STRATFORD ECONOMIC ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (SEED CO.) ANNUAL REPORT 2014 ~ADVANCING STRATFORD S ECONOMIC FUTURE~ 2014: A YEAR OF TRANSITION Guest Speaker: Tom Jenkins, Chairman, OpenText Corporation An Innovation Agenda for Stratford Tuesday, June 23, 2015 University of Waterloo Stratford Campus, 125 St. Patrick Street 5:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m.
STRATFORD ECONOMIC ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (SEED Co.) VISION: Stratford is Canada s leader in digitally enabled approaches for investment in arts, education and industry. MISSION: The Stratford Economic Enterprise Development Corporation (SEED Co.) advances the economic future of Stratford through excellence, creativity and collaborative leadership. BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2014 Dan Mathieson, Board President and Mayor, City of Stratford Brad Beatty, Councillor, City of Stratford Greg Belanger, VicePresident, Huron Perth Oxford, Commercial/Agriculture *completed term prior to January 31, 2015 George Brown, Councillor, City of Stratford Stephen Cooper, VicePresident, MTE Consultants Inc. Dennis DesRosiers, President, DesRosiers Automotive Consultants Inc. Ginny Dybenko, Executive Director, University of Waterloo Stratford Campus Anita Gaffney, Executive Director, Stratford Festival Anne McDougall, President, Rambri Management Jeff Orr, Owner/Account Executive, Orr Insurance & Investment Group Ron Shaw, Chief Administrative Officer, City of Stratford Kevin Tuer, Managing Director, Open Data Institute, VP Digital Media Communitech
MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD PRESIDENT: Mayor Dan Mathieson, Board President, SEED Co. The 21st century ushered in an age where culture and quality of life take precedence in cities and urban regions. This change is about creating places where people want to live as well as make a living. Cities that combine culture, economic opportunity and lifestyle are having the most significant economic impact. And Stratford has all three. Stratford s reputation as a prosperous and competitive business centre also continues to strengthen. Our two leading economic sectors manufacturing and tourism complement each other and offer a climate where small and medium sized businesses thrive alongside large corporations. In the past several years, Stratford has emerged as a burgeoning technology centre that has publicly embraced the broadband economy, especially digital media. There is a new vision for Stratford involving a diversified economy with greater emphasis on the City as a prime, strategic location for creative companies. Companies in the creative economy use intellectual capital as their primary input in the production and distribution of goods and services. Creativity and innovation are becoming the new economic staples with routine manual labour falling by the wayside. Creative companies that employ new technology and invest in human ingenuity are the most dynamic companies in the world and are more resilient in times of economic crisis. The creation of the University of Waterloo digital media campus and the location of RBC s new computer centre instantly establish Stratford as a centre for technology and innovation. The Stratford Economic Enterprise Development Corporation (SEED Co) was incorporated in July 2013 to identify and pursue economic opportunities for the City of Stratford. By establishing SEED Co as a separate corporation, the City of Stratford has attracted key players from various economic sectors to its Board of Directors. These individuals connect Stratford to diverse sectors of the economy and provide important resources, advice, guidance and contacts. SEED Co continues to work with the City of Stratford to develop and grow Stratford's diverse economy to achieve our goal of becoming Canada s leader in digitally enabled approaches and investment in arts, education and industry. Thank you for reviewing the information on SEED Co. Mayor Dan Mathieson The City of Stratford
MESSAGE FROM THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER: Marlene Coffey, Chief Executive Officer, SEED Co. Stratford is an incredibly dynamic city with a rich tradition of innovation. I am honoured to serve this community, to work with the City of Stratford and the SEED Co. Board of Directors who are visionary in their approach to economic development. I joined SEED Co. in June 2014 and as a longstanding economic development professional, with more than 20 years experience in the field, I can truly say that Stratford is exceptional in its commitment to excellence. Our inaugural year has been one of transition as we moved from a concept to a reality. In my first six months, the organization embarked on a strategic development phase and is now moving towards implementation built on solid input and comprehensive planning. The transition carried with it a plan to keep and grow Stratford businesses and attract new investment in order to advance Stratford s economic future. After adopting SEED Co. s Strategic Plan, we completed SEED Co. s Social Media Strategy and furthered this work in a community built Digital Media Strategy for all sectors to embrace technological advances. We have strengthened business relationships, worked with community partners and launched several pay it forward initiatives. Currently we are building the Stratford brand, developing a new web site and leveraging social media and communications for improved transparency. Each step builds upon the strengths of the former; as we bridge traditional economic development models with a new collaborative leadership approach. As we transition into the implementation phase, the task will be to align and prioritize strategic imperatives. In 2015 the focus will be to buildup staff/team resources and deliver on measurable outcomes for the City of Stratford. Moving forward, we anticipate a successful year as SEED Co. continues to deliver on increased jobs and assessment for the community. It is with great pleasure that we report on SEED Co. s inaugural year and present the following 2014 Annual Report: A Year In Transition. Marlene Coffey CEO, SEED Co.
