A renewed direction is being charted for the City of Summerside with an economic development strategy set to be released next month. The strategy, which was initiated earlier this year, will define the city's priorities for growing business investment and attracting jobs and skilled labour to the region.

"We have an excellent track record when it comes to economic development in Summerside," says Councillor Ron Dowling, chair of the city's economic development committee. "A lot has happened to impact the climate for this type of development in recent years. Although the recession has been an obvious factor in slowing development initiatives throughout the region, we have also seen a lot of positives during this period – new companies, new jobs and the city's investment in green technologies and health IT for example."

Dowling says the timing is right to be proactive with the city's economic development strategy. A national economic development consulting firm was recruited to conduct comprehensive interviews with business leaders, government, and community stakeholders to get a clear picture of Summerside's current state and identify goals that the community should work towards. "The community consultations were very constructive," Dowling reports. "We heard a wide range of ideas about what we are doing right, areas where we can improve and some of the key opportunities these stakeholders see for our community."

"I am encouraged by the passion we have seen from the stakeholders involved in this process," says Mike Thususka, director of economic development for the city. "Some of the views are not always easy to hear, but the fact that our community wants to be at the table and contributing to the process is a real positive in my view."

Key themes that emerged as part of the focus groups in April were the need for a clear vision, better cooperation and communication. Challenges identified included the lack of available skills, post-secondary education opportunities and high taxes and development costs. The opportunities identified for Summerside focused on building a green agenda, leveraging our municipally-owned utility/wind farm with initiatives such as the home energy storage project and city-led fiber to the home, working to create a more business and development friendly environment, and continuing to build on successes in sectors like aerospace and e-health.

Thususka notes that the economic development group will continue to work with the community as the strategy approaches its release. "We need to define the role for economic development in Summerside, and help people understand what our department does, what our goals are and how we can help businesses succeed here." The strategy will be released in June.

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We need your participation in the development of the economic development strategy. We have developed a questionnaire to assist us in further identifying our key strengths and weaknesses as well as challenges that need to be addressed in moving forward with an economic development agenda.

All answers will remain confidential and results will only be published in an aggregate form. The questionnaire should only take 10 minutes to complete. We require all survey submissions to be completed by Wednesday May 26th, 2011. Click on this link to take you to the survey.

Many of our local businesses have successfully added social media to their marketing mix. For those still on the fence or unsure of how to get started, here is an excellent article on how to use Twitter for small business success.

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Click here to view the latest employment and construction economic indicators as of March 2011.

On June 8th, Summerside’s Office of Economic Development will be hosting a breakfast for realtors and developers to introduce the new Available Sites Tool – a free business real estate tool that will be linked with our economic development website. In addition to launching this new service, we will be providing an update on issues and resources that are significant to our realtor and developer communities, and seeking to reconnect and establish relationships with these groups. Invitations will go out later this month, but please email us if you are interested to ensure you are on our list.

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