Michael Murr

The Ottawa Partnership should play a larger role in stimulating progress on several key economic development issues such as the convention centre expansion and the broadband plan, says co-chair Kirk Mandy.

This was the conclusion at a recent meeting of the influential private and public sector members of TOP. On Feb. 27, the group met at Ottawa city hall for a two-and-a-half hour brainstorming session about its evolving role as an economic development agency.

TOP members determined the group should become a more active and vocal community member. Mandy says the phrase "steward of collaboration" is being used to describe its role. He co-chairs the group with Mayor Bob Chiarelli.

"All the members seem to feel very strongly about collaboration," says Mandy. "Because of the nature of the organization and its membership, the group has a reasonably broad reach. (TOP) tends to leave a lot of the consensus-building to the city staff. What we're learning is that we can help expedite consensus."

Michael Murr, the City of Ottawa's acting director of business development, says the meeting represents a significant chapter in TOP's evolution.

"My sense was that it was an important step given the changes in TOP's mandate, mission and direction for the future. It was also important given that there are a number of new members," he says.

Last fall, Mandy replaced former co-chair Rod Bryden, who resigned to devote more time to his other business interests. New members Shirley Westeinde, president of Westeinde Construction Inc., Greater Ottawa Chamber of Commerce past chair Claudia Chowaniec and Iogen Corp. president Brian Foody were added to the roster. As a result, TOP has come to a stage that represents a natural evolution and a need to review at its mandate, role and responsibility in the community.

The most significant outcome of the brainstorming session was the determination that TOP needs to wield its power and influence. There are many instances in which TOP could ratchet up its influence, says Mandy.

The City of Ottawa's plan to work with the private sector to install broadband is a perfect example in which TOP can lend its influential voice, he says.

"Another one is the Congress Centre. That has really been a bit of a political hot potato," says Mandy. "When you get right down to it, the answer, in my opinion, is that there just hasn't been the right combination of people working together to solve the problem."

In practical terms, that means TOP will increase its visibility as a whole and individual members will draw upon their diverse contacts to facilitate economic development-based projects.

Another area TOP expects to tackle is how to encourage the growth of local enterprises. All too often, people in Ottawa have good ideas and start companies, but they leave the city, grow the company elsewhere or sell it to American-owned interests.

"If you look at the track record in terms of creating sustainable enterprises, there's significant room for improvement," says Mandy. "TOP is probably a good place to come up with some kind of plan to do that."

TOP will mainly work with the National Research Council, the Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation and the Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance on this component of the group's mandate.

Another outcome of the meeting was to increase the focus on the city's educational base. Algonquin College president and TOP member Robert Gillett says the city's economic development strategy is "light" on support for the education and training sectors. That's something that TOP can and should deal with, says Gillett.

— By Kate Chappell