HomeMy WebLinkAboutCAO-12-001 - CTT International Business MissionsREPORT TO:Finance and Corporate Services Committee
DATE OF MEETING:
January 9, 2012
SUBMITTED BY: Carla Ladd, CAO, 741-2350
PREPARED BY:
Carla Ladd, CAO, 741-2350
WARD(S) INVOLVED: ALL
DATE OF REPORT: January 3, 2012
REPORT NO.:
CAO-12-001
SUBJECT:
CTT International Business Missions – Travel Authorization
RECOMMENDATION:
That the Mayor be authorized to annually participate in one international business mission with
CTT to advance the regional economic development objectives related to foreign direct
investment and that this endorsement includes approval for international travel under Council
Policy II-35.
BACKGROUND:
Canada’s Technology Triangle (CTT) is the regional economic development organization
responsible for attracting foreign direct investment to the Region of Waterloo. Much is this work
is conducted abroad in order to reach out to growing economies that hold promise of investment
into Canada and the Region. CTT is collectively funded by the all the municipalities and the
Region and they undertake this work on behalf of the municipalities.
REPORT:
In 2010, the CTT Board of Directors made a formal decision and request that a Mayor
participate in each of the CTT led international missions to facilitate more doors being opened to
the mission group on the basis that Mayors hold significant power and profile in the economies
being targeted by CTT. As such, the Mayors of the three cities in the Region – Kitchener,
Cambridge and Waterloo - agreed that each of them would participate in one mission in 2011
and in this capacity they would represent the entire region. Mayor Doug Craig, Cambridge,
accompanied CTT to China; Mayor Carl Zehr, Kitchener, participated in the mission to Brazil;
and Mayor Brenda Halloran, Waterloo, participated in the mission to Korea and China.
In December of 2011, the three Mayors, their CAO’s and the CEO of CTT, John Jung, held a
debrief session to discuss the experiences and value of the Mayors participating in the
international missions. The consensus was the Mayors participation was extremely valuable
and they did in fact ‘open doors’ which resulted in several meetings with foreign dignitaries and
politicians in the international economies that may not have otherwise been available.
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In addition to the Mayors, the international missions also included representatives from several
large and high profile businesses in the Region such as Desire2Learn, Open Text, Christie
Digital and Logikor. The combination of the Mayors and business representatives led to a
number of meetings that resulted in business investments abroad that will ultimately provide
economic benefit to the Region and foreign investment in the Region thereby creating jobs.
It is therefore being recommended that the Mayor be supported in participating in one
international business mission each year and that this approval includes any funding required
for travel.
ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN:
The work of CTT internationally, and the participation of the Mayors in these initiatives are
directly related to the Community Priority for Development, particularly Economic Development
and also directly aligns and implements the strategies embedded in the City’s Economic
Development Strategy (KEDS.11).
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
The costs associated with Mayor’s participation in one international mission is approximately
$10,000 and it is expected that this will be the annual cost associated with this program.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
The involvement of local businesses in international missions engages the business community
directly in the continued development of the region’s economy.
CONCLUSION:
The participation of the Mayor in CTT’s International Missions is an important key to the success
of achieving foreign direct investment in the region’s economy and ensures the health and
vitality of the region now and in the future.
ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Carla Ladd, CAO
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