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Home My WebLink AboutDSD-20-174 - Ontario Small Business COVID-19 Recovery Network ProgramREPORT TO:City of Kitchener Council Meeting DATE OF MEETING:October 26, 2020 SUBMITTED BY:Chris Farrell, Manager, Small Business Centre 519 741 2200 ext 7294 PREPARED BY:Chris Farrell, Manager, Small Business Centre 519 741 2200 ext 7294 WARD (S) INVOLVED:All DATE OF REPORT:October 13, 2020 REPORT NO.:DSD-20-174 SUBJECT:Ontario Small Business COVID-19 Recovery Network program RECOMMENDATION: That the Mayor and Clerk be authorized to sign a funding agreement with the Business Advisory Center Durham on behalf of the Waterloo Region Small Business Centre to deliver the Ontario Small Business COVID-19 Recovery Network program, a program funded by the Ontario Together Fund, withsaid agreement to be to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor:and further, That the General Manager, Development Services be authorized to execute on behalf of the Waterloo Region Small Business Centre amendmentsor documents tothefunding agreement provided such documents or amendments are to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor. BACKGROUND: events, one-on-one coaching, mentoring and connections to industry professionals. For the past seven months, theseservices have been provided virtually,supportingsmall businessesmost affected by COVID-19; retail, food services, hospitality, personal and professional care, tourism and non-profit businesses-19 emergency and recovery stages of the pandemic The centre currently employs 4 FT and 7 temporary employees, working together with partners in the region to provide a high quality of service to small business. TheWaterloo Region Small Business Centre is one of 46Small Business Centres in Ontario funded by the Provincial government. Thenetwork of centres meetsmonthly to share best practicesand knowledge, align the servicesregionally,and identify emerging trends for small businesses. In May 2020 this group collectively developed and submitted a business proposal in response to the Provincial to the COVID-19 recovery. The Provincial government approved the proposal in September to create Ontario Small Business COVID- Ontario Small Business COVID-04millionproject that will build one centralized triage portal (websiteand email) to help small businessesin the wake of the economic fall out of COVID-19. This pan-Ontario project is funded by the province in an agreement with and administered by the Business Advisory Centre Durham(BACD) aregistered non-profit. BACD will enter into agreements with up to 46 Small Business Enterprise Centres (SBECs) and flow Grant funding to each of the SBECs enabling themto hire a service advisor to provide support to small 1 - 1 businesses either virtually or in person. BACD will enter into agreements directly with the service advisor on behalfof any of the 46 SBECs that do not enter into the agreements with BACD. Each of the 46 Small Business Centres throughout the province will receive $32,000 to hire and train a virtual advisor. BACD will also enter into an agreement with Waterloo Small Business Enterprise Centre to flow Grant funding to develop an e-learning programandeducational content as well as tools for the portal. TheWaterloo Region Small Business Centre has a vital role in the project,developingan e-learning program, educational content and tools for the centralized portal. The fund administrator, BACD, will transfer $107,000 to execute on this deliverable.$75,000 will be used to develop the e-learning program and educational content.Inaddition,up to $32,000isto be provided to Waterloo SBEC to hire avirtual service advisor. REPORT: TheSmall Business COVID-19 Recovery Networkportal will provide Ontario small businesses access to online training, guidance, support and advisory services for business recovery through one website. Service deliverables of this centralized portal include: Financial, digital literacy and business skills training Online webinars and meetup on relevant business topics Connect businesses with mentors and professionals to help pivot their business Connect businesses to industry experts (food, Health, tourism, retail, hospitality, e-commerce, trades) Provide information on government programs and assist with applications Assist in building business continuity plans, understanding digital business transformation Assist in the automation of business processes, systems and models es reducing the frustrationand frictionbusinesses face when trying tofind a Small Business Centre to get support. This ingproductivity and impactingsmall businesses ability to access timely information and support at their convenience,in French or English. The centralizedportal will offer small businessesone contact / one website allowing access to online training, guidance, information and advisory services for business recovery. Four organizations will lead keyproject deliverables, as follows: Business Advisory Centre Durham is responsible for project budget and administration Hamilton Business Centre is responsible for Website and Database Design, Tools and Data Invest Ottawa is responsible for Public Relations and Marketing Waterloo Region Small Business Centre is responsible for Coordination and Curation of