STRATFORD ECONOMIC ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (SEED Co.) DIRECTOR S REPORT JANUARY 2014 DECEMBER 2014 2014 was both a challenging and exciting year for the City of Stratford as we transitioned from the former Economic Development Department model to the newly formed Stratford Economic Enterprise Development Corporation (SEED Co.) a nonprofit organization under the leadership of a Board of Directors and a newly appointed CEO. SEED Co. continues to promote the advancement of Stratford s economic future through excellence, creativity and collaborative leadership. Our goal is to keep our growing business community vibrant and competitive while sourcing and attracting new opportunities for Stratford that provide competitive advantages in a digitally enhanced world. In 2014, the Board of Directors and CEO were engaged in the development of a strategic plan culminating with our new vision, mission and values. SEED Co. built upon its new Strategic Plan by actively pursuing strategic local, regional, provincial, and national partnerships and initiatives. Over the past year SEED Co. participated in the following initiatives: Start Up & Readiness Bylaw, policies & procedures development Establishment of quarterly reports to Council Chief Executive Officer recruitment Creation and adoption of Strategic Plan Creation and adoption of Social Media Strategy Request for Proposal issued for Corporate Branding Campaign Request for Proposal issued for Digital Media Strategy Review of existing economic data and benchmarking Strategy & Engagement Southwest Economic Alliance (SWEA) Intelligent Region Project Perth County Labour Market Strategy Content Creation Cluster PanRegional Research Project CityAge, The Innovation City Conference Stratford & Area Builders Association Event as Guest Speaker Grant Application to Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Rural Economic Development Program (RED) for Stratford Digital Media Strategy funding Grant application to Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), Investing in Regional Diversification (IRD) funding
Collaborative Leadership Southwest Integrated Fibre Technology (SWIFT) Letter of Support Communitech Internet of Things Letter of Support HTML500 Learn to Code Event Southwestern Ontario Marketing Alliance (SOMA) Strategic Plan National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) Small Business Services Stratford Perth Centre for Business Starter Company through Ministry of Economic Development Employment and Infrastructure (MEDEI) Youth Entrepreneurship Loan Program Summer Company through MEDEI Student Entrepreneurship Small Business Program Women s Business Mentorship Program Free oneonone consulting services funded through MEDEI During year one, SEED Co. saw an increase in inquiries for City owned lands in the Wright Business Park due to community outreach resulting in 50+ leads for possible development and the sale of a 1.5 acre parcel of land. 2014 introduced the Business Calling Program, a partnership project with Mayor Mathieson and SEED Co. s CEO Marlene Coffey. This initiative promotes dialogue with major employers and manufacturers within the City of Stratford and has resulted in business retention and expansion, job creation and strategic alliances. SEED Co. leveraged its existing partnership with the University of Waterloo Stratford Campus and had a group of postgraduate students create a Social Media Strategy for implementation over the next few years. This study identified the most effective social media outlets thru which to communicate with three key target markets: expats, business owners and students/talent. SEED Co. also initiated the development of a digital media strategy to provide us with a strategic plan that can be implemented over the next three to five years. SEED Co. hosted its first public forum with an attendance of 70+ guests who provided input in a series of breakout sessions focused on tourism, business, economic development and government. The results will be available later this year. SEED Co. entered into a threeyear funding agreement with the Ministry of Economic Development Employment and Infrastructure to provide small business services to the City of Stratford and Perth County operating under the name of the Stratford Perth Centre for Business. Under the guidance of SEED Co. the Stratford Perth Centre for Business continued to deliver small business services to both the City of Stratford and Perth County. These services resulted in the implementation of 43 new StartUps, the expansion of 33 existing businesses and the creation of 98 new jobs for the area. The Stratford Perth Centre for Business also hosted a youth event in October 2014 launching Starter Company a new MEDEI entrepreneurship program offering $5,000 loans to youth aged 1829 until 2016.
