Saskatchewan’s rural and small urban communities are deeply interconnected, and their collective strength is essential for the province’s overall prosperity. To support investment readiness at a local and micro-region level, the Saskatchewan Economic Development Alliance (SEDA) with the support of PrairiesCan and the Ministry of Trade and Export development (TED), is implementing a two-year investment readiness and activation program.

Program Objectives

 

1. Identify new opportunities for investment.

Working within designated geographic regions (minimum five, maximum nine), SEDA will engage industry and communities to assess opportunities for economic development and investment attraction.

Specific activities include:

• Implement business interviews and focus groups in targeted sectors of agri-value, manufacturing, minerals and energy.
• Assess opportunity for inter-firm collaboration and cluster development.
• Conduct secondary research and competitive analysis on the micro-regions or trading areas within each of the broader geographic project areas.
• Engage community leaders to evaluate capacity and local amenities.
• Work with funding partners to support incoming investor inquiries in addition to coordinating community driven opportunities.

 

2. Compile an Industrial Site Inventory.

Identify industrial sites and catalog their state of development. SEDA proposes do undertake data collection for the entire province, with the exception of Regina and Saskatoon.

 

3. Activate Economic Development Opportunities.

SEDA encourages collaborative inter-community approaches based on trading areas or micro-regions. Following the opportunity assessment process, SEDA will engage appropriate communities to discuss steps which can be taken to foster economic resilience and economic development activity.

 

For more information, contact Adrienne Jensen, Director of Economic Development at ecdev@seda.ca