Educational Content. These four organizations will work collaboratively and collectively with other Small Business Centres through committees to execute on the deliverables. The Waterloo Region Small Business Centreskey role is to develop 20 e-learning modules, 10 focusing on startup education and10 on sustainability and growth business topics. All modules will be completed inEnglish and Frenchby March 31, 2021. These workshops will be available 24/7 for small 1 - 2 businessesto learn on-demand at their convenience. The Waterloo Region Small Business Centre has extensive experience in designing and delivering workshops that aretransferable to anonline Learning Management System. During 2019/2020 the network of 46 Small Business Centres collectively designed and delivered over 3000 workshops and provided over 11,500 one-on-one consultations to Ontario small businesses. More recently, the focus of the workshops and consultations has been on creating action plans to help small business to re-imagine, relaunch and recover from the impact of COVID-19. Each of the 46 Small Business Centres throughout the province will receive $32,000 to hire and train a virtual advisor. Collectively the 46 Small Business Centres will contribute to the success of the project. Theonline portal is expected to be sustainable through collaborative content creation, a contribution from each of the 46 Small Business and corporate sponsorships. ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN: Strategic Priority:Strong & Resilient Economy Strategy: #2.2 Support the attraction, retention and development of existing and new industries within the regional economy working in collaboration with the economic development corporation for Waterloo Region. Strategic Action:# 26Make It Start # 27 Make It Grow FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: None. The fundingfrom the Business Advisory Centre Durham / Ontario Together Fund supports the direct expenses for WRSBC projectdeliverables.See appendix A for the expected distribution of funds to deliver on the project objectives. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: Entrepreneurship and innovation contribute to economic growth in the community. The Centre provides programs and services that support and complement other community entrepreneurial initiatives essential to the commercialization of small business within the Waterloo Region ecosystem. CONSULT: The Waterloo Region Small Business Centre is was named in the funding agreement between the Province and the Business Advisory Centre Durham to deliver 20 online learning modules. The Waterloo Region Small BusinessCentre worked collaboratively with other Ontario Small Business Centresto develop and submit this proposal to the Provincial Government to help small business. During the early part of the COVID-19emergency response(April, May, June 2020) the WaterlooRegion Small usiness COVID-19Outreach Programinterviewed 200 businesses to understand their challenges and provided access to government programs, resiliency training, COVID-19 safe workplace protocol, industry sector support groups and published COVID-19 Recovery Toolkit. COLLABORATE Waterloo Region Small Business Centre communicates, consults and collaborates with a broad range of community groups, organizations, agencies, secondary and post-secondary institutes, municipal, regional and provincial governments to ensure the entrepreneurial services and 1 - 3 programs address the needs of small business in the community. The volunteers for the Waterloo Region Small Business Centre and the Board of Advisors are representative of these community groups. ACKNOWLEDGED BY:Justin Readman, General Manager DSD 1 - 4 Appendix A: Ontario Small BusinessCOVID-19 Recovery NetworkEducational Content Project November 2020March 31, 2021 REVENUE E-learning Modules $ 75,000 Virtual Service Advisor $ 32,000 TOTAL REVENUE $ 107,000 EXPENSES Virtual Service Advisor $ 29,000 Training $ 3,000 Professional Services - French translation $ 8,000 Professional Services Course Standards, Design & Development $ 22,000 Professional Services Facilitator Guidebooks, Participant eBooks $ 20,000 Learning Management System - Setup & Subscription $ 20,000 Graphic Design $ 5,000 TOTAL EXPENSES $ 107,000 NET $ - 1 - 5 Waterloo Region Small Business Centre Income Statement for the Year Ended December 31, 2019 (with comparatives for the year ended December 31, 2018) 20192018 REVENUES Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation & Trade 296,696476,624 Ministry of Research and Innovation48,845166,006 City of Cambridge16,08613,400 City of Kitchener115,918116,580 City of Waterloo10,97811,900 Region of Waterloo 50,00050,000 Region of Waterloo -Self Employment Program 25,62510,500 Sponsorships 118,03349,662 Memberships 4001,700 Registration Fees 17,56215,301 Room Rentals 339339 Miscellaneous Revenue -530 TOTAL REVENUES700,482912,542 EXPENSES Salaries and Wages 440,208515,040 Administrative Expenses 39,40051,138 Grants 96,438285,050 Professional Services 83,60945,865 Events and Publicity 17,62527,118 Insurance 1,4611,392 TOTAL EXPENSES678,741925,603 Net Profit (Loss)21,741(13,061) ACCUMULATED SURPLUS (DEFICIT) Opening Balance80,05393,114 Net Profit (Loss)21,741(13,061) Closing Balance101,79480,053 1 - 6