ARCHIVED - RPP 2006-2007
Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec

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1 OVERVIEW

1.1 Message from the Minister

Canada and Quebec are evolving in an economic system in ferment. Globalization has led to free markets and generated new business opportunities. It has also heightened competition, redeployed economic forces and produced new dynamics, and consequently placed new economic concerns on the agenda. Global market forces present sizeable challenges for our economy, regions and communities. They also have an impact on how government intervention will be carried out.

The Agency makes it its duty to meet effectively the expectations of Canadians, communities, enterprises and all its partners. For that reason, it carefully monitors economic trends and proposes strategic approaches and directions with regard to these new issues. The challenges of regional economic development fit into a broad context combining economic, social, cultural and environmental concerns. Two strategic outcomes with respect to regional development are targeted: vitality of communities, and entreprises’ competitiveness. In the field, our activities to achieve our objectives will cover the whole of Quebec, that is, outlying and central areas, major urban centres, Metropolitan Montréal, and the most vulnerable communities within those four areas. The Agency cannot take the place of the regions’ entrepreneurial dynamism. But, in close cooperation with local economic agents, it offers them its assistance in finding solutions to their areas’ development issues.

We recognize today that innovation and increased productivity help to improve our enterprises’ competitive position and our economy’s competitiveness. Enterprises — and this is especially true for remote regions—have to develop value-added products and services to remain competitive. To achieve these goals, the Agency places advisors and a whole range of tools at their disposal. Our programs have to adapt to the needs of SMEs and communities. Particular attention is paid to the regions of Quebec struggling with difficulties, whose economies depend either on the harvesting of natural resources or on a single sector of activity that is slow adjusting to the new realities of world trade.

Recently, I enthusiastically embarked on this new mandate as Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec. My interest in regional development is well known. It is also one of the priorities of our government, which wishes to encourage the economic development of every region of Canada and to offer opportunities for employment to all Canadians.

I therefore invite you to read this, the 2006-2007 Report on Plans and Priorities of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, in which you will find all the Agency’s commitments for making Quebec’s regions both dynamic and prosperous.

 

Jean-Pierre Blackburn
Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec

1.2 Management representation statement

I submit, for tabling in Parliament, the 2006-2007 Report on Plans and Priorities (RPP) of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec.

This document has been prepared based on the reporting principles contained in the Guide for the preparation of Part III of the 2006-2007 Estimates.

• It adheres to the specific reporting requirements contained in the TBS guidance.
• It is based on the department’s approved Program Activity Architecture structure as reflected in its MRRS.
• It presents consistent, comprehensive, balanced and accurate information.
• It provides a basis of accountability for the results achieved with the resources and authorities entrusted to it.
• It reports finances based on approved numbers for planned spending from the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.

 

Michelle d’Auray
President

1.3 Summary

Rational

Under its Act, which came into effect on October 5, 2005, the object of the Agency is to promote the long-term economic development of the regions of Quebec by giving special attention to those where slow economic growth is prevalent or where opportunities for productive employment are inadequate. In carrying out its object, the Agency shall take such measures as will promote cooperation and complementarity with Quebec and communities in Quebec. Benefits for Canadians Well-being and standard of living improved for Canadians through investment in regional development meeting the needs of the regions, communities and enterprises and helping them adjust to the challenges of the global economy.

To contribute to Canada’s performance

By fostering strong economic growth.

Two long-term strategics outcomes

Dynamic, revitalized Quebec communities enjoying a better socio-economic outlook: Canadians’ quality of life is improved by revitalizing Quebec communities through intervention supporting mobilization with local milieus, emergence of new entrepreneurs, creation of small enterprises, attraction of tourists and retention of skilled workers. Competitive Quebec SMEs and regions owing to the presence of conditions conducive to sustainable growth: Canadians’ standard of living is improved through lasting strategic investment in the capability of regions, networks, knowledge institutions and SMEs to compete on the Canada-wide and global stage.

