Perconference Session i3 (Idea.Innovation.Impact) – Ontario Investment and Trade Centre, Theatre
(250 Yonge Street, 35th Floor, Eaton Centre)

Opening Keynote:

Presenter: Sheila Botting, Partner and National Leader, New National Leader, Deloitte Real Estate

Building Prosperity within Today's Real Estate Market

Canada's investment markets remain desirable from an international perspective, attracting domestic investors and pension funds to a wide range of real estate opportunities. Industrial markets continue to transition to distribution centers and supply chain corporate users. New American retailers are migrating north in search of expansion opportunities. Many cities are experiencing a boom in office development as new workplace strategies drive major corporations to seek new and sustainable office space. Sheila Botting will provide a dynamic economic overview of the Canadian and Ontario commercial real estate markets bringing attention to economic developers which trends are important to watch as we build prosperity together.

Presented by: Deloitte Real Estate

Presented by: eSolutionsGroup Limited

1. Cognitive Fitness: Enhancing Leadership for Successful Economic Development

   A recent study released by the International Economic Development Council identified creative risk taking and strategic thinking as two of the skills needed by high performing economic development organizations. Cognitive fitness is defined as the optimized ability to reason, remember, learn, plan and adapt.

   Jill Hewlett from Brain Works Global will lead a workshop that will improve participants' cognitive fitness and become better equipped to make decisions, solve problems, and deal with stress and change. Join in and learn brain activation strategies that support the utilization of your whole brain potential. Cognitive fitness will help you be more open to new ideas and alternative perspectives. It will give you the capacity to change your behaviour and realize your goals.

   Moderator:Dan Ruby, Small Business Consultant, Region of York

   Presenter: Jill Hewlett, Director of Training and Development,
   Brain Works Global

   Presented by: Region of York

2. Indicators for Community Attractiveness to Newcomers

   In 2011, the Conference Board of Canada assisted the Rural Ontario Institute to develop a system of statistical indicators which will enable counties, small towns or rural communities to increase their capacity to attract newcomers within Ontario. Participants in this workshop will:

   • learn about the overall purpose and methodology of the project from the Rural Ontario Institute;
   • become informed about the Local Training and Adjustment Board perspective on the importance of this information and how to access it; and,
   • gain an understanding of how one test community plans to use the benchmarking information for their local strategy.

   Moderator: Magdy ElDakiky, Economic Development Specialist, Development Branch, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

   Panelists: Norman Ragetlie, Director Policy and Stakeholders' Engagement, Rural Ontario Institute
   Jill Halyk, Executive Director, Workforce Planning Board of Grand Erie
   Amanda Dibbits, Office of the Chief Administrative Officer and Warden, County of Peterborough

   Presented by: Workforce Planning Ontario

3. Fostering Innovation Ecosystems in our Communities

   Innovation Ecosystems are a network and collaboration of resources that have come together to assist entrepreneurs to accelerate in their business, bring new and innovative ideas to the marketplace and create jobs in our communities. Two resources that support Innovation Ecosystems are the Regional Innovation Centres and the Small Business Enterprise Centres.

   This session will explore the development, policies and roles of the Regional Innovation Networks and the Small Business Enterprise Centres and it will provide a case study profiling a community who has succeeded in building a strong community innovation ecosystem.

   Moderator: Ron Neumann, Executive Director, Innovation Factory

   Panelists: Brad Graham, Assistant Deputy Minister, Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Innovation, Innovation & Commercialization Division
   Sam Boonstra, Director, Entrepreneurship Branch, Small & Medium Enterprise Division, Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Innovation
   Don De Los Santos, Manager, Markham Small Business Centre, Town of Markham

4. RRP Research Report: Creativity, Innovation and Sustainability: Understanding Urban-Rural Linkages in Regional Economic Development Initiatives

   This session will highlight the findings of a case study focused on the regional governance models associated with emerging knoweldge-intensive industries in Ontario. Using evidence from key stakeholder interviews and the novel application of Social Network Analysis, the research examines the development and dynamics of the clean technology, creative, and local food industries in the Waterloo Region. The findings reveal the important roles played by urban-rural interdependencies, institutional forms of regional governance, latent knowledge flows in industry-specific networks, and the inter-connectedness of knowledge-intensive industries. Recommendations will be provided, and an emphasis on practical economic development concepts and tools that facilitate our understanding of how to develop these emerging, innovative industries at the local and regional level, as well as address the associated challenges.

