On Wednesday, January 20th, the Board of Directors of the Dufferin Board of Trade, along with a number of invited guests, including Dufferin County’s CAO Sonya Pritchard and Bill McCutcheon, Chair, Dufferin Federation of Agriculture, gathered for a facilitated planning session to look at the business climate in the region and develop a strategic plan for the organization.
Led by Erik Lockhart from Queen’s University Executive Decision Centre, the group identified issues that impact the business community in Dufferin County, highlighted gaps that need to be filled, and explored opportunities for the Dufferin Board of Trade to facilitate an integrated approach to sustaining and growing the business community in the County.
Over the course of the session, as many as 45 ideas were generated about opportunities to support the business community, however certain themes continued to resonate throughout the day, and the group agreed on three main areas of focus for the Dufferin Board of Trade over the next 18 months. Specifically:
- To increase the profile of the Dufferin Board of Trade and raise awareness in the community about the role of the organization in supporting the needs of business throughout Dufferin County;
- To continue to work with Dufferin County and all 8 of its municipalities to promote a regional approach to business and economic development;
- To monitor and identify key business issues in the County and utilize these findings to inform business retention, attraction and marketing strategies.
Dufferin Board of Trade Chair, Joe Andrews, noted that “the people on our Board of Directors, and invited guests at this session, represented the broad spectrum of business interests in Dufferin County; their input at the planning session provided us a clear direction on priorities for our business community, and over the next 18 months we look forward to implementing a strong plan of action that will serve to address many of these issues identified.”
Over the coming months the Dufferin Board of Trade will roll out their action plan to support the priorities identified, and looks forward to engaging with business stakeholders and municipalities across Dufferin County to help sustain and grow a strong and viable business community across the region.
For further information, please contact:
Diana Morris, Manager of Operations and Membership