Through an integrated regional development approach

Global: take economic, social, cultural and environmental dimensions into account in the design of policy, programs and initiatives. Territorial: establish strategies geared to the type of area defined in terms of similar socio-economic issues. Horizontal: build on cooperation and collaboration with federal partners, the Government of Quebec and Quebec communities. Participatory: elicit participation by the economic agents concerned.

By eliciting and surpporting development through

guidance and referral services financial assistance analyses of issues, prospective studies, opinions and information so as to empower and develop the capabilities, competencies, knowhow and business networks of entrepreneurs and local and regional economic agents n facilitate the participation of regional economic agents in the design and implementation of a vision, a plan and growth-generating projects for the development of a region.

With several beneficiaries

enterprises (especially SMEs) non-profit organizations (NPOs) communities backed by its 14 business offices and a network of some 300 development organizations deployed across Quebec including local development organizations supporting communities regional or sectoral organizations offering general and specialized services to business, in particular in exports and innovation knowledge institutions (research centres, college technology transfer centres and universities).

By generating meaningful results

as of March 31, 2009, the Agency will have contributed to: reinforcing mobilization of the local milieu developing the local entrepreneurial fabric attracting and retaining skilled workers and tourists enhancing SMEs’ performance stimulating commercialization of innovation upgrading community infrastructure.

Agency resources

	2006-2007	2007-2008	2008-2009
Total planned spending ($ thousands)	381,329	277,599	258,295
Human resources (Full-time equivalents)	408	408	408

Agency priorities by strategic outcome

Planned spending1 ($ thousands)		2006-2007	2007-2008	2008-2009
Program priority for the first strategic outcome: Vitality of communities Program activity: Improvement of the economic environment of regions
Priority #1: Help regions and communities in transition	Type: Already established	63,450	64,050	66,150
Program priority for the second strategic outcome – Enterprises’ competitiveness Program activity: Enterprise development
Priority #2: Reinforce the performance of innovative SMEs in key sectors	Type: New	33,000	35,300	48,100
Departmental management priorities in line with the Management Accountability Framework
Priority #3: Reinforce the Agency’s capacity to develop policy and design programs Priority #4: Equip the Agency with processes and systems required to ensure increased results-based management capability.

Note : 1 Planned grants and contributions expenditures.

1.4 Plans and priorities

The purpose of this section is to present the four priorities and associated plans for 2006-2009 (the Agency’s overall intervention is explained in Section 2, which presents total planned spending by program activity). The Agency intends to devote about half of its grants and contributions budget to its priorities. Of the four priorities selected, three are new. Fiscal Year (FY) 2006-2007 also marks the beginning of implementation of the Agency’s strategic directions for 2006-2011. Thus, in many respects, 2006-2007 will be a key year for the Agency. In clearly identifying its priorities and having specific plans for them, the Agency intends to progress systematically toward attainment of the defined strategic outcomes.

The four priorities chosen are of two types: two program priorities, and two management priorities. The Agency’s program priorities aim to intensify its intervention in regions and communities in transition and reinforce the performance of innovative SMEs in key sectors. Management priorities aim to reinforce the departmental capacity to develop policy and design programs and equip the Agency with processes and systems required to ensure increased results-based management capability.

1.4.1 Program priorities

The following table presents the two program priorities in terms of the Agency’s strategic outcomes.

Program priorities

Strategic outcome #1: Vitality of communities	Strategic outcome #2: Enterprises’ competitiveness
Priority #1: Help regions and communities in transition	Priority #2: Reinforce the performance of innovative SMEs in key sectors

Priority #1: Help regions and communities in transition

Vitality: manifestation of remarkable health or activity. A society’s ability to manage the tensions and constraints of modern life caused by social dislocations and divides. Quality of life: balance between an individual’s needs and the means he has to meet them. Concept incorporating all the elements to make an individual’s physical, intellectual, moral and spiritual environment satisfying.