   Moderator: Carolyn Puterbough, Agriculture and Rural Economic Development Advisor, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

   Presenter: Tara Vinodrai, Assistant Professor, Department of Geography and Environmental Management & School of Environment, Enterprise and Development, University of Waterloo

   Presented by: Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

Presented by: FCM's Green Municipal Fund

Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries globally. In Ontario, tourism is big business with receipts exceeding $21B in 2009, and supporting more than 300,000 direct and indirect jobs.

Discover how municipal planning and economic development focused on tourism can be a powerful economic generator for your community.

You will hear the story of Branson, Missouri, and how a city with a population of only 10,000 has effectively used municipal planning to support its largest economic activity - the arrival of up to 50,000 new tourists daily.

Learn about concept design, casting and targeted leasing of mixed-use projects that focus on tourism from an industry expert who has developed over 30 legacy projects globally.

Moderator: Richard McKinnell, Assistant Deputy Minister, Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport

Presenters: Garrett Anderson, Director, Economic Development, City of Branson, Missouri
Rob Spanier, Senior Vice President, LiveWorkLearnPlay

Presented by: Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport

Coffee Break in Showcase

Presented by: Ady Voltedge

1. Mentoring & Managing Multi-Generations

   Both experienced and young professionals in economic development are charged with creating knowledge, problem solving and contributing to innovation and growth of the organization. Each generation has work styles and attitudes that are individual. Yet, the adaptability of each generation to new ways and means of working, be it through shared workspace for collaborating in person or via technology; or two-way mentorship roles, is critical to the ongoing success of an economic development team. Considering the changing nature of the workplace, how can seasoned economic development professionals and young professionals work together to achieve their organization's mandate? What are the most effective ways of mentoring and managing your economic development team? How can you adapt your management style to foster the next generation of economic developers?

   This session will consider the changing culture of the workplace and the challenge of meeting the needs of economic development professionals across generations.

   Moderator: Nirvana Champion, Senior Development Analyst, Millier Dickinson Blais

   Panelists:
   Lauren Friese, Founder, TalentEgg.ca
   Mandy Sutherland, Senior Consultant, Applied Research and Consulting, Steelcase
   Donna Smith, Vice President, Career Edge Organization

2. Mission Mainstreet Possible
   
   Ever wonder what magic is needed to transform a charming historical downtown back into a vibrant mainstreet attracting jobs, tourists and residents in the 21st Century? What is the special sauce needed when your downtown never had that charm in the first place? Mission Mainstreet Possible profiles the successes of Kitchener and London to revitalize its downtown and Mississauga's Downtown21 grand visioning to transform the lands around Canada's second largest shopping mall into a mainstreet. In this session you will learn:
   • What are the fundamental elements needed to activate vitality into your community's matinstreet?
   • How the mainstreet experience in resort towns like Whistler and Tremblant is helping to transform Mississauga's vision for its downtown core?
   • What role post-secondary education can play in activating the mainstreet?
   • How innovation centres attract innovative businesses and the creative class.
   • How financial incentives and partnerships drive change.

   Moderator: Rob Spanier, Senior Vice-President, LiveWorkLearnPlay

   Panelists: Andrew McNeill, Downtown21, City of Mississauga
   Cory Bluhm, Manager, Downtown Community Development, City of Kitchener
   Kadie Ward, Mainstreet Board, London Economic Development Corporation

3. Intelligent Communities - What's In It for Me?
   

   Communities are challenged to create prosperity, stability and jobs. Investment and knowledge increasingly depend on advances in communications. Economic stability and development relies heavily on ensuring infrastructure and systems are implemented and available. The growth of the Intelligent Communities responds to one of the greatest economic transformations in history due to globalization. Communities must develop strategies related to their local unique history and challenges, and must overcomes specific obstacles to ensure communication networks are in place.

