Nov 22, 2011- 5:45 PM
Ian Wood took up his post last week. He said it will be a “great honour” to lead the city from a staffing level toward greater economic opportunities that will only bring about success for the community. Formerly the economic development officer for town of Walden prior to amalgamation in 1998, Wood has spent about 13 years focusing on economic development for Sudbury. He also spent four years as chief of staff for former mayor John Rodriguez.
“This is a great opportunity for me personally, and I am really looking forward to continuing in the traditions of great predecessors who have marked some great accomplishments,” Wood said.
The essence of the city's success over the years has been its ability to build strong partnerships, Wood said. The city has recognized that economic development is not just something that one person does or that one organization does, it's a team effort in every sense of the word.
The city has worked in concert with various community partners to realize such successes as the school of architecture, Wood said. The economic development corporation, along with the chamber of commerce, were the first organizations to seize that as an opportunity, and it continues to be a primary project for the development corporation.
“We funded the local steering committee, and this project was a huge accomplishment, and we're very pleased with the recent developments,” Wood said.
In order to get others to pay attention, the community, through the economic development corporation, has not hesitated to invest and trigger investments from other levels of government, Wood said. This level of trust can be traced back many years and includes, for example, the creation of Science North. The science centre's first board was a sub-committee of the development corporation.
“Over the years, people from other communities have questioned why Sudbury is home to things like the Northern Ontario School of Medicine and Science North, and it's because the councils of the day and the people of the community are willing to invest the money to get the projects going,” Wood said. “As a community, Sudbury understands economic development better than just about any other community.”
The corporation is staffed with 22 full-time employees spread throughout the department including tourism, business development and the Regional Business Centre, which provides services to aspiring entrepreneurs or to those looking to improve upon their business. Physician recruitment and export assistance are two other initiatives looked after by economic development, Wood said. These are all vital departments to advancing the city's economy.
The city is bucking the trend of many other Ontario municipalities. At the moment, there aren't huge challenges facing the city, he said.
“Our mining supply and services sector and mining sectors are doing well, and there's plenty of exploration activity,” he said. “Our challenge is to continue to ensure we get as much value-added out of the mining activity we can. We have to ensure that we help our local industries be as competitive as possible, so that supplies are coming from local companies, and that they have skills to export and create new markets. This will ensure they're sustainable should there be another economic downturn.”
The “old economic development model” was all about drawing people to the community, Wood said. While the Greater Sudbury Economic Development Corporation hasn't forgotten that, it also recognizes that there's as much, if not more, value in making sure existing businesses can grow and sustain themselves over the long term.
“If we can help a local mining supplier identify a new market in South America and actively service that market and bring jobs and economic activity to the city, it means more for our economy in the short term, but it also means that supplier is more resilient if there's a downturn in the local economy.”
Wood said that his is a “unique position” in that he report to both council as an employee of the city, as well as to the Greater Sudbury Development Corporation, an independent board that has been given a mandate and significant budget to advance economic development for the city. The corporation is guided by 18 board members, who are led by chair Scott Lund.
Its budget (proposed $3.2 million for 2012) is not huge in the overall scheme of things, but it's important because staff take taxpayers' money and invest it into projects and proponents with the idea to advance the community.
“I think our track record is good,” Wood said. “Four years ago, all of our investments required a sign-off by the city, and the previous council moved to give the board more autonomy. The board now has up to $250,000 to make direct investments. It's more efficient, but just as important, it's indicative of the trust factor that is there.”
Business development officers are working in the community every day to understand what the opportunities are, and to make sure our investments are good ones that will pay off in the long run, Wood said.
“Things are going well,” he said. “We've got a great team, a great board and the confidence of council. Right now, our economy is going well, and I think from what we're hearing from mining and supply companies is that we need to continue to be aggressive and to help them take advantage of this up cycle. That's where a lot of our focus is right now.”
Another major focus for the corporation is Cliffs Natural Resources.
“We are working on (this project) very diligently,” Wood said. “We have taken the lead on this, but we know there are many other components of the city that need to be brought to the table, so we are working with all of our counterparts to ensure we are servicing the best we can.”
Posted by Mark Gentili
