OLDS — An online survey of businesses in Olds is in the works to find out what can be done to make the community more business-friendly, economic Development officer Sandra Blyth says.
During an interview with the Albertan, Blyth said it’s too early to know exactly when the survey will be rolled out.
"We don't have the dates right now,” she said. “We are in the process of putting together working committees that will help us tweak the survey. And then, once the survey is completed, then we go out and we do it, so the dates cannot be determined at this time.
“There's too many variables that will affect when we can actually do the survey.”
The survey will cover everything from infrastructure to quality of life, including questions like whether there’s enough parking available, she said.
“It is a very extensive survey, so depending on how you answer the questions, the survey can be 20 minutes or it can be longer – up to about 30 to 40 minutes,” she said.
“So what this does is it gives us a very good picture of how the business community sees our community and region as a place to do business.
“All of those types of things are covered in this survey. It's important for us to understand, are we a community that is business friendly?
“And then what are the areas that we need to look at and prioritize and seek to address to make our environment even more attractive?”
The hope had been to launch the survey this summer or early fall. However, Blyth said it’s been held up by the need for funding.
“We've been delayed because of the grant programs that would align with this project have only just recently been released, so once we get the government funding for those programs then the effort can advance,” she said.
Blyth said organizers are hoping to obtain funding for the survey either from the province or the feds. She said the town is also kicking in $60,000 “to help leverage additional funding from various government programs.”
The survey is very important for the community because “ultimately what it will do, it is going to identify the economic agenda for the next number of years," she said.
