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.

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EDA Member

Non-Member

COURSE OUTCOMES

Explain the role of Business Retention & Expansion as a foundational economic development strategy.
Understand how existing businesses contribute to job creation, investment, economic diversification, and community resilience.
Design and implement a BR&E program that aligns with community capacity, priorities, and economic structure.
Develop Business Visitation Programs (BVPs) that build trust, generate business intelligence, and support ongoing engagement.
Collect, manage, and analyze business data using effective research methods, CRM systems, and business intelligence tools.
Identify red flags and green flags that signal business risks, expansion opportunities, workforce challenges, succession issues, or investment potential.
Apply community analysis tools, including needs assessments, asset mapping, capacity assessments, gap analysis, and SWOT analysis, to inform BR&E priorities.

Develop practical BR&E initiatives related to workforce development, succession planning, entrepreneurial ecosystems, import replacement, downtown revitalization, and business growth.
Build effective partnerships with businesses, chambers of commerce, educational institutions, government agencies, and community organizations.
Understand the relationship between BR&E, Business Investment & Attraction (BI&A), and Community Economic Resilience (CER).
Measure and communicate BR&E outcomes using performance measurement frameworks, logic models, and meaningful metrics.
Recognize the role of BR&E in supporting business continuity, disaster recovery, economic resilience, and long-term community competitiveness.
Translate business intelligence into actionable strategies, policies, and projects that strengthen the local business environment.

Delivery Option & Cost

Individual

Online, self-directed learning. Available 24-7.

$195 Members $295 Non-Members

Group

Hybrid- Online:

Self-directed, augmented with live instructor sessions

$325 Members $435 Non-Members

In person:

Group session in your community. One day instructor-led online workshop.

$2950 Members $3450 Non-Members