Is there a strategy as part of this to look at affordable housing and how that will be moved forward going into the future?” Johnson asked.
Blyth said, “This is one of the things, by bringing together the various committees and groups we can have these discussion about how to we look at housing. Can we create a more feasible way to do housing development in rural Alberta?”
Coun. Alan Miller asked how the initiative will be interacting with rural ratepayers in MVC.
“Is there a component there that you are looking at?” Miller asked.
Blyth said the expectation is that dozens of people will be participating in the initiative, including from rural communities.
Initiative officials have already been meeting with economic development officers and chief administrative officers in area municipalities, she said.
Coun. Greg Harris asked how the NGEI is getting its information to the general public.
Blyth said social media, advertisements and other methods will be used to communicate with all stakeholders going forward, she said.
“You are going to be seeing lots of things come out,” she said.
Council accepted the delegation presentation as information.