As its first priority, the Agency wishes to help certain regions and communities in their socio-economic transition. The planned budget is approximately $195 million over three years. This priority comes under the Improvement of the economic environment of regions program activity. The Agency intends to support and foster the completion of projects likely to respond to these communities’ specific issues so as to mitigate socio-economic adjustment difficulties, renew the entrepreneurial base and facilitate economic diversification by building on their specific assets and potential on the industrial, tourism, cultural or knowledge fronts. Thus, these communities will be in a position to open up to new economic sectors with high added value and attractive growth potential in order to envisage the creation of sustainable employment.

In order to achieve this priority, the Agency intends to pursue implementation of four initiatives:

• Fishing Community Economic Diversification Initiative
• Community Economic Diversification Initiative - Coulombe Report
• Capacity-building
• Patient Capital Fund.

These initiatives essentially target the communities’ economic diversification as well as development and reinforcement of the social economy in Quebec. The main results targeted are:

• increased awareness and empowerment of players with respect to issues
• enhanced entrepreneurship
• reduced dependence on natural resources
• greater access to knowledge for enterprises and communities
• reinforcement of social cohesion and communities’ capability
• improved commercialization
• social economy enterprises’ growth with respect to startup and expansion, translating into creation and maintenance of employment
• increased access to capitalization for social economy enterprises.

If need be, other initiatives will be designed and implemented during the year in order to meet proactively the specific issues of communities in transition.

Priority #2: Reinforce the performance of innovative SMEs in key sectors

This priority, which is in line with the Enterprise development program activity, ties in with the Agency’s desire to develop SMEs in key sectors from the different parts of Quebec. Equipped with a $116-million envelope over three years, this second priority involves implementing two special initiatives.

A primary Agency target is the enhanced international competitiveness of SMEs in key sectors in Greater Montréal. The key sectors focussed on by the Agency are aerospace, life sciences, nanotechnology, bio-food and environmental technology. To that end, the Agency intends to invest in strategic capabilities, networking and attracting strategic human and financial resources.

Competitiveness: capability of a price, product, enterprise or national economy to meet competition, and ability to sustain it. Capability of an enterprise or national economy to maintain or increase its market share, on the domestic market (domestic competitiveness) and outside markets (external competitiveness). Standard of living: conditions of individuals’ or populations’ existence as measured by the goods and services to which they have access on the basis of their income.

Second, the Agency is aiming for the broadening and diversification of SMEs’ subcontracting networks so as to enhance their competitiveness and their ability to integrate with globalized production chains and to meet the requirements of major manufacturers in Canada and abroad. The main results targeted by the two initiatives are: reinforcement of enterprises’ strategic capacity to develop and commercialize their innovations reinforcement of links and discourse among enterprises, universities, research centres and other sectoral players in Montréal clusters increased investment and employment increased outreach and relative importance on the international front increased private investment in the Montréal area in high value-added industrial sectors increased number and value of SMEs’ subcontracting contracts with prime contractors SMEs’ decreased dependence on specific prime contractors.

Under this priority, the Agency does not intend to limit its action to these two initiatives, since others could be developed and implemented to support innovative SMEs in key sectors from other areas of Quebec. For instance, among the key sectors focussed on in the major urban centres are optics-photonics, health and nutrition, medical equipment and computer technology. Among those in the central areas are biotechnology, metallurgy and agri-food. Finally, among those in outlying areas are aluminum, marine science and technology, and forestry.

1.4.2 Management priorities

To reinforce the obligation to perform management reporting, the Government of Canada has set up the Management Accountability Framework (MAF), which provides a comprehensive, integrated model for management and management improvement. The MAF aims to reinforce managers’ accountability with regard to ten main elements that summarize the Government of Canada’s expectations. The Agency is gradually implementing all the elements of the MAF, but intends to give priority to intensifying its efforts with respect to two of them.

