Right now, the first priority is to keep the ship from sinking. Economic developers across the country have been scrambling to decipher what exactly we can do to help our businesses survive this crisis.

But this pandemic won't last forever. To make sure our business communities come out strong on the other side, we need to do more than stay afloat. We need to steer the ship.

In the name of staying on course, this episode of Insight is all about BR+E – Business Retention and Expansion. Originally planned as episode 3, before we did some last minute rescheduling, we've taken the opportunity to explore how economic developers' perspectives on BR+E have changed in response to COVID-19, with one common theme: it's now more important than ever.

Collecting good information about what your businesses need is timeless. A good relationship with your business community is a direct result of your communication and your ability to act on the issues that matter most to them. So, active listening is key, pandemic or no pandemic.

We also take this opportunity to check in with our Executive Vice President Chris Bandak, who explains the value of good data. Learn more about our Triage BR+E™ product, newly enhanced to address the specific challenges posed by COVID-19.

Insight: Canada's Economic Development Podcast is presented by MDB Insight and produced by Derek Harrison. Our guests for episode 4 included Michelle Samson, Economic Development Officer for the City of Vaughan, Rob Nolan, Director of Economic Development for the City of Brockville, and Jennifer Penney, Economic Development Officer for Town of Paradise. Each episode explores the economic development field in Canada, celebrates the work of professionals across the country, features news and thought leadership from across Canada and digs into some of the most interesting (and important) topics in economic development.

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