How good preparation factored into Belleville’s BR+E project “Prosper Belleville”.

The City of Belleville has a long history of undertaking Business Retention and Expansion (BR+E) projects dating back to 1999. These BR+E’s have led to lasting impacts for Belleville, such as the Family Physician Recruitment Program, upgrades to the city’s infrastructure and various downtown revitalization programs. 

In 2024, the City of Belleville conducted a community-based manufacturing BR+E project, named “Prosper Belleville” using the Ontario BR+E model.

The City’s last BR+E conducted for this sector was in 2012.  The purpose of the “Prosper Belleville” BR+E is to better understand the challenges and opportunities manufacturers are facing in a post-COVID environment, and to support investment attraction activities and future business park planning. Victoria Watts, the Business Growth and Retention Specialist for the City of Belleville, spearheaded this initiative in collaboration with local manufacturers, experts and stakeholders in the community, and support from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness and the Ministry of Rural Affairs.

The project witnessed an exceptional level of community engagement, boasting an 86 per cent industry participation rate and active involvement from volunteers and key stakeholders throughout the process. This success can be attributed to thorough planning, the establishment of a skilled and committed leadership team and a robust communications plan. 

“A lot of pre-planning and organization went into each phase of the Prosper Belleville BR+E project. We prioritized collaboration and transparency to foster trust and strong community partnerships. The culmination of this project is truly a celebration of community and engagement.” – Victoria Watts, Growth and Retention Specialist

The first step in the process, once funding and commitment was secured through the City and Ontario’s Rural Economic Development program, was to establish a diverse and skilled volunteer leadership team that served as ambassadors for the project. Community stakeholders and members of the community with direct experience in the sector were invited to help guide the process and take on important tasks such as defining the target business list, establishing the survey and reviewing the data and the final report. 

Community volunteers interested in interviewing industry participants during the project were also recruited. A half-day training session was provided for all volunteer interviewers. At these sessions they were provided with an in-depth volunteer package with important information to support their role, including:

• the agenda 
• volunteer backgrounder  
• guidelines for volunteer visitors 
• the Q&A 
• the confidentiality declaration  
•  a copy of the survey  

Selected industry leaders were invited to participate via a letter signed by the Mayor, through both email and traditional mail. While the email would be a general call to action, each traditional piece of mail was personalized, allowing for increased engagement with industry leaders.

Interviews with industry leaders lasted a maximum of 45 minutes and were each transcribed by a scribe attending the meeting.  Following these meetings, the Prosper Belleville team commenced data analysis for opportunities and potential follow-up with this industry leaders in manufacturing, ultimately consolidating this information into a comprehensive report. Every industry leader that participated also received a personal thank you from the Coordinator.

Tips for BR+E Success:

1. Be organized; applications like Excel and Calendly are your friend.
2. Establish your terms of reference for the Leadership Team early and have a clear description of member roles and responsibilities.
3. Create a robust communications plan early. Make sure you keep your communications ongoing; informing industry leaders, volunteer leadership team members and volunteers is a critical part of keeping them engaged. Make sure they remember that they have a purpose and are involved in the project.
4. Adjust communications accordingly; while it goes without saying that communications should be professional, don’t forget to adjust your communications when communicating with different stakeholders. Different levels of involvement entail different language and different levels of disclosed information.

Once the data was collected, a small group of stakeholders participated in a session to help analyze the responses and assist the coordinator in distilling the information to create a data report. This data report was shared at a Task Force (Data) Retreat which was facilitated by The Coordinator, and representatives from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness, Ministry of Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. The outcome of this session was to prioritize high level goals and objectives, identify related action items and identify stakeholders who would be interested in leading or supporting the actions.

The Final Report and comprehensive Action Plan for Belleville are currently being finalized, which is planned to be released at a public launch in November 2024. For more information on Belleville’s BR+E project, visit their website here.