The Management Accountability Framework is available at: http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/maf-crg/index-eng.asp

Management priorities in line with the Management Accountability Framework

MAF: Policy and Programs	MAF: Governance and Strategic Directions
Priority #3: Reinforce the Agency’s capacity to develop policy and design programs	Priority #4: Equip the Agency with the processes and systems required to ensure increased results-based management capability

Priority #3: Reinforce the Agency’s capacity to develop policy and design programs

This priority involves reinforcing the departmental capacity to develop policy and design programs at a time when the Agency’s main programs (Regional Strategic Initiatives [RSIs] and Innovation, development of entrepreneurship and exports [IDEA-SME]) are expiring in March 2007. It is linked to the MAF Policy and Programs element. The Agency intends to consolidate its political and analytical capabilities so as to be able to generate the knowledge required concerning implementation of the strategic directions for 2006-2011 and lead to development of high-quality options with respect to policy, program design and advice for ministers. Reinforcing these capabilities also involves investing in human resources. To that end, the Agency will build, among other things, on training and on more innovative means, such as participation in in-house and external communities of practice, thus facilitating access to information and the sharing of good practices. This capability will enable it to anticipate the issues more accurately and plan an appropriate strategic response with respect both to policy and to programs.

Priority #4: Equip the Agency with processes and systems required to ensure increased results-based management capability

This priority is linked to the Governance and strategic directions element of the MAF. The Agency wants to bring together essential conditions (internal consistency, organizational discipline and harmonization on the basis of results) to ensure effective governance of and follow-up on anticipated results so as to support the Minister. Tangibly, the Agency will continue to implement its new results-based integrated planning mechanism, which incorporates the strategic and operational dimensions and points all resources (human, financial, relational, informational and technological) in the same direction, toward the attainment of results. In addition, the Agency will update its Management, Resources and Results Structure (MRRS) by incorporating its new, recently approved Program Activity Architecture (PAA), which will come into effect in April 2007. Its MRRS will enable it to link resources to results and identify responsibilities explicitly. Moreover, results-based management presupposes the availability of balanced information which requires access to the systems and processes generating that information. To that end, the Agency will put information management in place and update its systems and processes

1.5 Links with Government of Canada results and performance

Regional development represents for the Government of Canada a lever for reinforcing equal opportunity, a fundamental Canadian value enshrined in the Constitution. More specifically, this lever helps the regions achieve their full potential with respect to productivity, innovation, economic growth and quality of life.

The Government of Canada has drawn up a government-wide framework to monitor the contribution of all federal departments and agencies to Canada’s performance. This framework comprises the following three key policy areas:

• economic affairs
• social affairs
• international affairs.

Through its program activities and its priorities, the Agency contributes to economic affairs, as the following table illustrates.

Links with Canada’s Performance

Canada’s Performance is available at: http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/report/govrev/05/cp-rc-eng.asp

1.6 Context

The Agency’s priorities, as well as its overall intervention in regional development, are intended to be a response to the context of socio-economic development of Quebec and its regions, and to internal management challenges. This section presents this development context and identifies the issues, risks and opportunities in whose context the Agency operates.

1.6.1 Strategic directions 2006-2011

This Report on Plans and Priorities marks the beginning of implementation of the Agency’s strategic directions for 2006-2011. These directions constitute the Government of Canada’s long-term strategy for meeting the challenges of regional development in Quebec. These challenges stem primarily from complex international phenomena: globalization of trade, increased competition from emerging economies, more rapid changes on the technology and knowledge front, territorial recomposition through increased urbanization, and so on. The impact of these phenomena in Canada and Quebec is multi-faceted and worrisome: greater pressure to increase productivity, develop and commercialize innovations and bring knowledge to the world; devitalization of certain areas associated with relocation or closing of enterprises, etc. Through focussing its intervention and investment on the vitality of communities, SMEs’ competitiveness and regions’ competitive positioning, the Agency intends to energize Quebec’s regions and thus contribute to their prosperity and a lasting improvement in their residents’ quality of life and standard of living.

