Economic development refers to the active transformation of the living environment and encompasses the entire ecosystem of an organization. Each stakeholder must participate in the community, whether from an economic, social, community, or other perspective. This implies that the entire community must adopt a common development vision and employ a participative, inclusive and collaborative approach. The realization of this vision is reflected through collaborative efforts, cooperation, or coopetition with neighboring municipalities or key partners.

There are numerous challenges in economic development.

Economic development focuses on creating new businesses, sustaining existing ones, optimizing business growth, developing innovative sectors and attracting investments. Stagnation in economic growth is also a significant challenge. A lack of cohesion in local initiatives can lead to substantial business losses and community decline. This, in turn, poses challenges related to business succession and sustainability, closely linked to the labour shortage prevalent in Quebec and Canada.

Among current challenges, there is an observable decentralization of structures and a democratization of economic development, indicating an integration of economic development functions at various levels. Workloads are distributed within the community, resulting in an increased number of stakeholders and causing a fragmentation effect. Consequently, the role of the economic developer is evolving, along with changes in the competitive landscape.

Several major transformations are currently affecting the economic development landscape, including the rise of digital technologies and artificial intelligence, which have significant impacts on the role of developers.

For instance, the role of a network agent is gaining importance, primarily by connecting various ecosystem players to create links and synergies and by developing value-added partnerships. The developer position themselves at the core of a project while remaining neutral and not being a direct participant; instead, they structure and advance projects.

Espace Stratégies’ experience in economic development since 2007 can contribute to your organization in various ways.

Economic development involves the entire ecosystem and we have built trusted relationships with numerous institutional stakeholders. Therefore, we can rely on the participation of all actors and partners, including economic development services, cities, regional county municipalities (RCMs), districts, municipalities, planning services, community-related organizations, local development centers (CLDs), commercial development corporations (CDCs), etc.

Espace Stratégies can train economic stakeholders and provide them with tools to optimize their contributions. We can also assist the organization in establishing partnership strategies and organizing coordination activities to mobilize the community around a common vision.

Additionally, we can support your organization in a strategic reflection to determine structuring directions and priorities to be implemented in the short, medium and long term. Thus, we can identify relevant and effective action strategies for any organization or institution.