A Business Retention and Expansion (BR+E) program is a process that municipalities undertake to better understand businesses in their communities and identify and support the current and future needs of its business community.
Community volunteers are trained to visit businesses and conduct confidential face-to-face interviews interviews with senior management and owners guided by a BR+E coordinator from the City’s Economic Development staff. Participation is completely voluntary and confidential.
It helps support businesses by helping a municipality to learn about issues as well as opportunities for local business and identifies priority projects that will address these needs.
It can target a particular business sector or can be applied broadly to all businesses. In the past, the City of Belleville has carried out BR+Es focused on Tourism, Construction and Health Care among many others.
The result is an Action Plan, which is presented at a public meeting. The Action Plan informs the City’s Economic Development Strategic Plan and investment attraction activities, as well as the City’s budget planning process.
Results of past Belleville BR+E projects
Some of the changes that have been made as a result of past BR+E projects include:
- Implementation of a successful family physician recruitment program.
- Development of the “Work in Quinte” labour attraction initiative.
- Transportation improvements including intersection changes, new linkages, road improvements and transit routes.
- Infrastructure improvements including new water mains, increased water pressure, sanitary sewer extensions, fibre optic service extensions.
- Downtown Community Improvement Plans (CIP)
- Business Park signage installations.
- Training programs with community partners geared to the needs of local business.
“Prosper Belleville” manufacturing BR+E scheduled to be completed by June 2024
The purpose is to better understand the challenges and opportunities our manufacturers are facing in a post-COVID environment, and to support future business park planning.
The City’s last manufacturing BR+E was in 2012.
Fall 2024
Action Plan that will be released at a publicly held event in the fall of 2024.
May 22, 2024 – BR+E data retreat
City will be holding a Data Retreat where manufacturers, community stakeholders and City staff will jointly review the data and formulate strategic next steps that will shape the direction of the City’s initiatives to support manufacturing.
Contact information
If you have questions or want to learn how you can get involved, please contact Victoria Watts, Business Growth and Retention Specialist at 613-967-5260 or email: [email protected].
Leave a comment
All comments are reviewed prior to appearing on the site.
Rules: