Category: Downtown Revitalization
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Follow-up to January Downtown Revitalization Online Community of Practice
Our Online Community of Practice on the Digital Main Street program, held on January 17th 2019, quickly reached capacity. Based on continued demand, the OMAFRA is pleased to facilitate a follow-up session, on February 12, 2019, from 1:00PM- 2:30PM. This session will again focus on the province-wide expansion of the Digital Main Street program. During…
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Ontario Business Improvement Area Association (OBIAA) 2018 Winners
The Ontario Business Improvement Area Association (OBIAA) is focused on building the capacity of its member Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) through advocacy, networking, and education. OBIAA represents, supports, and encourages business improvement areas to increase their effectiveness and contributions to the economic, cultural, and social well-being of communities across Ontario. OBIAA’s annual conference draws delegates…
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Downtown Revitalization Community of Practice, online January 2019
The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) is pleased to offer a third session in its Online Downtown Revitalization Community of Practice series, to be held on January 17th 2019, from 10:30-12:00. This session will focus on the province-wide expansion of the Digital Main Street program.
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Planning your Work and Getting some Quick Wins
In this next entry in our series of blogs on the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs’ Downtown Revitalization Program, we take a look at preparing your preliminary work plan, and the importance of “quick wins” to the initiative. Before starting to collect and analyze data, you need an overall work plan to…
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Building a Team for Downtown Revitalization
Continuing with our series of blogs on the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs’ Downtown Revitalization Program, this entry will take a look at building your downtown revitalization team. The motivation, energy, and commitment required for successful revitalization should come primarily from the community. Those from outside of the community may provide interesting…
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Expanded Digital Main Street Program to Support Ontario Small Businesses
The Digital Main Street program, funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and delivered by the Ontario Business Improvement Area Association (OBIAA), will soon be available across the province to help ‘main street’ businesses become more digital. The program will be live on August 24, 2018, and as part of Ontario’s Main…
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Recap: Downtown Revitalization Community of Practice
The second online Community of Practice for Ontario’s downtown revitalization community was held in late March. The participants learned about a range of ways in which physical improvements made to downtown areas have contributed to business success. Here’s a quick summary: Click here to download the introductory presentation.
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March Downtown Revitalization Online Community of Practice
Building on the success of the first online Downtown Revitalization Community of Practice (DRCOP) held in November 2017, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) is pleased to launch the second session in the series, to be held on March 29th, 2018, from 10:30am-12:00pm. What is a Community of Practice? It is…
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New Main Street Revitalization Initiative
Vibrant main streets help attract visitors, create jobs and increase the competitiveness of small businesses, which are the backbone of small, rural communities. At this year’s Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) conference, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) announced the Main Street Revitalization Initiative, a new initiative that will be administered…
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Lessons Learned from the Annual International Downtown Association
Themed “AuthentiCITY” the International Downtown Association (IDA) recently held its 63rd annual Conference and Trade Show in Winnipeg. The conference focused on examining the role of place management organizations in shaping prosperous downtown and commercial districts. After taking a few weeks to collect my thoughts, here are some of the key topics I continue to think…