Report to:
SUBJECT:
PREPARED BY: Stephen Chait, Director, Economic Development
Department
905-475-4871
Christina Kakaflikas, Manager Special Projects, x.6590
RECOMMENDATION:
That the report
entitled “
That Council
endorse the public launch of
That Staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.
1. Purpose 2. Background 3. Discussion 4. Financial
5. Others (Strategic, Affected Units) 6. Attachment(s)
PURPOSE:
The report recommends Council receive the draft
final “
BACKGROUND:
The Town of
A new
10-year Economic Competitiveness Strategy was developed in a three phase
process.
Phase One. Economic
Sectors Analysis
The Analysis was
prepared by a qualified consulting firm, urbanMetrics inc. with input from
members of Council, Town staff and the business community. The purpose of the
Economic Sectors Analysis was to critically review the Town’s position as a
high-tech capital/centre for technology, to produce a SWOT analysis (strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities, and threats), and to make recommendations to be
addressed in the development of the 10-year Competitiveness Strategy. The
results of Phase One informed Phase Two and Three of the Economic
Competitiveness Strategy process.
Phase Two. Community
Consultation Event
The release of the
Economic Sectors Analysis report was followed by Phase Two -- Community
Consultation. This consultation occurred in the Spring 2007 and consisted of a
half-day seminar and facilitated workshop that brought together approximately
150 representatives of the Markham community, including representatives from
business, education, and government to review the results/outputs of Phase One Economic
Sectors Analysis, and to provide input and advice on the selection o
Phase Three. Preparation
of the 10-Year
The draft final report (described
in greater detail below) represents the completion of Phase Three – an economic
competitiveness and development strategy for
OPTIONS/ DISCUSSION:
The draft final report, “
A staff presentation summarizing
the strategic directions and recommendations of the consultant’s Economic
Strategy Report was made to
Overall, the response suggests that the Economic Strategy is on target and highly relevant but is very ambitious, and will therefore require a phased approach to implementation, commensurate with the available resources available to the Town and its strategic partners. Town staff are in accord with this observation, and have drafted a 2008/09 Marketing Plan (provided to Council as a separate report) to guide the launch and initial implementation phase of the Economic Strategy.
More specifically, the response
to the Economic Strategy also includes suggestions that the strategy have more
regard for environmental industries and technologies and that there is a need
to include a higher level of recognition for building a healthy city with
appropriate attention to wellness and environmental conditions. These are sound
and constructive suggestions, and have been addressed by staff and the consultants
and are now incorporated in the revised text of the draft final report. To
facilitate review of these additions, they are appended herein as Appendix B (“Build
the
Guiding Principles of the Economic
Strategy:
As a
starting point,
·
To develop a Markham
strategy to manage and direct, with public consultation, growth issues
including: the pace of growth; land use; environmental protection and
agriculture; intensification; housing mix; live/work balance; employment lands
and economic prosperity; transportation; infrastructure; urban boundary; fiscal
impact; quality of life; preservation of built heritage and heritage districts;
inter-governmental coordination; and implementation.
·
To create a
transportation/transit vision, implementation plan, funding strategy and partnership
framework in order to develop an efficient, effective and environmentally
sustainable transportation infrastructure including transportation options that
would help protect neighbourhoods and encourage economic growth.
·
To develop and
implement a comprehensive coordinated sustainability strategy enabling
·
To optimize
quality municipal service delivery that is cost-effective, consistent and
responsive to the public’s needs.
·
To update the Markham Master Plan, creating
short, medium and long-term priorities to provide coordinated and safe parks,
recreation, culture and library services for the residents of
·
To develop a clear strategy and policies to
strengthen the Town’s ability to promote unity and inclusiveness and to provide
programs and services that address the diverse needs of
Within
this context, the draft final Economic Strategy lays out a vision of tomorrow’s
A departure from
- The convergence of ICT and Life Sciences as evidenced by Markham’s
strength in advanced manufacturing – in particular electrical equipment
and component manufacturing, magnetic and optical media manufacturing,
medical equipment manufacturing and industrial machinery
manufacturing;
- Information, Entertainment and Cultural Industries – in particular software
publishers, data and processing services, telecommunications firms and
advertising firms, and the advantages inherent in the diversity of
Markham’s population;
- Professional, Scientific and Technical Services – in particular computer systems
design and related services, architectural, engineering, environmental and
related services and other business services; and,
- Finance and Insurance – in particular head office and back office operations.
