Economic Development1st Quarter Update

REPORT TO LOCAL MUNICIPALITIESCara A. Finn - Director of Economic DevelopmentMARCH 23, 2017

April 18, 2017 Page 1 of 21

Economic Development Municipal Roundtable

• Quarterly Meetings for Economic Development Best Practice Sharing among local municipal staff

• Feature a key presentation on a current economic development strategy/practice/issue in Middlesex County

• March 2017 meeting will present final results of our Resident Life Survey. Local and County wide reports will be made available.

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• Completing a third field placement to April 2017 with the graduate program in Public Relations and Communications

• Working with the Graphic Design Department on Sign Design contest for Lucan CED Committee

• Hosting exclusive regional tour of Canadian Centre for Product Validation on May 3, 2017 – all councillors, senior staff and businesses are invited to attend

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• Psychology Department completing reports for each municipality on results of Residential Life in Middlesex County Survey as a Statistical Measurement Project (over 1100 responses)

• We have been awarded an RBC Community Engaged Learning Grant for this project

• Urban Economics students currently designing promotional infographic on the benefits of doing business in Middlesex County

• Students in Graduate Media program have completed a virtual tour of the County building and are now working on a 360 video for us

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• Hosting Middlesex Workforce Planning Committee meetings monthly

• Currently completing Labour Force Strategy for Middlesex County -expected to be released by June 2017

• Discussing opportunity to create Work In Middlesex website to have a collective landing for employer and employment services throughout the County

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Agriculture Forum

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• Received SWOTC partnership funding to purchase ad time on CTV London for our new Visit Middlesex commercial

• Due to this partnership, we will be able to air the commercial for another round in 2017

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• Apple Land Station has been featured in the latest round of SWOTC’s award-winning Next Stop: Taste Videos.

• Waiting confirmation that Heeman’s will be featured in one of the 2017 videos under the same brand

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l6maS7iuZk

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London-Middlesex Local Food Map

• Production of the new London-Middlesex Local Food Map is underway

• Middlesex Federation of Agriculture has taken the lead in organizing and printing. Cooperation from Health Unit, Western Fair District and In Motion

• We are providing the Graphic Design and helping to sponsor the print and distribution of the publication

• Expected to launch in time for Local Food Week in 2017

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Small Business Workshops and Networking Sessions

• Sponsoring The Business Help Centre (CFDC) in offering small business directed workshops taking place throughout the year.

• Sponsored and welcomed a sold out crowd of 200 for International Women’s Day event

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Spring Agricultural Tour 2017

• Plans have been made for a tour May 31, 2017.

• Route will commence in Adelaide-Metcalfe, and travel into Strathroy-Caradoc and Southwest Middlesex before returning back to Adelaide Metcalfe for a local lunch

• Several funding partners on board and tour locations are finalized

• Invitations are now being circulated. There are a total of 40 seats available.

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Middlesex-London Food Policy Council

• The Executive has been selected and meetings are taking place at the County building on a bi-monthly basis

• Minutes and information can be found on the MLHU website

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Ontario Food Cluster

• Membership continuing to grow – Niagara, Norfolk and Simcoe have joined in 2017

• Four shows planned in Europe and North America

• New lead agents have been chosen by the group, and a collaborative meeting is taking place later this month to determine group priorities and interests for facilitating collaborations with interested investors

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EDCO Award

• We were pleased to receive the top prize for Technology and New Media (50,000 – 250,000 Population) for Invest in Middlesex website at the EDCO Awards in Toronto in February

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2017 Tourism Symposium

• Our annual tourism symposium is setfor May 16th at FireRock Golf Course

• A fun morning for tourism providers to spendnetworking together and learning how to partner to bring about new opportunities for business development

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Invest in Middlesex Updates

• A new page for Exclusive and Private Listings has been added

• Direct mail packages outlining how to use the Site Selection resources on the site, and including our Community Profile , Business Park information, and Business Success Stories brochure were distributed to all commercial realtors in LSTAR in January

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New Visitor’s Map

• The Visit Middlesex Official Visitor’s Map has now been overhauled and distributed to tourism partners across the County

• The maps are also available through our libraries and Visit Middlesex kiosks throughout the County

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Middlesex County Cycling Strategy

• Middlesex County Cycling Strategy consultation is now underway

• Preliminary meetings with local municipalities have taken place

• A draft logo has been selected and stakeholder engagement sessions will be taking place in the 2nd Quarter

• Tourism providers are showing interest in becoming involved

• Cycling bloggers will be coming to the area as part of a regional project with SWOTC mid-2017

April 18, 2017 Page 17 of 21

SKAL London Presentation

• Was invited by SWOTC manager, Jim Hudson to be the keynote speaker for the February SKAL Chapter meeting

• The group consists of key tourism leaders from across the London area

• Attendees includes The Grand Theatre, Covent Garden Market, Delta Hotels, Best Western, Wine Agents, Event Coordinators, etc.

• Have already been contacted by partners looking to arrange tours and activities for international groups visiting the area

April 18, 2017 Page 18 of 21

Tradeshow Participation

• Visit Middlesex has joined forces with our partners at SWOTC to be represented at the Toronto Motorcycle Show, the Toronto Outdoor Adventure Show, and the Go Wild, Grow Wild Show here in London this Spring.

• We will have a booth at Baconfest in the summer, and at Agri-Net and other events this Fall.

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Certified Sites

• Strathroy’s Molnar Industrial Park has been recertified

• Southwest Middlesex and Thames Centre have completed the requirements for certification

• Middlesex County has covered 25% of the cost of the certification on behalf of the local municipalities participating

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Upcoming…• Plans for the 2017 Business

Appreciation Dinner, Business Profile Videos, and Photography will be starting in soon.

• If you have any nominations or specific needs, please let us know so that we can incorporate them

April 18, 2017 Page 21 of 21