Parkland County's Strategic Plan has been developed to set the pace and direction of economic development and tourism activities in Parkland County over the next five years. The process used to develop this plan was highly facilitative, gathered feedback from multiple stakeholder groups, and was built on the principle that all activities must be realistic and achievable within existing resources. The findings in this report have been reviewed and validated by the Economic Development and Tourism Advisory Committee, and are intended to represent an aggregation of inputs and ideas provided by Parkland County project contributors.
Through this Strategic Plan, Parkland County is seeking to establish and communicate a vision for the municipality’s future that will inspire elected officials, policy makers and citizens, and enable them to make informed choices to guide growth and set priorities, while preserving the County’s competitiveness and livability.
The economic development vision for Parkland County’s future is “a diversified, quality economic foundation, sustaining a healthy environment where people, businesses and industry can thrive and grow.” The economic development function is intended to work proactively to leverage County business assets to stimulate economic flow in support of this vision. The primary mission of economic development activities is to strengthen and diversify the County’s economic foundation by growing value-added industry, accelerating development, supporting businesses and improving awareness.
Given that staff and budget resources to support this vision are limited, this strategic plan has developed a focus on specific industry clusters that are targeted for growth over the next five years. These clusters have been selected based on natural and competitive advantages, real opportunities for growth, and potential for economic impact in the County. A cluster growth plan has been developed for each industry cluster, which outlines existing cluster assets, growth opportunities within a Provincial context, coalition-building strategies to create leverage, and clearly establishes priority activities to enable growth.
Key cluster activities have been defined through project-based workplans and have been consolidated into an overall economic development program. These projects have been collectively sequenced to form a carefully calculated critical path towards achieving the program’s end goals by 2008. Each project has been assigned a total level of effort (staff days) and estimated dollar budget, with clearly defined timelines and expected outcomes. The overall program will be managed and executed by the Program Manager, with the support and guidance of the Program Sponsor and EDTAC advisors. The program management format has been selected so that activities can be effectively managed, reported and measured to ensure accountability,
A series of critical enablers required for successful implementation of this strategic plan have also been identified. These key components include the implementation of contact management software, the development of marketing and branding plan, the availability of project funding, and the allocation of required staff resources. It is an exciting time to do business in Parkland County, and this report aims to create a foundation for achieving the County’s vision for growth.
2003 - 2008 Economic Development Strategic Plan