   Cogeco's direct involvement in Windsor-Essex's drive to become the Most Intelligent Community in 2011 was observed by many communities across Canada and around the world. It's a prestigious award and even earns great respect when a city makes it to TOP 7 (out of 400 applicants).

   Learn from our experiences on why do it and associated challenges.

   Moderator: Andrew Eyres, Business Manager, Fibre Services, Cogeco Business Solutions

   Panelists: Kristina Verner, Research & Development Officer, University of Windsor's Centre for Smart Community Innovation - Connecting Windsor-Essex Smart Community
   Bill Hutchison, Founding Chair of the i-CANADA Alliance and Board Chair of SAVI
   Barry Gander, Co-Founder, i-CANADA Alliance

   Presented by: Cogeco

4. RRP Research Report: Research to Revitalize Rural Economies

   This session profiles recent research from The Monieson Centre at Queen's School of Business on priority issues related to economic revitalization in rural communities. The presentations draw from an EDCO-funded project addressing themes of innovation and sustainability in creative rural economies, and rural entrepreneurs and business. You will hear about:

   • The "green economy" and innovative initiatives in rural sustainability
   • The role of mentoring in rural entrepreneurship
   • Models for improving rural transportation

   The researchers will discuss key findings and applications to rural communities, as well as provide opportunities for discussion and questions.

   Moderator: Magdy ElDakiky, Economic Development Specialist, Regional Economic Development Branch, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

   Presenters: Dr. Alison Blay-Palmer, Associate Professor, Sir Wilfrid Laurier University Department of Geography and Environmental Studies
   Jeff Dixon, Assistant Director, The Monieson Centre at Queen’s School of Business
   Dr. Kelley Packalen, Assistant Professor, Queen’s School of Business

   Presented by: Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

Conference Opening and Welcome

Greetings:  The Honourable G. Goodyear, Minister of State, Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario)

Keynote Presentation:

Presenter: Peter Sheahan, International Expert on Leveraging Business Trends & New Marketing Opportunities

Presented by: Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada

Fl!p: Innovative Strategies for Building Prosperity, Together!
With increasing pressure from our stakeholders to “do more with less” it is crucial that we as economic development professionals start to innovate in much the same way we have been encouraging our business communities to do. Specifically, we will need:

1. Fresh perspectives on how we do what we do

2. To become even more effective at telling our story, and positioning our value in the mind of our stakeholders

3. To drive collaboration deep within our profession, our communities and with our stakeholders too.

In this case-study rich keynote, Peter Sheahan will unpack strategies and ideas in each of these three areas that will help us better understand our market place and their needs, and stimulate us to think differently about economic development itself. As the CEO of ChangeLabs, with 75 staff in 9 cities across 3 countries, Peter knows first-hand the challenges of leading a global business. His Ontario clients include Rogers, L-3 Wescam, Pepsico Foods Canada and Reliance Comfort Limited, which when combined with global clients like Apple, IBM and Pfizer you can be sure his insights will be on the cutting edge, and include perspectives from some of the region's most influential CEOs. Presented by: Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada

Presenter: Ken Poole, Chief Executive Officer/President, Centre for Regional Economic Competitiveness (C2ER)

Presented by: Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

Presented by: Presented by: Ideacia ONE Inc.

1. Building Strong Relationships with Your Elected Officials

   One of the most important relationships for an economic developer is the relationship with the area's elected officials. How do the two groups address the complexities of economic development? How can they ensure consistency in their communication with the community? How can they work together to ensure that policy decisions are aligned with their economy development strategies and priorities?

   Hear from both sides as two mayors plus Build Toronto share their experiences and expectations regarding their own economic development office's role within their community along with balancing that relationship within a political environment. Join us as we learn how these leaders ensure that they are supporting and being supported by the economic development office.

