EEDC to be ‘pulled apart’ in an effort to refocus, CEO says
A major restructuring is coming to the Edmonton Economic Development Corporation (EEDC) to make sure there’s no overlap with a similar entity that’s trying to promote the region globally.
Edmonton Global, a regional economic development corporation, officially launched in June to represent the 15 regional municipalities on the world stage. These include municipalities like St. Albert, Strathcona County and Fort Saskatchewan.
While both have different mandates, city council’s executive committee on Thursday directed the EEDC to clarify who does what.
EEDC president and CEO Derek Hudson said he doesn’t plan to keep the organization as it is.
“It is important for this organization to evolve, to continue to add the most value it can to the city’s economy,” he said. “That’s why we’re first doing a strategy so we can get strategic context and then we will reset the organization. I’m not feeling threatened by this organization being pulled apart because the purpose of the organization is to add value.”
He suspects the final restructuring will be done in January. The strategy is expected to be released this fall and will look at how to drive the city’s economy more effectively.
The city funds roughly $20 million of EEDC’S approximately $70-million budget with the rest coming from other sources, including operating two convention centres and government grants. The corporation employs about 1,500 people, 140 of them full-time.
EEDC used to receive grants for work done around the world but that has since gone to Edmonton Global. Hudson said it’s possible the corporation becomes smaller once everyone’s roles are worked out.
“The creation of Edmonton Global was what needed to happen,” he said. “We do need an organization that represents the region. I support the existence of Edmonton Global and we’re trying to do our part for Edmonton to be a contributor to that.”
Mayor Don Iveson said EEDC will continue to focus on innovation and technology.
“EEDC’S more focused role is certainly on the tourism and convention space on an ongoing basis,” Iveson said. “It has a significant leadership role around our innovation ecosystem, though how we are going to manage that that is most responsive to innovators and entrepreneurs is something we have a little bit more work to do.”
Iveson added he suspects there’s room to reallocate the current funding to EEDC to meet priorities as they come up.
This isn’t the only hurdle EEDC is facing. In January, city council’s audit committee asked for an audit of the organization following the news the EEDC fell victim to a $375,000 phishing scam.