The Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce (WCC) recently launched a bold and aggressive new initiative called Selling Winnipeg to the World (SWTTW). It is a three year program that is intended to stop the decline and erosion of the business economic base in Winnipeg, and create significant private sector growth and development. It will improve international competitiveness and expand economic and trade corridors, thereby assisting Winnipeg's predominantly small and medium enterprise base to meet the growing demands of an increasingly competitive global economy. At the same time it is expected to enhance our city's ability to retain our best and brightest young people, and attract others here. It will expand Winnipeg's tax revenue base and thereby fund expenditure in infrastructure and social programs that residents deserve and expect. As the private sector invests in new ventures or expansions, jobs are created and people are attracted here. And as more people become residents, the service and entertainment sectors invest in new ventures leading to a vibrant, exciting and fun community that people want to become part of. It will have long term and sustained impact on our community, yet it is expected to produce noticeable improvements in the near-term. As the voice of Winnipeg's business community, the Chamber is uniquely positioned and qualified to lead this private-sector collaborative initiative. The WCC has a strong reputation, with a brand that stands for success and achievement. SWTTW relies extensively on private-sector participation at all levels. And in true business fashion, tangible goals will be established that will be measurable, and progress against them will be reported regularly. The Chamber accepts accountability and responsibility for meeting those targets. Best practice research conducted by the WCC over the past several years demonstrated that those communities that have enjoyed the greatest success in economic attraction and retention have had Chamber of Commerce program leadership. While several agencies perform various marketing activities and respond whenever businesses that are considering opening or expanding express interest in Winnipeg, it is safe to say that none are performing the kinds of activities included within SWTTW program mandate. As such it addresses a unique and vitally important niche. SWTTW will be implemented through several phases/stages. The first stage, which will conclude by 06.30.09, will proactively tap into the intelligence of the leaders of Winnipeg's top 250 companies and key stakeholder organizations to identify "leads" of businesses outside of Manitoba who are rumored to be considering opening, expanding or re-locating their business. At the same time, it will identify local resident businesses that may be vulnerable, or seriously challenged in their ability to make a long term commitment to Winnipeg. Also, it is hoped that it will to inspire these Winnipeg-based companies to work with us to repatriate any of their operations outside of Winnipeg and/or to attract some of their key suppliers or customers to relocate here, and in so doing provide a competitive advantage based on lower costs, faster time to market and access to a stable source of trained labor. And finally, they will be asked for their input and advice regarding which sectors/segments a uniquely-Winnipeg economic attraction strategy should be centered around. Interviews with these business leaders will be conducted by 50 high-profile members of our city's business community who will volunteer their time to participate in our Business Call teams. At the same time, we will reach out to the 2100+ WCC members, via the Chamber's regular on-going communication vehicles and from announcements from the podium at Chamber events, to come forward with similar opportunities. And we will implement a significant media strategy to make all Winnipeggers aware and to mobilize their active participation. All reasonable leads that are brought to our attention will be promptly responded to, and a high-powered selling team (affectionately referred to as SWAT teams), lead by the Chamber but comprised of subject-matter experts from business, industry, government and politics, will be deployed to sell the benefits of Winnipeg. The Business Call Team program will be conducted in two phases. The first team of 25 volunteers will commence their meetings with the leaders of 125 top Winnipeg companies whose businesses may be relevant to the newly announced inland port initiative, CentrePort. It is a private sector led economic development endeavor recently enacted into Provincial legislation which strives to leverage Winnipeg's natural geographic advantage and our considerable existing transportation assets to create a world-class hub and gateway to facilitate the flow of goods and services into, out-of and around North America. Through the cooperation and collaboration of all levels of government significant funds have been committed for infrastructure improvements, and 20,000 acres of land surrounding the upgraded airport have been earmarked for investor companies to establish operations. The second stage will focus on determining which sectors and segments of the broad economy are best suited to our city. Figuring out what sectors match the natural (or develop-able) attributes that Winnipeg possesses, and those that are desirable to build our economic future around, will then enable us to proactively and aggressively pursue companies outside of Manitoba within those sectors. This determination will be achieved by assembling a council comprised of representatives from within the key stakeholder group. A variety of workshops and think-tanks will be undertaken between 07.01.09 and 09.30.09. In addition to the feedback from the 250+ Business Call team calls, and research/data available from various industry associations and Destination Winnipeg (DW) and the Province of Manitoba, a consultant will be engaged to provide an unbiased independent 3rd party assessment. The consultant will likely be selected from amongst the extensive Site Selector community across North America. The final stage calls for the creation of a small, highly productive entity referred to (for the time being) as the Economic Partnership (EP). It will operate under the umbrella of the WCC but will have a separate board and governance structure. In addition to an Executive Director, the EP will have a small but talented staff that primarily will work on identifying prospects from within the target sectors, in addition to continuance of the on-going efforts to inspire "leads" from the WCC members and the broader Winnipeg business community, and forming SWAT teams to sell the prospects on locating in Winnipeg. This will be a highly collaborative effort, working continuously with DW, the Province and the key stakeholders. They will also spent considerable on-going energies working with the Site Selector community across North America, since they are a tremendous source of prospects. This initiative will drive meaningful positive change in our city. It is all about real action, not merely planning and strategy and visioning. We expect that many new businesses will chose to establish operations here in Winnipeg as a direct result of this initiative. And numerous resident businesses will renew their commitment to basing their operations here and expand. This project will create the most significant change in our city in decades. If you are interested in learning more about SWTTW or would like to discuss how you may be able to get involved in assisting to make this a success please contact: Bill Morrissey
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