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Opportunity Salt Spring

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georgep

May 1, 2019 By georgep

CEDC is working with EcoPlan International to identify the best model for a Green Learning Lab on Salt Spring that can help us demonstrate that investing in the green sector is good for the economy and our environment.

Why A Green Learning Lab?

We understands the need to invest in clean tech and green solutions that are part of a circular economy. This systems approach is important for an island community to find ways to sustain both the natural environment that we live in, our lifestyle and our ability to earn a living. It’s also something that the world is grappling with – we believe we can offer a rural location for testing various products or innovations that could lead to global solutions.

We don’t subscribe to a philosophy of endless economic growth. We believe there is a way to support economic activity that considers the impact on our environment. The CEDC is introducing a “lab” idea to address our own problems and potential to contribute to the larger global issues. While we don’t currently have a physical place to call our lab, we do see the value in a virtual lab to support the shift to an economy that values “green” solutions.

We believe that future services of the lab could be to act as an R&D centre, a maker lab, an education hub and more.

What Are "Green Services"?

There’s a lot of “green” solutions touted today. Our Green Learning Lab will focus on the creation of products or services that seek to:

  1. Reduce – products or services that would reduce consumption of natural resources (water, energy, etc)
  2. Reuse or Recycle – products or services that use waste for production (ugly vegetables become delicious soup) or innovate ways to use a by-product.

OUR ISLAND COMMUNITY IS CURRENTLY CHALLENGED BY:

  • Water (quality and quantity)
  • Energy
  • Food security
  • Transportation
  • Waste Management

A "Green Lab" Will...

1. Provide a place in our community to pilot and test solutions for providers, government and interested innovators. We’ll work to support user testing and document the outcomes in a way that will make implementation easier. Clients would manage their own technical information.

2. Investigate and identify the red tape in going green. For example – we believe that it is too expensive for many people to retrofit their homes to low-flush toilets. Our hypothesis is that we’d identify the right incentive and communication to change this in concentrated pockets (neighbourhood to neighbourhood) then more people would switch. It might help us identify barriers to going green and assist us with creating a set of plays that we put in our playbook.

3. Enable local providers to partner with us on the “barriers” and uncover other market opportunities. A “lab” will help them test their business hypothesis and then incubate their solutions. This is in essence our Rural Business Accelerator, or an “entrepreneur in residence” program.

What's needed: We need to capture metrics for the local market and document the local sector. By working to coordinate information and generate a community dashboard that shows how we are working towards zero-emission or other goals (aligned with CleanBC), we can also mentor those that are working in this sector.

Filed Under: Blog

January 30, 2017 By georgep

Kya is a community-minded spirit, passionate about timely change, collaboration and meaningful conversations. Kya grew up on Salt Spring Island before moving to some of Canada’s most beautiful mountain towns where she worked in different industries, experienced other communities, and ultimately found her way back to her hometown with new skills and perspectives. She currently works as the Wedding & Events Coordinator for Harbour House Hotel.

From carpenter to tour guide and now event manager, Kya believes that every experience has similar lessons to teach about communication skills, group dynamics and shared humanity. After completing the Event Management Program at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, she established her event planning business, Kinnect Events. Kya enjoys volunteering and is proud to be a CEDC Commissioner, as well as being active with Transition Salt Spring, and the Salt Spring Community Alliance. Her hobbies include hiking, circus-style multi hula hooping and permaculture gardening.

Filed Under: Commissioners

January 30, 2017 By georgep

Getting the word out about your business/opportunity can also be challenging. There are some local opportunities you can check out.

Social Media

Twitter
Find us via our twitter handle: @OpportunitySSI to follow us or learn more about our activities. https://twitter.com/OpportunitySSI/followers

Facebook
Look up our Facebook page to discover the stories, and news impacting Salt Spring. https://www.facebook.com/OpportunitySSI/

Hashtags
Use our hashtags #OpportunitySSI and #RurallyInspired to find out how we’re helping people discover and enhance opportunities that exist here.

Or use use #saltspring, #saltspringisland to look for products and services on the island, and you’ll be sure to land on some things of interest.

Digital Traveler
A good resource for digital travelers to the island is saltspringmarket.com, it’s a one-stop shop and guide to let you know what's happening around the island.

Salt Spring Digital
Are you keen to stay connected to all things digital, look no further than the Facebook page for the Salt Spring Digital Group, a socially connected bunch who get together for socials to exchange ideas and knowledge.

Advertising

You can use local publications (links):

  • GI Driftwood: http://gulfislandsdriftwood.com/
  • SS Exchange: http://saltspringexchange.com/
  • Fishbowl Magazine: http://www.fishbowlmagazine.com/
  • Islands Marketplace: http://islandsmarketplace.com

 

Filed Under: Enhance

January 30, 2017 By georgep

Growing Opportunities

Building on the SSI-Community Economic Development Commission’s (CEDC) 2016-18 Rural Business Accelerator
program, CEDC learned that more support was needed to help local producers grow and sustain their businesses.
To achieve this goal, a Feasibility Study, was conducted in 2018, and served as the basis for a 2019 Rural Dividend
Fund Award to establish a shared business services program to enhance the economic productivity of local
businesses. To learn more: Shared Business Services Enterprise-overview

In 2017 we introduced an exciting program, thanks to funding from a Rural Dividend Grant, the Rural Business Accelerator  provided training, mentoring and access to funding and returns in 2019/20.

