EDA News Centre

Economic Developers Alberta (EDA) is presenting: D-Days of an Ethical Dilemma in Economic Development;
the next webinar in our Marketing Master's Series.

Whether you are dealing with prospects, business owners, board members, community leaders or staff…a little common sense goes a long way. But the issues we face in this field are far from clear cut.

D-Days of an Ethical Dilemma in Economic Development.
August 21, 2014
12:00 - 1:30 pm (MST)

Jay Moon, President and CEO of the Mississippi Manufacturers Association, will give you tips and tools based on best practices to navigate ethical dilemmas in economic development. Learn from Jay’s insightful overview of ethics and observations from the field.

Economic Developers Alberta (EDA) is launching its new and official publication: Invest In Alberta, and EDA members have an exclusive opportunity to get involved.

Invest In Alberta is a proven tool to help you raise the profile of your community's products and services to local, national and international decision makers entering the Alberta market or expanding to other regions.

EDA members are being offered the first chance to advertise in Invest In Alberta and are the only advertisers who will be offered a 50% rebate on their advertising on a first come, first served basis. Act now as funds are limited!

The process is simple: contact Katherine Butler at: 1-800-208-2011 ext 158 or e-mail kbutler@biv.com and she will help you place your ad and answer any questions you may have. To receive your rebate, e-mail your ad receipt (proof of purchase) to nancy.toombs@edaalberta.ca.

Our Invest in Alberta publication will represent all of our economic regions and will have a circulation of over 9,500 to business leaders, managers and influencers, business investment decision makers, innovators and entrepreneurs.

"EDA is committed to helping you in your efforts to grow and maintain a strong and diverse economy and Invest in Alberta is an excellent tool to assist you in your community economic development efforts," said Leann Hackman-Carty EDA CEO. "We are pleased to partner with BIV Media Group in this initiative as this company has a proven track record with our colleagues at BC Economic Development Association (BCEDA)." 

The publication date for Invest in Alberta is December 2014.

Economic Developers Alberta (EDA) is presenting Monetizing Economic Development; the next webinar in its Marketing Masters Series:

Monetizing Economic Development
Thursday July 24, 2014
12:00 - 1:30 pm (MST)
Register here

Funding economic development efforts is a challenge. This webinar will focus on both the traditional methods being used as well as the innovative approaches being taken.
With our panel of experienced practitioners, learn the concepts and procedures they use to raise the money necessary to carry out the mission of their organizations.
The panel will discuss funding, cost sharing, foundations and crowd funding sourcing, and other approaches being used. Learn how to engage your community, leadership team, and yourself in the process.

Economic Developers Alberta (EDA) is commemorating the one year anniversary of the worst flood in Alberta's history by releasing the Economic Disaster Recovery Project (EDRP) Summary Report; an overview of recommendations for flood impacted communities, as well as a range of recommendations for other key stakeholders and organizations involved with economic recovery work.

Read the Summary Report here.


In response to the unprecedented flooding in Alberta one year ago, EDA partnered with the British Columbia Economic Development Association (BCEDA) to develop and implement the EDRP; a volunteer-led initiative equipping economic development professionals in flood impacted communities with the tools and best practice information to re-establish their communities' economic competitiveness.

"This report provides a summary of the EDRP Team’s recommendations, as well as some new recommendations specifically created for other public, private and non-profit stakeholders that have the ability to help influence, and more efficiently respond to future economic disruptions," said Leann Hackman-Carty EDA CEO. "As a region and country, if we are to become better at preparing for, responding to and recovering from economic disruptions; whether they are natural or man-made disasters; it is important that we learn from what worked, and to identify ways we could respond more effectively in the future."

The EDRP was designed as a unique blended learning opportunity to provide economic development practitioners, and those in supporting roles, with both theoretical and practical training. It has several elements one of which is community consultations where volunteers conducted site visitations and planning sessions with each of the participant communities. The recommendations in the summary report were derived from these community consultations.


About the EDRP

The EDRP is lead by Economic Developers Alberta (EDA) and the British Columbia Economic Development Association (BCEDA), with the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) as the its third organizational partner. The EDRP is funded by a blend of private sector, not-for-profit and government partners. They are: The Government of Alberta, Ministry of Innovation and Advanced Education; The Canadian Red Cross; RBC; Shell Canada Ltd. and the Consulate General of the United States of America, Calgary.

If you want the tools to build an entrepreneur friendly rural community then register for EDA's next Webinar in its Marketing Masters Series:

Energizing Entrepreneurial Communities : Pathway to Prosperity
Tuesday, June 24
12:00 - 1:30 pm (MST)
Register here

Drawing from the book, "Energizing Entrepreneurial Communities: A Pathway to Prosperity" you will receive a roadmap to get started or to move an existing program forward.


Author Don Macke, Director of the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship's Entrepreneurial Communities initiative, and Deborah Markley, the Center's Managing Director, have honed an approach, built tools, and assembled resources to help rural leaders in communities of all sizes create a supportive ecosystem for their entrepreneurs to increase the economic development impact.


