Business Retention & Expansion (BR&E)

Strengthening the Businesses You Already Have

Strong local economies are built on strong local businesses. While attracting new investment is important, most economic growth, job creation, and business investment comes from businesses that are already operating in the community. Business Retention & Expansion (BR&E) helps economic developers build relationships with those businesses, understand their needs, identify opportunities and challenges, and create conditions that support long-term success.

Business Retention & Expansion (BR&E) is a core course designed for economic development practitioners who work directly with local businesses and want to build, strengthen, or enhance a structured BR&E program. The course provides practical tools, processes, and strategies to help practitioners gather business intelligence, support business growth, identify risks and opportunities, and translate business feedback into meaningful action.

Participants will learn how to design and implement Business Visitation Programs (BVPs), collect and analyze business intelligence, identify red and green flags, manage business relationships through CRM systems, conduct community and business analysis, and develop targeted BR&E initiatives. The course also explores workforce development, succession planning, import replacement, entrepreneurial ecosystems, revitalization strategies, and the growing role of BR&E in community resilience and economic recovery.

Whether working in a small rural community or a large urban centre, participants will gain practical skills to build stronger relationships with local businesses, improve business climate responsiveness, support long-term economic growth, and demonstrate the value of BR&E programs through effective performance measurement and reporting.

This is a core course within our Community Economic Development Certificate Program. 

LEARNING OBJECTIVES