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Business Retention & Expansion (BR+E)

The business of Business Retention and Expansion (BR+E) has been a critical part of the City of Brantford’s Economic Development and Tourism Department for several years. It is a community-based strategy with a focus on “taking care of, nurturing and supporting” businesses already existing in the community. A BR&E model works to improve the competitiveness of local businesses by identifying and addressing their needs and concerns and building on business development opportunities.  This is crucial to the sustained viability of communities since businesses that stay competitive are more likely to remain and expand in the community.

John Frabotta, Director of Economic Development & Tourism for the City of Brantford stated that, “BR+E was first introduced in the Brantford area in 1998, when the Economic Development Department of the City in partnership with Human Resources Development Canada, the Brantford Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Tourism initiated a program to survey the industrial development climate in the Greater Brantford Area. The 1998 survey project resulted in the City’s Economic Development Department dedicating a staff person to Business Retention and Expansion, which continues to be identified as a key component in the Brantford Economic Development Advisory Committee Action Plan.”

The program was launched as an avenue for communication between industry and local government and has created opportunities for direct firm assistance and increased awareness of available resources available to local industry.  The program assists community leaders in their work of developing strategies, setting priorities and establishing effective economic development programs aimed at retention and expansion of businesses and jobs in the City of Brantford.

There have been two subsequent surveys for this sector in 2001 and 2006 respectively. Company feedback from the 2001 survey was instrumental in the City of Brantford creating the Downtown Business Performance Grants Program, used to redevelop former commercial sites contributing to the revitalization of the downtown core. The 2006 survey identified that firms have repeatedly identified labour supply concerns and local governments can enhance existing business retention and expansion programs and services. To address these findings, a community based Workforce Development Strategy Committee was formed comprised of local stakeholders. Funding was received from the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (MTCU) to hire a Researcher/Analyst to undertake a comprehensive review of established programs and services in the community, provide clear identification of employer needs and employee skills gaps and prepare a workforce development strategy final report that will form the basis of a community workforce development plan.

As the revitalization of downtown Brantford progresses, the need for a similar study in the city’s retail and tourism industries has also been addressed. Tourism Brantford, in partnership with the Downtown Brantford Business Improvement Area (BIA), the County of Brant and Six Nations/New Credit communities has undertaken steps to devise a similar plan to provide services that specifically address the concerns of the tourism industry in the area.

In all, 232 tourism-based businesses and organizations were identified and interviewed  as well as 98 businesses in downtown Brantford in 2007.  The final report including strategic actions was launched to the community at the end of March 08.

“It really is a grass roots community economic development program,” says Susan Sager, Manager of Tourism and Marketing.  “We are currently in the process of working with the Department’s Brantford-Brant Business Resource Enterprise Centre (BRC) and Two Rivers Community Development conducting the follow-up to all of the businesses and organizations that were interviewed.”

The Tourism and Downtown BR+E project brought together many stakeholders in the Brantford community as well as from the province.  The project received funding from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) though its Rural Economic Development (RED) program.  Other partners on the project include OLG Casino Brantford, Enterprise Brant, the County of Brant, Two Rivers Community Development, and G.K. York Management Services.

As part of the Department’s overall BR+E program, the Brantford - Brant Business Resource Enterprise Centre is not only meeting with small business owners one-on-one but as well, with the assistance of Tourism Brantford, has coordinated several workshops this winter and spring to address such topics as e-marketing, effective web sites, and marketing 101.

For more information about the City of Brantford’s Business Retention + Expansion programming, contact the Economic Development & Tourism Department at 519-751-9900 or the Brantford-Brant Business Resource Enterprise Centre at 519-756-4269.