Continuing our plan to effectively partner on significant economic development initiatives we have maintained our membership and commitments throughout the past year with: Economic Developers Council of Ontario (EDCO) Stratford and District Chamber of Commerce Southwest Economic Alliance (SWEA) Southwestern Ontario Marketing Alliance (SOMA). Including Associations and Partnerships with: 1. Ontario Clean Tech Alliance 2. Ontario Food Cluster 3. Ontario Automotive Communities Alliance (OACA) 4. South Central Ontario Region (SCOR) 5. Center for Automotive Research (CAR), Automotive Communities Partnership (ACP) 6. Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association (APMA) 7. Canadian German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (CGCIC) 8. The Japan Society and Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Japan (CCCJ) SEED Co. has found that maintaining our relationship with these economic development and business groups is providing us with an enhanced level of exposure to larger markets which produces networking opportunities, international foreign direct investment, lead generation and strategic partnerships. SEED Co. values professional integrity, collaborative leadership, proactive and responsive solutions and excellence in service delivery. The branding exercise currently in progress will help us create a corporate identity that will shape future marketing directions and activities for this organization. We will continue to focus on supporting new and existing business through municipal incentive programs, business visitations, oneonone consulting, leveraging community partnerships, and developing Stratford s workforce to ensure Stratford s competitive advantage in a digitally enhanced world. Respectfully submitted, Dan Mathieson President, SEED Co. Ron Shaw VicePresident, SEED Co.
2014 Auditor s Report CITY OF STRATFORD Corporate Services Department City Hall, P.O. Box 818 Stratford, ON N5A 6W1 May 27, 2015 (519) 2710250 Fax: (519) 2735041 TTY: (519) 2715241 www.stratfordcanada.ca Marlene Coffey, CEO Stratford Economic Enterprise Development Corporation (SEED Co.) 73 Albert Street Stratford, ON N5A 3K2 Dear Marlene: You will have attached an unaudited income statement for SEED Co. operations for the year ended 2014. Please be advised that the City of Stratford s annual audited financial statements are available in late July of each year. Statements are forwarded through the City s approval process via the Finance & Labour Relations SubCommittee and Committee, with Council s final approval in late August. SEED Co. is part of the City s consolidated financial statements and will be separated as a note to the statements. Yours truly, André Morin, CPA, CGA Director of Corporate Services
Statement of Operations Year Ended December 31, 2014 STRATFORD ECONOMIC ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (SEED Co.) 2014 Income Statement as of December 31, 2014 2014 Budget 2014 Unaudited Revenue City Funding Recoverable expenses/charges Ontario Grants $ 591,000 $ 591,000 22,000 80,000 16,196 78,942 $ 693,000 $ 686,139 S.B.E.C. S.B.E.C. Expenditures Salaries & Wages Administration Business Expenses Trade Shows Promotions Marketing Developments Industrial Directories S.B.E.C. City Support Professional Fees Governance & Board Fees Capital Transfer to Reserve $ 299,050 $ 182,512 46,950 20,000 53,500 14,000 205,000 18,000 12,500 14,000 10,000 15,041 13,954 45,426 172,272 19,313 237,621 $ 693,000 $ 686,138 Surplus (deficit) transferred to (from) reserve $0 $0
STRATFORD ECONOMIC ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION Advancing Stratford s Economic Future 2014: A Year of Transition