Vision for development In the long term, Quebec’s regions and communities will have increased their development capabilities, dynamism and prosperity in a significant, lasting manner for the benefit of their residents.

The new strategic directions are built primarily on implementation of an integrated development approach based on four interrelated dimensions:

• global: takes the economic, social, environmental and cultural dimensions into account in the planning and drafting of departmental and regional strategies
• horizontal: incorporates federal partners’ expertise, capabilities and means, thus fostering cooperation and collaboration in order to meet the regions’ needs more closely
• territorial: is based on differentiated, consistent strategies reflecting four types of areas while paying special attention to vulnerable communities located in those areas
  • Metropolitan Montréal
  • the major urban centres of Québec and Gatineau
  • central areas
  • outlying areas
• participatory: elicits participation, takes expectations into account and draws on the competencies and experience of the economic agents concerned in order to inform the development and implementation of policy, strategies, initiatives, programs and services.

The Agency will take advantage of the expiration in 2007 of its two main programs, IDEA-SME and RSI, to update its program framework from this year so as to ensure effective implementation of the strategic directions.

1.6.2 External factors

Overall, the Quebec economy is maintaining its growth rate despite a context of intensified global competition, particularly from emerging markets, such as China and India. Owing to Quebec’s industrial structure, the province nonetheless has in some respects fallen behind the Canadian average: lower employment levels, backwardness in terms of productivity and technological intensity for enterprises, SMEs more numerous in traditional sectors, regions struggling with adjustment difficulties, caused particularly by socio-economic shocks (enterprises closing and relocating, moratorium on groundfish, lumber crisis, and so on). By investing in the vitality of communities, the Agency seeks to reinforce communities’ capacity to take their own development in hand, meet their challenges and energize themselves.

Market globalization, while affording new business opportunities, entails adjustment issues for Quebec’s SMEs and regions. Doing business on a global scale is complex and risky. On the one hand, to maintain and increase Quebec’s competitiveness, enterprises must meet the challenge of constantly developing their strategic capability in management, innovation and market development, and their capacity to develop and get the most from their networks. On the other hand, the regions’ competitive position involves development and consolidation of links among knowledge institutions, enterprises and capital providers, as well as their ability to attract investment.

The following section presents the risks and challenges of and opportunities for development, which indeed vary considerably from one part of Quebec to another. The map below shows how Quebec breaks down geographically in terms of similar socio-economic issues.

Quebec areas and socio-economic issues

Metropolitan Montréal

The Montréal census metropolitan area (CMA) accounts for approximately half of Quebec’s population and enterprises. It rivals major cities worldwide. Maintaining and developing its vitality and competitiveness in a lasting way are continual issues for Metropolitan Montréal. Successfully attracting and retaining the best talent (qualified workers, as well as immigrants and enterprises) represents a constant challenge of concern to the partners in its development. The Montréal CMA, like many other metropolitan areas, is also faced with specific risks and issues associated with the environment (highway congestion and smog), safety and renewal of its public infrastructure. The CMA’s vitality involves injecting economic and social dynamism into disadvantaged neighbourhoods so as to reduce spatial polarization, and also reinforcing attraction and outreach capabilities internationally.

Through its universities, numerous research centres and 2,000 or so research and development (R&D) institutions, Greater Montréal has become a hot-spot R&D centre in Canada. Its huge port, extensive highway network, far-reaching rail links and easy access to other markets enable Montréal to benefit from globalization. Its competitive edge lies in its ability to adjust quickly to innovations, find and bring together skilled human resources and put in place networks combining knowhow and technology. The Agency intends to support the intensification of productive links among innovation players with a view to enhancing commercialization of innovation, and also intends to showcase the quality of research so as to attract direct foreign investment.

Cluster: group of enterprises and institutions sharing the same area of competency, geographically close, linked among themselves and complementary. This grouping enables enterprises to benefit from competitive advantages.

