ARCHIVED - Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario - Report

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Section II: Analysis of Program Activities by Strategic Outcome

Program Activities by Strategic Outcome

The global economic recession had a significant impact on all regions of Canada and Ontario in particular. While the efforts of the Federal Government have helped Canada to be the first country to recover from the recession, the global economy remains volatile, thus affecting the recovery rate for southern Ontario. Nonetheless, southern Ontario remains home to a number of competitive advantages, including: a well-educated and diverse population; an excellent network of higher learning institutions; a business-friendly environment; a vibrant small business community; key economic clusters; and proximity and access to U.S. and international markets.

FedDev Ontario will build on these advantages to help support the southern Ontario economy to be competitive and diversified.

As a young regional development agency, FedDev Ontario will focus its efforts in 2011–2012 on four program activity areas: Business and Innovation Development; Economic Regional Development and Infrastructure; Policy, Advocacy and Coordination; and Internal Services.

These four areas take into account the need to deliver programs and services to business and communities. However, it is important to stress that these four areas are mutually supportive. Consequently, many investments cross-cut more than one activity and all of them contribute to a more competitive and diversified southern Ontario.

Program Activity 1: Business and Innovation Development

Includes Investing in Business Innovation, Scientist and Engineers in Business, Applied Research and Commercialization, Technology Development Programand theProsperity Initiative (Productivity)
Program Activity Expected Results	Performance Indicators	Targets
Improved growth and competitiveness of southern Ontario Small-Medium Enterprises (SMEs)	% of SMEs assisted that maintained or increased their sales	40%

Planning Highlights

Business Financing Support

There are two Southern Ontario Advantage (SOA) initiatives under the Southern Ontario Advantage (SOA) announced in 2010–2011 that are targeted to support start-up businesses. They are the Investing in Business Innovation and the Scientists and Engineers in Business initiatives.

Investing in Business Innovation is designed to encourage greater collaboration between entrepreneurs and investors, to provide improved access to venture capital for start-up businesses, to boost private sector investment in start-up businesses, and to help accelerate the development of new products and ideas and bring them to the marketplace.

Scientists and Engineers in Business is designed to promote the next generation of entrepreneurs and innovators by investing in the ideas of recent graduates and graduate students and help them access the skills and support necessary to become successful entrepreneurs and to start their own businesses.

Innovation and Commercialization

Southern Ontario's recovery is dependent on the region's technological progress within the global economy. Small and medium-sized businesses within southern Ontario need to continue to adapt and adjust by investing in technology, innovation and business strategies geared to the demands of an increasingly competitive marketplace.

Colleges and universities can also help businesses to undertake applied research, technology development, piloting and demonstration activities that will enable them to compete in a knowledge-based economy. Given the fact that southern Ontario is home to 35 universities and colleges and numerous research institutes – the largest network of higher learning institutions in the country and among the best in the world – businesses across southern Ontario need to identify opportunities for partnership.

FedDev Ontario will focus its efforts in 2011–2012 to better support small and medium-sized businesses in southern Ontario to work with local colleges, universities and research institutes to bring promising new products to the marketplace faster.

Two of the Agency's SOA initiatives under the SOA (Applied Research and Commercialization Initiative and Technology Development Program) will provide significant funding to increase the region's innovation capacity.

The Applied Research and Commercialization Initiative is a pilot initiative launched in 2010–2011 that provided $15 million to encourage greater collaboration and partnerships between post-secondary institutions with applied research development expertise and Small-Medium Enterprises with pre-commercialization needs. The goal of the Initiative is to accelerate innovation and to improve productivity and competitiveness.

The Technology Development Program will encourage research and innovation organizations, the private sector, post-secondary institutions and not-for-profit organizations to work together to accelerate the development of large-scale, advanced technologies that will result in new and improved market opportunities for southern Ontario businesses.

A Competitive Advantage element of the SOA Prosperity Initiative will help businesses, universities, colleges and not-for-profit organizations in southern Ontario undertake projects that will enhance key economic clusters that have or are developing significant positions in producing products or services within the global economy. The region's prosperity is dependent on its ability to utilize both its researched and entrepreneurial resources in a focused effort aimed at competing within the global economy.