With the webinar, every registrant will receive an e-copy of the book A Pathway to Prosperity. Plus, you will also get the keys to e2 University, the Center's online resource center where the authors continually update their work and peers exchange information and ideas to speed entrepreneurial success.


Bring your questions. Bring your team. Test your approach against a proven model or start your entrepreneurial eco-system to advance your economic development agenda.

Economic Developers Alberta (EDA) is pleased to present a four-part webinar series designed to provide you with information and training relating to our AlbertaBusinessCounts Program.

AlbertaBusinessCounts is an excellent tool to help you with your business retention and expansion strategy as it gives your community a consistent method for gathering the data needed to identify and analyze business needs at the local, regional and provincial level.

If your community is currently using, or interested in becoming a licensed user for this software, don’t miss these training webinars. Click on the links below to read about and register for these webinars.

Webinar #1 - June 20
12:00-1:00 pm
Adding Information to the AlbertaBusinessCounts Database for Business Retention and More

Webinar #2- August 15
12:00-1:00 pm
Creating Groups, Action Items, Journal Entries and More

Webinar #3- October 17
12:00-1:00 pm
Understanding the Portfolios for Companies, Contacts, Users and Groups

Webinar #4 - December 12
12:00-1:00pm
Basic and Advanced Reporting and Analytics

EDA holds the provincial master license for Executive Pulse, a software designed to collect and analyze data on existing industries in Alberta. A special licensing agreement enables EDA to make this software available to economic development organizations at a reduced price.

EDA has partnered with Executive Pulse for this webinar program.

See the various Alberta Communities who have recently signed up for the AlbertaBusinessCounts Program.

Is a more efficient business retention and expansion strategy part of your economic development plan?

Economic Developers Alberta (EDA) has a program that can help you with that. It's called AlbertaBusinessCounts and is designed to give your community a consistent method for gathering data needed to identify and analyze business needs at the local, regional and provincial level. The program is similar to BC Business Counts and Business Counts Saskatchewan.

EDA holds the provincial master license for Executive Pulse, a software designed to collect and analyze data on existing industries in Alberta. A special licensing agreement enables EDA to make this software available to economic development organizations at a reduced price.

Even though the program was only launched a few months ago, several Alberta communities have already signed up to participate in the AlbertaBusinessCounts program.

"By participating in AlbertaBusinessCounts, economic development professionals can continue to build relationships with existing businesses, which will help identify growth opportunities, better forecast investment and connect them to important resources. Understanding who is in your back yard is absolutely essential if you want to implement a successful business retention and expansion program in your community," said Leann Hackman-Carty, EDA Chief Executive Officer.

AlbertaBusinessCounts is available for your community to license now.

In eight days, Economic Developers Alberta's (EDA) online course, Economic Development Establishing the Foundation, begins. Sign up now to secure your spot.

Economic Development:Establishing the Foundation

May 6 - June 3, 2014 (for a total of 15 hours)

Register Here

This course will provide you with the basic strategies to apply community-driven economic development principles in your community.

Here are some of the key outcomes:

• Identify what economic development is
  
• Determine your role in the function of economic development
  
• Examine the principles and theories of economic development
  
• Explain the concept of community economic development (CED) versus traditional economic development
  
• Identify how projects link into the continuous process of community-driven economic development
  
• Describe the key elements of an economic development strategic plan
  
• Identify the tools and resources that can help economic developers successfully meet local development challenges
  

In 2014 EDA is offering several online courses; read about them and register by clicking on this link.

Do you want to learn about the tools available and tricks used to increase the effectiveness of your e-mail marketing strategy? Then register for EDA's Webinar:

Email Marketing Workshop
Tuesday April 22
12:00 - 1:30 MST (2:00 PM EST)
Register here

This online workshop will address topics such as:

• The true value of email marketing
  
• The tools
  
• Strategizing and setting email marketing goals
  
• Planning your campaigns: Promotions, newsletters, and more
  
• Creating the perfect subject line
  
• Picking the perfect send time
  
• Knowing email marketing best practices and tricks
  
• Understanding analytics
  

You will walk away ready to create professional emails that incorporate proven social media marketing practices, promote your organization's goals, and strengthen your current and prospective client relationships.

In one week from today, join IEDC's Restore Your Economy for a free Webinar designed to give you tips and tools on how to prepare for what happens in the long-term after your community has moved on from disaster.

Long-Term Recovery: Addressing Business Failures in Years 2-5

Tuesday April 22, 2014
12:00 -1:30 MST (2:00- 3:30 pm EST)
Cost: FREE
Register Here

This Webinar will help you:

• help businesses survive beyond the initial disaster response and thrive for years to come
  
• overcome the challenges facing businesses impacted by disaster that might not manifest until years later
  
• prevent business failures in the long-term following a disaster
  

This Webinar is part of IEDC's 2014 Disaster Preparedness and Economic Recovery Webinar Series. This 12-part Webinar series is free of charge and provides practical information on key topics in disaster preparedness and economic recovery for economic development organizations and chambers of commerce. Each seminar hosts economic recovery practitioners with real world experience and leadership in the subject matter.