We’ve selected three specific sectors to work with. These sectors are maturing and have an existing presence on the island:

  • Food and Beverage
  • Green Services
  • Craft or Lifestyle

If you’d like more detailed information about the program, visit the RBA section.

Add Some Skills

We've partnered with Small Business BC to provide you with tools to help you grow your venture. There are many resources available on the Small Business BC website, including how-to's, checklists, advice and articles.

You can also register for webinars that can help you market, streamline, and grow your venture. There are hundreds of topics offered each year, ranging from one hour to multi-day bundles.

Here's a link to BC Jobs, Training & Tech Webinars.

Another resource for small to medium-sized businesses is the Export Navigator Program. If you're wishing to grow and diversify, by developing markets outside of BC and Canada, they offer a way to expand your business beyond the local market.

 

Tech Links

Assistance for tech companies via:

The Venture Acceleration Network – VIATEC in Victoria:
http://www.viatec.ca/cpages/accelerator

Innovation Island in Nanaimo:
http://www.innovationisland.ca/

New Ventures BC:
http://www.newventuresbc.com/accelerate/

Filed Under: Enhance

January 30, 2017 By georgep

Banks and Credit Unions

BMO Bank of Montreal: https://www.bmo.com/main/business
CIBC Branch & ATM: https://locations.cibc.com/search/bc/saltspring+island
Island Savings: https://www.islandsavings.ca/Business/

Micro Loans

Transition Salt Spring Society: http://transitionsaltspring.com/solutions/enterprise-co-op/
(A cooperative lending group that will provide small investments to green organizations.)

Grants

Foundations that offer Grants:
Salt Spring Foundation: http://ssifoundation.ca/
Vancouver Foundation: https://www.vancouverfoundation.ca/grants

Grants for business and non-profits may be available through the Province of BC or Government of Canada.

Filed Under: Enhance

January 30, 2017 By georgep

This page is under construction, more to come.

Filed Under: Discover

January 29, 2017 By georgep

Bryan has 25 years’ experience in energy conservation program design and renewable energy development.  He founded and managed an incubator fund providing $12 million annually to support the develop of innovate electricity conservation programs at Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator.  Currently, he is the Chair of Transition Salt Spring — a catalyst for the implementation of the Salt Spring Island Climate Action Plan for which he was a lead author.  He’s passionate to see how much food he can grow on 1.89 acres on the south end where he lives with his partner, poet Brian Day.

Bryan is passionate about bridging divides, finding synergies, and building a more equitable and diverse Salt Spring economy.  He believes that one of the paths to economic prosperity for Salt Spring will be found in the restoration, stewardship, and cultivation of diversified forest and marine ecosystems for the benefit of our communities and the natural world around us.

Filed Under: Commissioners

January 29, 2017 By georgep

Holly is a modern-day dynamo who runs a custom training company Spark + Co, which provides management and training solutions to clients around North America. Holly embodies a balance between savvy-business person and grounded community member. Most recently she is the architect of CEDC’s Rural Business Accelerator program and now the Vice-Chair of the Commission. Additionally, Holly also volunteers with Connecting Generations and Salt Spring Digital.

She moved to Salt Spring in 2008 from Vancouver for the “slower pace of life” and since then the entire family has found themselves involved in many community organizations. Holly also tweets about the island economy as @sparkandco and manages the social media presence for CEDC. Holly loves to kayak, sail and hike and can be found walking her dog on local trails, rain or shine.

Filed Under: Commissioners

January 29, 2017 By georgep

With a knack for finding unique and beautiful places to live, Inga, who immigrated to Canada from Germany in 2000, first lived in Whistler, then moved to Salt Spring in 2012. Drawn by its natural beauty and charm, Inga came to the island to raise her kids in a rural setting. In her work, Inga coaches, and trains leaders of organizations on innovation and changing systems. She also consults small companies on business strategy.

Inga holds a BComm in Entrepreneurship and has a particular interest in using business as a force for good. She is the vice president for Transition Salt Spring Enterprise Co-Op, which supports green initiatives and businesses with low-interest microloans. Inga helped the Wagon Wheel Society draft a business plan for the Laundromat and supported the Island Comeback Campaign with administration tasks. In her Commissioner role, Inga plans to contribute to a sustainable economic strategy that creates opportunities for locals to make a right livelihood while respecting the environment.

Filed Under: Commissioners

January 29, 2017 By georgep

Dr. Daniel Muzyka is Dean and Professor Emeritus at the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia. He has also been President and Chief Executive Officer of The Conference Board of Canada and Vice-President and Chair of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). Previously, he served as the IAF Professor of Entrepreneurship and Associate Dean at INSEAD and taught at other institutions.

Dr. Muzyka has experience in academia, business, and the public sector and has participated on a number of corporate boards, venture capital funds, as well as not-for-profit, regulatory and government organizations, committees and commissions. He worked in industry with General Electric in finance and strategy and was a strategy consultant. He holds a Doctor of Business Administration (Harvard), an MBA (Wharton), and a BA in Physics and Astronomy (Williams College). He was awarded the Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite by the Government of France.

Filed Under: Commissioners

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