   Moderator: Bruce Strapp, Executive Director, Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation

   Panelists: Hazel McCallion, Mayor of Mississauga
   Marianne Matichuk, Mayor of Greater Sudbury
   John A. Macintyre, Senior Vice-President, Corporate Affairs, Build Toronto

Presented by: Economic Developers Association of Canada (EDAC)

2. Human Capital and Local Economic Vitality

   Human Capital is the sum of a person's knowledge and skills. The strength of human capital impacts not only the well-being of a business within your local community but also that of the individual's own economic success. In responding to local businesses needs to recruit, train and expand their human capital as part of their business development plan, many players have become involved. In this session you will learn about:

   • The role of post secondary education institutions in the attraction of international talent to cities beyond the metropolis
   • Opportunities and challenges in attracting people with the right talent and skills
   • New Economic Development Office initiatives

   Moderator: Norm Schleehahn, Manager of Business Development, City of Hamilton

   Panelists: Margaret Walton-Roberts, Director of the International Migration Research Centre (IMRC), at WLU
   Marla Tremblay, Economic Development Officer, City of North Bay
   Susan Balazs, Job Development, Career Development Centre, City of Hamilton

   Presented by: City of Hamilton

3. FedDev Ontario-Successful Collaborations and Proactive Partnerships

   Since its launch in 2010, the Applied Research and Commercialization initiative has supported 24 colleges, universities and polytechnics across Ontario to work with the private sector to bring new products to the marketplace faster. In December 2011 Minister Gary Goodyear announced the extension of the program with funding of up to $15 million that will enable these 24 post-secondary institutions to apply for additional support to assist even more businesses. 

   Learn about the program and the successful partnerships that have been developed between Post-Secondary Institutions and SMEs.  

   The Prosperity Initiative encourages businesses, not-for-profit organizations and post-secondary institutions to undertake projects that will result in a more productive, diversified and competitive economy.

   Learn about the Prosperity program and the successful $50 million worth of investments FedDev has made to third party delivery initiatives to support SME productivity enhancement to improve the competitiveness of southern Ontario SMEs.

   Moderator: Susan Anzolin - Director General, Business Innovation and Community Development Directorate, FedDev Ontario

   Panelists: Chuck Bokor, Manager, Knowledge Advantage Programs, FedDev Ontario
   Brent Court, Manager, Prosperity Advantage Program, FedDev Ontario
   Karyn Brearley, Executive Director, Yves Landry
   Dr. Darren Lawless, Dean of Applied Research and Innovation, Sheridan Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning

4. RRP Research Report: Benchmarking the Creative Economy in Rural Ontario
   
   This session examines the creative economy in rural communities across Ontario. Learn about a new tool that can be used by any community seeking to better understand how to execute creative economy research and begin to interpret results. The study benchmarks one focus community from each of the five major economic regions against 10 other communities from that region. This reflects the fact that Ontario is composed of five very distinct regions, each presenting unique opportunities and challenges. The focus is on the occupational structure of the workforce but also on measures that characterize a community's creative and quality of life assets, including talent, technology. Communities will not only be able to gauge their own performance in the creative economy, identifying strengths, weaknesses and opportunities, but also to better understand how their community fits within the larger context of the region in which they exist.

   Moderator: Carolyn Puterbough, Agriculture and Rural Economic Development Advisor, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

   Presenters: Kevin Stolarick, Research Director, Martin Prosperity Institute
   Zara Matheson, Research Associate, Martin Prosperity Institute

   Presented by: Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

Coffee Break

Presented by: The Society of Industrial and Office REALTORS® (SIOR)

Closing Presentation
Presenter: Jim Hayhurst, Sr., The Right Mountain., author of The Right Mountain

The Right Mountain is about climbing a mountain...not mountain climbing. It is the riveting story of Jim Hayhurst Sr. and his son's Mount Everest climb. The story is dramatic, the message inspirational. The metaphors are compelling. And the lessons it offers stay with you long after the story is over.

More than an adventure story, The Right Mountain is a graphic illustration of what it means to be successful in terms that are right for the individual and the organization.

Leaders and teams who are facing ordinary, or extra-ordinary, challenges will all find relevant messages as Jim delivers this poignant message with energy, humour and passion.

Presented by: Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Innovation

President's Dinner and Ontario Economic Development Awards Ceremony
Master of Ceremonies: Dianne Buckner, Host of CBC's Dragons' Den

Presented by: Economic Developers Council of Ontario