First steps in the development of the SGIs Community Economic Sustainability Strategic Plan
The Business Survey Report as well as current and new partnerships and a formal community retreat are the first steps and will form the fundamentals of the SGICRC Community Economic Sustainability Strategic Plan. The plan will be a map to help the SGICRC and the Islands communities navigate the economy, development potential and the environment to allow the SGICRC to meet challenges and projects for the benefit of local businesses. It will take all the SGIs to build a fruitful plan and all the communities (residents) need to participate.
The strategic plan will help to prepare for economic development opportunities the community would like to undertake and include:
- Business development, expansion, attraction, prospecting, and assistance.
- Locality development and work with partners, chambers of commerce, parks and recreation, local Island organizations and government
- Labour and human resource development
- Business parameters based on the Business Survey and SGI2020 goals.
- Sector specific strategies – housing, broadband, tourism
- Community liaison activities and community development
The Strategic Plan will reflect updates to progress made towards the SGICRC’s vision and the Communities’ objectives. An annual plan for the SGICRC will be prepared based on the strategic plan.
The SGI2020 highlighted five key areas. The same areas were further confirmed by the SGICRC through the Business Survey in 2022. This affirmation clearly verifies and establishes the work ahead for the SGICRC and Island communities.
- Transportation
- Broadband Infrastructure Improvements
- Experience the Southern Gulf Islands
- Food and Agriculture
- Education
Business Survey
The purpose of the SGICRC Business Survey was to conduct a statistically valid survey among businesses operating on the four Southern Gulf Islands of Pender, Mayne, Galiano and Saturna. Its intention was to collect honest feedback, opinions and responses from businesses, owners, and employees and to use that information to improve the work of the SGICRC while uncovering community development opportunities.
After two years of Covid-19 and a continuously changing economy, the survey aimed to gain insight on the perspectives of business owners and their current ability to conduct business on the SGIs. It was an attempt for the SGICRC to understand potential clients’ current strengths and areas for improvement and determine specific objectives to reduce the risk of business detraction and support business growth.
The information gathered will be used to create a sustainable community strategic plan to define how businesses cope, grow or decline and the areas that the SGICRC can work on over the next few years to assist local businesses. As business planning, support, resources, and project implementation are core services of the new SGICRC model, learning about the current business community from residents and business owners themselves will help us help them. Collecting data is now more important than ever to support the Island economies effectively as we engage in a post covid recovery period. These data are critical for making informed decisions in the months ahead.
The Business Survey, itself, was a research tool for collecting relevant data about a business from a predetermined audience. It is made up of a set of structured questions to gather information about Island business dynamics, preferences, concerns and strengths and other important business variables. The survey determined:
- How the COVID-19 pandemic affected local businesses
- How the SGICRC can leverage its strengths to help businesses expand and grow
- What kinds of services communities currently require to promote growth
- How we can build community sustainability
- The levels of satisfaction with the current business climate
- Business demographics
- Required supports and services
- Areas for improvement for the SGICRC, local governments and Chambers
- Community action and advocacy
Implemented on all four Southern Gulf Islands of the Capital Region Electoral District, the survey has 26 questions and took 15 minutes to complete. Over 83 respondents completed the survey and the following key themes emerged:
- Local businesses are generally optimistic about the future
- Employers are, overall, happy with their current staff, but view the broader labour pool as a weakness
- Many businesses rely on summer months to sustain their operations through lesser winter seasons but wish for more tourism during the shoulder and winter seasons.
- Benefits to doing business in the area include the rural nature, community support, flexibility, resiliency, and business innovations.
- The greatest drawbacks to owning a business on the Islands are the lack of Housing (80%), transportation on the Islands (73%) and off the Islands via Ferry (52 %) and unreliable Cell and Internet service (52 %)
- The ability to grow their businesses, overall market conditions, and geographic location in the region (76%) were cited as strengths to running a local Island business.
- Most businesses are concerned about losing trained employees and the difficulty in finding new employees.
And lots more information.
THE FULL BUSINESS SURVEY REPORT 2022 IS AVAILABLE BELOW: