SRDC's Opportunity Management Process has four elements:
1. Identifying Economic Development Opportunities
2. Evaluating and Prioritizing Opportunities
3. Driving Opportunities
4. Constant Monitoring
SRDC has noted the following ways of identifying Economic Opportunities for Zone 16:
- Sector Consultations and sub-committes
- Municipal Meetings
- Meetings and Site Visits with Local Businesses
- Local Development Associations
- Board Meetings
- Development of New Processes
SRDC's OPPORTUNITY MANAGEMENT PROCESS
In evaluationg and prioritizing opportunities SRDC will utilize the tools of the initiative development funnel (which uses stage-gate decision making) and an opportunity assessment worksheet.
To ensure that initives are implemented and completed successfully SRDC has put measures in place. These include identifying a champion for the initiative, outlining an action plan for each initiative, assigning gates and gate keepers who are responsible for evaluationg progress. This information is housed in an 'Initiative Charter'.
At each gate a decision must be made to advance, rework or kill an initiative. The gates will vary depending on the work at hand but they will be identified in the action plan (initiative charter) for each initiative. The Board and staff will have the authority to make the decision to advance, rework or kill initives but this decision should be made based on recomendations made by the supporting committee.
SRDC's Criteria for Evaluating Opportunities Include:
Criteria of Exclusion: Opportunities must have an economic impact in the region and fit with SRDC's Vision, Mission, and Core Functions. Opportunities that do not demonstrate fit will be excluded.
Criteria of Inclusion: Opportunities must fit with CF1-A Criteria. CF1-A criteria are used as part of the performance-based funding framework to assess the quality of initiatives in the REDB's Intergrated Business Plan (IBP). All initiatives in the IBP will be assessed against the following five criteria:
1. Long term benifits/impact to the region - The initiative must demonstrate employment generation and show improvements to regional infrastructure.
2. Sustanibility - The initiative should demonstrate it can generate revenue for the future operational and development costs. Or the proponent for the initiative has the financial capability to sustain the initiative once completed, i.e. a municapality.
3. Regional Scope - The initiative must be a regionally-based project or can demonstrate benefits to more than one community within the zone.
4. Linkages to Government priorities - The iniative must enhance community or regional capacity through the development of competitive, productive, strategic sectors; strengthen community infrastructure in rural communities to improve their economic development capability; to enhance communities' capacity to overcome economic development challenges and take advantage of their strengths, assets and opportunities presented.
5. Partner Engagement - The board should demonstrate a partnership approach to the development and implement of the initiative. These partnerships should be sustained after the initiative is completed.
In addition, SRDC must be able to demonstrate it has the capacity (human, financial and technical resources) to successfully implement the initiatives.