For each targeted sector, there are
specific performance objectives to be achieved by the year 2018, as illustrated
below. A detailed list of recommended strategic actions and key performance
indicators is presented in Appendix D to this report.
|
Targeted
Sectors Performance Objective by 2018 |
|
|
ICT and Life
Sciences Convergence |
|
|
Info,
Entertainment & Culture |
|
|
Professional,
Sci. & Tech Services |
Design sector
to rank among “Top 3 Exporter” sectors in |
|
Finance &
Insurance |
|
The recommended Enabling Environment
actions focus on 8 key elements which will contribute to Markham’s capacity to
retain and attract business and talent/labour and include: creative capacity
(“Build the Creative City”); technological infrastructures and social networks
(“Build the Networked City”); community and environmental sustainability
(“Build the Sustainable City”); global linkages (“Build the Global City”);
efficient infrastructure systems (“Build the Infrastructure City”); health and
wellness (“Build the Healthy City”); an identifiable brand (“Build the Branded
City”); and a skilled, educated and available labour force (“Build the Talented
City”).
For each Enabling Environment, there
are specific performance objectives to be achieved by the year 2018, as
illustrated below. A detailed list of recommended strategic actions and key
performance indicators is presented in Appendix E to this report.
|
Enabling Environment Performance
Objective by 2018 |
|
|
Build the |
High
technology employers in |
|
Build the
Networked City |
Employers in
the knowledge-based industries to regard |
|
Build the Sustainable City |
|
|
Build the
Global City |
New foreign
direct investment in |
|
Build the |
High
technology industry site locators to rank |
|
Build the
Healthy City |
|
|
Build the
Branded City |
|
|
Build the
Talented City |
Employers in
the knowledge-based industries to regard |
The Economic Strategy as
recommended serves as a blueprint or strategic plan. Most notably it is a
departure from previous
1.
Collaboration – although the Town of
Markham has commissioned this work, it is meant as a tool for all, and there is
a role in its implementation – however big or small – for every company,
organization and citizen in Markham. This economic vision cannot be
accomplished in isolation, but only through collaboration both locally and at
regional and Greater Toronto Area (
2.
Creativity – new industries, new
economies and new infrastructures all play a role in this plan, and these new
challenges and opportunities must be approached and addressed with new
solutions and new concepts. Ingenuity, creativity and innovation are the best
tools for success in this environment.
3.
Convergence – nowhere are the
challenges and opportunities of the 21st Century more obvious than
in the way in which technologies, industries and investments are combining and
converging.
4.
Community Leadership – from its political
and business leadership to its formalized structures like the Markham Board of
Trade’s Leaders Committee,
Public Launch of
Staff are currently engaged with organizing
a public launch of the Economic Strategy to share the strategic recommendations
and directions of the plan as well as to obtain further feedback from the
community. This half-day event will take place on
With the
assistance of the Corporate Communications Department and the Innovation
Synergy Centre in Markham (ISCM), this business event is being promoted through
targeted e-mails, e-vites (invitations), and published print pieces, both in
The development of the Economic Strategy has been conducted within the Council approved capital budget (86-5399-6776-005) of $100,000.00 In addition, Town staff have been successful in raising an additional $67,500.00 from sponsorships in order to fund the production of special events, invited speakers, and related promotional materials including $25,000 for the launch event (attended by 150 guests at Angus Glen Golf Club in March 2007), and $42,500 in support of the forthcoming Economic Strategy event at Le Parc on October 31st.
The $42,500 in cash has been contributed by the following sponsors:
Presenting Sponsor ($20,000): TD Financial
Platinum Sponsor ($7,500): International Business Consortium
Gold Sponsors ($2,500): Powerstream
Enbridge
Miller Thomson LLP
BDO Dunwoody
Orion Technology Inc.
ALIGNMENT WITH STRATEGIC PRIORITIES:
The Economic
Competitiveness Strategy study is designed to be supportive of the Town’s
DEPARTMENTS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:
Departments
consulted in the development of the Economic Competitiveness Strategy include:
Office of the Chief Administration Officer; Culture Services, Engineering, and
Planning Urban Design, and Corporate Communications.
RECOMMENDED BY:
________________________ _______________________________
Stephen A. Chait, EcD, CMC Jim Baird, M.C.I.P., R.P.P.
Director,
ATTACHMENTS:
A:
B: Healthy City Addendum
C: Environmental Technology Addendum
D: Target Sector Strategic Actions
E: Enabling Environment Strategic Actions
F: Electronic Invitation and Draft Agenda for Strategy Launch, October 31st