Antigonish Regional Development Authority, where ideas take root

ARDA awards contract for Investment Attraction Research Project

Monday, October 18, 2010

MRA and ARDA will work together to conduct research in order to develop an investment attraction strategy for Antigonish.

“We want to have the right tools to attract new investment to Antigonish,” says Alisha Grant, development officer at ARDA. “MRA just completed a similar project for the Guysborough County Regional Development Authority so we’re excited to work with a company that has already worked in the region.”

ARDA has outlined four priorities for this project: identify local strengths and assets, identify target sectors, the collection of economic data for a community profile, and to develop a protocol for handling investments leads/inquiries among local organizations involved in foreign direct investment and business development.

“This will give ARDA, as well other local organizations that deal in business development, a more targeted approach,” says Grant. “We’ll all be working with the same information and will have a protocol to handle inquiries on new business opportunities.” 

The consultants will interview key business, government, educational, and other stakeholders to investigate existing and potential resources.

“This project is important for the community and it aligns with the highway development,” says Grant. “With the new highway there are new options for commercial development. By identifying target sectors through this process, we’ll be able to target the right kind of business for Antigonish. We’ll also be able to assist current businesses looking to expand.”

This investment attraction research is important in focusing ARDA and its partners to respond to the rapidly changing investment climate.

“This process is beginning right away,” says Grant. “The consultants will be here this week to conduct stakeholder interviews and tour the area. We’ll have the final report by the end of December.”

For this project, ARDA received funding from the Town of Antigonish, the Municipality of the County of Antigonish, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade through the Invest Canada-Community Initiatives, as well as Nova Scotia Economic and Rural Development.

For more information, please contact:

Alisha Grant
863-3330
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)