Enhanced Enterprise Productivity

Prior to the economic downturn, low productivity in southern Ontario had been masked by many of the region's competitive advantages. However, the current economic environment has highlighted the importance for increased productivity. As such, the Agency will focus its efforts in 2011–2012 to work collaboratively with others: to support businesses to invest in new technologies, to increase capacity utilization; and to increase the rate of response of individual Canadian businesses to changes in economic conditions. The Agency will do this through the Prosperity Initiative (Productivity Enhancements) – an initiative designed to support projects that result in the adaptation and adoption of new technologies, processes and skills development that will enhance business productivity in southern Ontario.

Benefits for Canadians

Southern Ontario is home to more than 360,000 businesses and 35 universities and colleges. Together these organizations along with support from governments and the non-profit sector will drive innovation by: creating new products and services; producing existing products in new ways; and developing new markets. These are the elements necessary to improve the region's productivity, accelerate growth and maintain and enhance the region's living standards in the context of a global knowledge-based economy.

Program Activity 2: Economic Regional Development and Infrastructure Development

Includes Youth-STEM, Scientists and Engineers in Business, Graduate Enterprise Initiative, Community Futures Program, Economic Development Initiative, Prosperity Initiative (Regional Diversification) and the Brantford Greenwich-Mohawk Remediation Project.
Program Activity Expected Results	Performance Indicators	Targets
Southern Ontario communities have increased economic opportunities and higher capacity to respond to challenges	Leveraging of Agency funds invested against other sources of funding	1:2

Planning Highlights

Human Capital and Skills Development

Canada needs more young women and men in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) to ensure future economic growth and ability to create new jobs. FedDev Ontario has launched several initiatives that are designed to promote the next generation of entrepreneurs and innovators, including Scientists and Engineers in Business. The Agency also has two other unique initiatives that support human capital and skills development: Youth STEM and Graduate Enterprise Internship.

Youth STEM provides students (from kindergarten to grade 12) the chance to discover and learn about exciting opportunities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Youth STEM projects will provide long-term investments for the region's future economic prosperity.

For more immediate economic requirements, FedDev Ontario will provide funding through Graduate Enterprise Internship to address the needs of graduate students and recent graduates of programs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics by arranging internships (including structured mentoring opportunities) with small and medium-sized companies in southern Ontario.

Regional Economic Diversification

With the rapidly changing economy, it is important that southern Ontario communities are competitive players in the global market. Promoting economic development in communities encourages the development of skills, ideas and opportunities across southern Ontario. As such, FedDev Ontario supports several programs that promote regional economic development through diversification.

During the next year, FedDev Ontario will continue to work with communities and regions within southern Ontario to identify local solutions to local challenges and opportunities. The Community Futures Program and the Regional Diversification element of the Prosperity Initiative are designed to support the Agency's efforts in this area.

Official Language Minority Communities

Francophone communities in southern Ontario are an important component of the region's rich diversity and its economy. As part of the Government of Canada's overall commitment to enhance the vitality of English and French minority communities across Canada, FedDev Ontario will continue to work with partners to respond to the needs and opportunities of French minority communities in southern Ontario through its Economic Development Initiative.

This initiative is part of the Economic Development Initiative – the "Roadmap for Canada's Linguistic Duality 2008–2013: Acting for the Future," the Government of Canada's strategy for official languages.

Brantford Greenwich-Mohawk Remediation Project

In 2007, the Government of Canada made a commitment to assist the clean-up and redevelopment of brownfields in Brantford, Ontario, totalling more than 50 acres. The end date for the project is March 31, 2013.

In 2011–2012, FedDev Ontario will continue to provide funding for the redevelopment of this site with the aim of improving environmental quality, health and safety, helping create and retain employment opportunities, and revitalizing land and leading to infrastructure development in the city.

