2011-2012 Annual Report - Full Version - PDF - Palmerston North ...

Activity - Economic DevelopmentWhat the Council doesThe Council contributes to economic developmentand supports it in two different ways. These are setout in the Council’s Economic Well-Being Strategy.At a general level everything the Councildoes contributes to economic development– for example, leadership, provision of roads,stormwater, water, rubbish and recycling services,community services, and regulation and planning.These are all services used by businesses. Theyhelp attract people to live in the City.At a more specific level the Council providesfunding for business support services, e.g. skillsdevelopment and education programmes, researchcapacity, business incubators, small-businessdevelopment, and business information.The Council also provides funding to help supporttourism promotion and development, includingevents. The Council supports these events forboth economic development and communitydevelopment reasons.The Council has a limited influence on the Regionaland City economies. However, it can work withother organisations to encourage economicgrowth and to create an environment that isconducive to economic growth.Why the Council does this and itscontribution to Council vision andmajor goalsOne of the major reasons people move to a newplace to live is for work. A major aim of economicdevelopment is to increase the number ofbusinesses and jobs available to people. Hence thisActivity contributes to making Palmerston North acity where people want to live because of its safeand easy lifestyle and its many social, cultural andrecreational opportunities. Increasing the numberof visitors to the City also has economic benefits.Economic development is also about providingbusiness support services, so Council contributesas well to making Palmerston North a city whichattracts, fosters and retains businesses and jobs tocreate a prosperous community.This Activity also funds some of Council’s eventsunder the Councils Events and Festivals Strategy.There are two basic reasons for Council involvementin the event sector. The first is the growing oflocal jobs by increasing visitor expenditure andgrowing the attractiveness of Palmerston Northto the wider communities of the region andnation. Improved perception helps improve thedesirability of Palmerston North as a place to comeand work, live and learn and hence spend moneyin the local economy. These are funded throughthe Economic Development Activity.The second rationale is strengthening thelocal community through celebrations andopportunities to grow community networks. Theseare funded through the Community DevelopmentActivity.At a more specific level theCouncil provides funding forbusiness support services, e.g.skills development and educationprogrammes, research capacity,business incubators, small-businessdevelopment, and businessinformation.What happened in the yearEconomic DevelopmentCouncil partners Manawatu District Council to fundthe activities of Vision Manawatu (Vision). Visionled the development of the Regional DevelopmentStrategy (RDS) which was endorsed by bothcouncils in October 2011. The RDS identifiesthe outcomes the region will work to achieve by2021. Vision has achieved high participation frombusinesses in this region through the RegionalBusiness Partners Network. This programmehas resulted in significant investment into localmanagement capability training ($500,000 fundedby NZTE) and research and development ($3mfrom MSI).Other programmes Vision provide include sevencompanies were engaged in the Smart BusinessAcceleration programme (especially focused onbusinesses that want to step up to exporting) andthe Sustainable Business programme for 2012is fully subscribed with the 2011 programmebeing a resounding success. The City and theDistrict Council support this programme throughsponsorship of some fees.EconomicDevelopmentWhat the Council DoesPalmerston North City Council Annual Report 2011/1259