The CMA is one of the most diversified manufacturing centres in North America, with the presence of industrial and sectoral clusters in highly competitive markets. How Montréal’s competitiveness evolves is linked with the development of clusters of innovative enterprises in such sectors as aerospace, communications and information technology, biotechnology, bio-food and bio-pharmaceuticals. As mentioned in the previous section, the Agency intends to invest on a priority basis in the reinforcement of specific Montréal industrial clusters so as to promote their international positioning.

Major urban centres: Québec and Gatineau CMAs

The Québec and Gatineau CMAs play an important role in Quebec’s dynamism and prosperity, and afford their residents a remarkable quality of life. The development of these CMAs is built on the presence of provincial and federal seats of government, universities, research centres, emerging enterprises in technological sectors, a highly educated population and international-calibre tourism infrastructure.

Their manufacturing sector, however, comprises mostly medium- and low-technology enterprises having difficulty contending with their competitors on an international scale. Diversification of their economic structure and consolidation of their entrepreneurial dynamism in technological sectors are the issues recognized by these CMAs’ development players. The Agency intends to pursue integration of the tourism offering in these CMAs in order to enhance international marketing of attractions. The Agency also intends to focus its efforts on development of highly innovative sectors and build on networking and valorization of research, notably with knowledge institutions, in order to increase enterprises’ strategic capabilities and enable them to take greater advantage of business opportunities.

Central areas

The central areas consist of urban and rural communities located between an hour and an hour and a half by road from the Montréal or Québec metropolitan areas. They include urban centres of more than 100,000 inhabitants, such as Sherbrooke and Trois-Rivières, and important smaller urban centres, such as St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Drummondville, Granby, Saint-Hyacinthe and Sorel-Tracy. The manufacturing sector of these areas is diversified, accounting for a major share of the economic structure, but posts a heavy concentration of low- or medium-technology industries.

Improving manufacturing SMEs’ productivity is a key issue for maintaining the central areas’ economic strength. Adoption of new technology is a determining challenge for enterprises to be able to face international competition. Manufacturing SMEs located near major urban centres are likely to enjoy an advantage insofar as they can benefit from specialized business services, which are often concentrated in major centres.

To develop, the central areas can build on emerging centres, some of which present the potential to become competitive Canada-wide. Consolidation and reinforcement of industrial production involves in particular the intensification of contact between knowledge producers and enterprises. Sherbrooke and Trois-Rivières are also building on the presence of universities and on research and technology transfer centres to support their economic development. The Agency intends to energize communities in these areas by reinforcing development capabilities and entrepreneurship and enhancing their specific assets. It also wishes to reinforce these areas’ competitiveness by facilitating the adjustment and consolidation of their economic base, notably by enhancing SMEs’ performance and placing greater emphasis on the importance of knowledge.

Outlying areas

Local development: communities take charge of their own development by valuing entrepreneurship and fostering the emergence, development or maintenance of viable enterprises of local or regional scope and social economy enterprises.

Outlying areas cover a vast surface area, present low population density and are far from major urban centres and markets. They are less diversified and thus more at-risk from the vagaries of the economic situation. The natural resources sector also plays a predominant role. But new resource management policy is generating ever more stringent requirements with respect to environmental protection, and this represents an additional adjustment challenge for communities in these areas. The natural resources sector uses capital-intensive technology and creates a limited number of jobs. The challenge is accentuated by the actual or anticipated exhaustion of natural resources in many communities. In such a context, development agents agree that the appropriate strategy is to develop new key sectors so as to diversify these areas’ economic base and thus mitigate the situation. To reinforce these areas’ competitiveness, the Agency intends to facilitate the consolidation, reconversion and diversification of the economic base as well as the transition toward higher value-added transformation and production activities.

Some regions involve their universities in the regions’ own development: Saguenay (Chicoutimi, UQAC), Abitibi-Témiscamingue (Rouyn-Noranda, UQAT) and Bas-Saint-Laurent (Rimouski, UQAR). The university towns in outlying areas are closely linked with economic activities based on use of their region’s natural resources, and play a central role in those areas’ innovation systems. These towns also constitute economic, financial and commercial centres for neighbouring communities and regions.

