Saskatchewan Economic Development Conference - Nov. 2-4
The goal was to support resilient communities.
According to feedback she’s received from delegates, Verona Thibault with Saskatchewan Economic Development Association (SEDA) says that their conference on Nov. 2-4 in Humboldt did just that.
“The goal was to inspire, motivate and provide community leaders and professionals engaged in community economic development to build more resilient sustainable communities and I’ve heard unofficially from the delegates that we’ve hit the mark.”
Mayor Malcolm Eaton says Humboldt had some good representation at the conference with councillors and members of the Humboldt and District Chamber of Commerce present to take in the conference.
The theme of the conference was building community resilience and especially in Saskatchewan, this is an important part of a viable future.
Eaton found himself wishing that high school students were there listening to the sessions.
“There was a couple sessions there that I thought we need to promote that among young people. It’s not just a matter of getting a job and going to work when you get out of school.”
Starting a business or getting involved with the business community is a great opportunity that young people should be exploring, says Eaton, especially in small communities.
Thibault says the sessions with a rural focus were very popular.
Promoting a holistic approach where communities and sectors are working together was an important message to take away from the conference.
“Our observation is that we’d have better results if perhaps we working in a more holistic way. That’s our goal.”
Finding holistic solutions to problem is like a matching game where a community takes these broad goals for a healthy community; whether it be strong heritage, economic stability, local business, or cultural engagement and then match them together with local resources.
“If we could look at goals first and then decide together how to achieve those goals, it might be a more efficient use of resources which are becoming more limited all the time.”
The biggest challenge going ahead is leadership. In Lonnie Patterson’s session on measuring community success, Thibault says that the communities that set goals and had a vision for their community were the ones moving forward.
Eaton says he hopes these ideas start percolating in the community.
Business retention and expansion has already been a topic of discussion for the city and the chamber, says Eaton. Now it is the kind of project that they can work on together and get other areas involved, says Eaton.
“I think its the kind of project we can involve the region in. I think its the kind of project that other businesses would see as valuable.”
With Humboldt expanding its retail and service availability, Eaton wants to explore what else can be done. Consumers are attracted to more retail and Humboldt is the retail hub for the area.
SEDA provides a lifeline, tools and resources for communities that are available for these communities in Saskatoon but they also have community coaches that go out and provide this support right in the community.
Eaton says that SEDA has a lot of interesting resources outside the conference.
“They’re a really useful support organization for communities who want to tackle community development and economic development.”
Main Street Conference Nov. 5
A lot of delegates attended both the SEDA conference and the Main Street Saskatchewan Program (MSSP) Conference, and SEDA supports the MSSP, says Thibault.
Thibault says revitalizing downtown is a big part of economic development.
This year, the conference focused on retail elements of revitalization.
“The intersection of retail and urban planning is a holistic approach, planning, retail and economic development all linked together.” Says Thibault.
Bringing in community planners is something that Thibault wants to focus on for next year.
“We want to bring more of them to our community events because we feel we can do better at bridging.”
Thibault wants to see community planners come together with local businesses to affect community development.
“We don’t always get them in the same room to dialogue and peer to peer mentoring is one of the key take aways.”
Eaton says that the city has looked into numerous main street revitalization programs. MSSP is something that is separated from city council that can come in as an outside observer.
Eaton says they were exposed to a lot of good ideas when it comes to main street development. The city, chamber and even a few local business were present to take in the conference.
“They’ve come out of there with some enthusiasum, some ideas and it certainly fits very well with where the city wants to go.”
Commercial development is going to continue along Highway 5 and having a focus on main street to go along with this “big box” developments is very important, says Eaton.
Having a walkable and friendly downtown, especially to go with the renewal that is going on in the older downtown neighbourhoods are good concepts going forward, says Eaton.
Kieron Hunt presented on a balance between suburban and downtown developments. He wants people to see that downtown value.
“They really are, when planned properly, the beating heat of the community. You can’t ask a suburban development to be that civic place.”
Main streets and downtowns hold more than just an economic value but a cultural and social value to a community, says Hunt.
