The City of North Bay has officially kicked off Phase II of the Focus Firm project with Baylor University.
Nineteen graduate students from Baylor are steering the next chapter which will focus on the key areas of opportunities identified in Phase I of the project - the development of strategic priorities, as well as the need for enhanced communication, retention and promotion.
“The students are completely engaged, from re-analyzing the survey results to researching economic development initiatives in comparable communities” said Laurie Wilson, Director of Graduate Business Programs at Baylor in a release.
Phase one of the project concluded back in December as members of the Baylor faculty made a multi-media presentation to the public about the results; one of the key points being that the majority of North Bayites surveyed support growth in the community.
The survey netted more than 4,500 responses.
See that story here: https://www.baytoday.ca/local-news/baylor-survey-we-like-living-in-north-bay-but-dont-trust-municiapl-government-80702
Kevin Hutchison helped coordinate the Baylor study. He stands as a member of Invest North Bay Development Corporation Board and the project co-lead along with his brother Tim Hutchison.
The brothers were alongside Al McDonald and members of Invest North Bay as they outlined the new phase to the media at city hall today.
“We have the data from phase one which gives us a clear idea how folks feel about their community,” said Kevin Hutchison during the media conference.
Hutchison adds that this phase will not include another visit by students to the city, however he says the team at Baylor is confident they have the data they need to get to those key strategic priorities.
“As part of that research initiative we had a lot of open ended questions that really need greater attention and focus so we are going to begin with those open ended questions to get a true sense what folks are looking for and from there we are going to model other communities, benchmark organizations and municipalities around the world and try to pull that data together into a number of actionable recommendations.”
To kick-off the project’s next steps a delegation from the Invest North Bay Development Corporation and the City of North Bay will be headed to Baylor University’s campus in Waco, TX.
The team from North Bay will participate in planning sessions with Phase II faculty and students, and will meet with the municipal leadership responsible for Waco’s notable strategic success.
To date, officials at Baylor estimate more than 1,000 volunteer hours have gone into this community initiative.
Phase II is expected to wrap up in April 2016.