Many communities in the outlying areas are experiencing a population decrease. Attracting and retaining skilled labour is a demanding challenge. A strong feeling of belonging can be conducive to mobilizing certain communities. This mobilization is an essential condition for the development which the Agency intends to enhance. To help these communities meet these challenges and grasp these opportunities, the Agency wishes also to reinforce local leadership and development capabilities.

Vulnerable communities

Within the four areas mentioned above, some communities are also faced with special challenges and risks. Communities deemed vulnerable are characterized by the presence or anticipation of economic crises. These communities are subdivided into three categories, on the basis of specific characteristics: single-industry, isolated rural, and devitalized urban.

In Quebec there are several dozen single-sector or single-industry communities that are therefore potentially vulnerable to significant economic reversals should the principal employer close down or the dominant economic activity contract. Many of these communities depend on natural resources — forestry, mining or fishing — and are vulnerable to the rapid erosion of or reduction in those resources. The closing of the main company or decline of the dominant economic sector in small, remote communities is likely to have a major impact on local firms, individuals and the community. Minimizing the risks associated with this dependence is the challenge facing these communities.

Isolated rural communities are generally small in terms of population, market and labour pool, are quite isolated from major urban centres and exhibit little diversification. They also afford limited job opportunities and are not a major draw for investors and immigrants. Sources of capital to support local entrepreneurship are limited, and production and investment decisions are often made by non-residents. Specialized business services and infrastructure are lacking, and this adds to the difficulty of producing locally. The challenge for these communities is to build and maintain productive relations with nearby regions.

Devitalized urban communities are characterized by higher-than-average unemployment, despite the availability of jobs. This situation stems from the local population’s low level of schooling and limited occupational mobility, whereas these communities often rely on the presence of enterprises operating in sectors with healthy development prospects. The economic fabric suffers the after-effects of the decline in traditional manufacturing industries that has affected a large number of workers established in those communities. The main issue associated with the development of devitalized urban communities is ensuring that their populations can benefit from economic growth and diversification.

In sum, for all these vulnerable communities, the Agency intends to boost their vitality by supporting development of socio-economic adaptation and adjustment capabilities so as to overcome their specific situational and structural challenges. It also wishes to intensify their diversification by facilitating the identification and enhancement of viable, sustainable new development opportunities.

1.6.3 Internal factors

On a quite different front, implementing the 2006-2011 strategic directions while pursuing application of the federal government’s modern management program and the Management Accountability Framework represents a demanding in-house challenge that requires a change in corporate culture with respect to planning, procedures and management within the Agency. Taking into consideration the social, cultural and environmental dimensions in order thus to move beyond the economic outlook is also a sizeable challenge. Becoming more proactive so as to anticipate development issues and act on them highlights the need to develop new strategic capabilities on the human, relational, procedural and systemic fronts.

With respect to human resources, implementing the Public Service Modernization Act entails a major change in how things are planned, and thus represents a challenge in itself within the Agency. To meet this challenge, the Agency intends to determine key risks, issues and measures on a regular basis in order to ensure that it has the capability to achieve its plans and priorities. Moreover, in line with the new needs stemming from the 2006-2011 strategic directions, the workforce analysis highlighted human resources issues, in particular the reinforcement of certain key competencies, such as the ability to draw up policies, design programs, work in networks, be multiskilled, be adaptable and be a lifelong learner.

In view of this challenge, a number of existing measures, such as personalized learning and training plans, will be enhanced through in-house and external secondments or assignments, joint development and practice and learning communities. Also, to develop its management succession, the Agency intends to encourage further training opportunities by facilitating mobility, coaching and training. Finally, periodic exercises to forecast job openings (new needs and retirements) will help improve proactivity with respect to staffing.

 

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