The Sunshine Coast Regional Economic Development Organization (SCREDO) will soon have approval from all four local governments on the Coast for a renewed service agreement.
SCREDO receives a combined $291,865 in yearly funding from the local governments under the current agreement, which expires at the end of 2020.
As well as negotiating a new service agreement, the SCREDO board has a new chair, Celia Robben, who was appointed late last year, and a new executive director, Colin Stansfield, who joined SCREDO after doing a similar job with the Gibsons Community Building Society, which operates the Gibsons Public Market.
Up until Stansfield’s appointment, SCREDO did not have an executive director.
In a recent interview for Coast Reporter Radio, Stansfield said the volunteer board decided to create the position in part because the workload had grown.
“The board got to the point where they realized as volunteers they were putting in a heck of a lot of hours [and] that the challenges and the opportunities facing the organization are [now] of a scale that there’s an opportunity in bringing me on board to step it up a little and have me focus on the day-to-day operations of the organization,” he said.
The board focus will continue to be on governance and strategic direction.
Because it involves a contract for provision of service, the discussions of the new contract have taken place in-camera. As of Feb. 19, both Sechelt and Gibsons councils have released their resolutions approving the deal, but no details about the agreement itself.
Stansfield said coming on board during the negotiations was “a really fun way to step into a new organization” because it’s given him a chance to meet with the local governments to hear about what’s been working, what needs improvement and new initiatives SCREDO should be taking on.
“They’ve gone very, very well. We’ve had very positive feedback from each of our funders,” he said of the talks on the new service agreement.
The release announcing Stansfield’s appointment said he was looking forward to being visible and proactive in the community.
“I think that we’ve been doing it. We’ve been connecting, but not in as many visible ways as perhaps we could, and I really think one of the strengths of an economic development office is being in touch with all of the activities that are happening in its jurisdiction,” Stansfield said. He added that some economic development activities, like attracting more investment, major infrastructure like airports, and building business databases, “take time to develop and don’t really lend themselves to short-term reporting outcomes.”
Stansfield said SCREDO’s highest visibility project, the FUSE Workhub, has gone “really well” and each location has evolved differently.
The Gibsons FUSE, which will soon reopen at a bigger location on South Fletcher Road beside Town Hall, has attracted a high number of people who are working remotely, often for companies on the Lower Mainland. Sechelt FUSE has drawn a number of professionals who need an occasional extra meeting room or “breakout” space.
“Up in Pender Harbour it’s much more of a community hub,” Stansfield said.
Heading into 2020, Stansfield said, SCREDO will also continue to work at the community level through initiates like VoiceLab and the development of an innovation hub.
“We’re really keen in the next year to 18 months on bringing in some resources that allow coastal residents and business owners to recognize that the economy is a tool for self-determination,” he said. “There’s a way that we can build an economy here that serves our regional priorities.”