Infrastructure

Strong, safe and modern communities are essential building blocks for Canada's competitiveness and long-term prosperity. In 2011–2012, FedDev Ontario will continue to work with others, including Infrastructure Canada, the province of Ontario and communities, to support the infrastructure needs within southern Ontario. The Agency delivers infrastructure programs such as the Canada Ontario Municipal Rural Infrastructure Program (COMRIF) the Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund (MRIF) Top-up and the Building Canada Fund-Communities Component (BCF-CC).

Through Canada's Economic Action Plan, FedDev Ontario delivered a number of stimulus programs designed to respond to the serious economic situation facing many Canadians by investing in the infrastructure needs of communities. On December 2, 2010, the Prime Minister announced an extension to some of these programs until October 31, 2011. FedDev Ontario will continue to work with its partners to ensure that projects under the Building Canada Fund Communities Component Top-Up which it also delivers on behalf of Infrastructure Canada and the Recreational Infrastructure Canada Program in Ontario are successfully completed.

Benefits for Canadians

Canada has long been defined by the richness and diversity of its regions. Southern Ontario – the country's most populous region – faces unique challenges and opportunities that require regional based solutions.

Program Activity 3:  Policy, Advocacy and Coordination

Planning Highlights

In 2011–2012, FedDev Ontario will continue to focus its efforts on building its reputation as a centre of knowledge regarding the economy of southern Ontario. This will be achieved through strategic research, data collection, analysis and consultation with stakeholders, on key issues such as skills and workforce, access to credit, industrial base and performance, competitiveness, communities and diversification. FedDev Ontario will continue to identify ways to better articulate its key objectives and outcomes so as to better respond to the economic challenges and opportunities within southern Ontario and to communicate these efforts more effectively to Canadians. By understanding the needs of the region and its clients, FedDev Ontario will be better positioned to develop effective policies and programs.

In its role as advocate for southern Ontario, FedDev Ontario will pursue opportunities to build federal and intergovernmental collaboration on issues of mutual interest. FedDev Ontario will continue to represent the southern Ontario perspective on key files, such as gateways, borders and global commerce. As the host of the Ontario Federal Council, the Agency will work with its federal partners to advance both the government's priorities in the region and the economic interests of southern Ontario on federal policy issues. FedDev Ontario will continue to explore opportunities to develop forums and mechanisms to enhance coordination and collaboration with other stakeholders. FedDev Ontario will also seek to act as a facilitator for investors looking to do business in southern Ontario.

Benefits for Canadians

Southern Ontario has traditionally been home to a thriving manufacturing sector and a number of industries. The region's economy has been under intense pressure as international competition has intensified and the region has been recovering from the impact of the global economic recession.

Southern Ontario remains a cornerstone of Canada's economic engine, yet it is expected that its future competitiveness will increasingly rely on the ability of its industry to innovate and become more productive. While the region has a number of competitive advantages, it also faces some difficult and unique economic challenges.

FedDev Ontario has the unique position within the Government of Canada to represent the regional interests of southern Ontario at the national level. A strong and prosperous southern Ontario contributes greatly to a strong and prosperous Canada.

Program Activity 4:  Internal Services

Internal Services are groups of related activities and resources that support the needs of programs and other corporate obligations of an organization. These groups are management and oversight services, communications, legal services, human resources management, financial management, audit and evaluation, information management, information technology, real property services, material services, acquisitions, and travel and other administrative services.

In 2011–2012, FedDev Ontario will continue to build its organizational processes and policies to better serve the interests of southern Ontario. As such, it will focus on developing and stabilizing processes relating to accountability, internal controls, audit and evaluation, performance measures, internal coordination and reporting and ensuring its present programs are fully operational. To do so, FedDev Ontario will need to ensure that it is a healthy workplace combined with qualified staff. FedDev Ontario will put in place a number of measures to increase awareness of the organization and its initiatives throughout southern Ontario. In 2011–2012, FedDev Ontario will seek to: increase the ongoing profile of the Agency within southern Ontario; communicate a clear, consistent message using a variety of communication tools (including new technologies); encouraging contact, discussion and partnerships and communicate the Agency's results to the public.

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