Pipestone Flyer
The Leduc-Nisku Economic Development Association recently presented their new Strategic Plan to Leduc City Council which emphasized the changes that are underway in the organization. In the last four months since hiring their new Executive Director Barbara Engelbart, there have been many shifts in priorities and new initiatives being put into practice. Board Chair Emma Pietroleonardo says that with the new Strategic Plan the "LNEDA is becoming nimble and adaptive to area needs." Included in the plan are six performance indicators that will be reported on quarterly beginning in 2014, including partner satisfaction, percentage of funding from non-municipal sources, and reputation and brand awareness. Transitioning from a formal partnership between the LNEDA, City of Leduc and County of Leduc, the organization became a Not-For-Profit organization in March of 2013. Emma stated that "We will be transparent and available to the businesses and municipalities that support us. Every project will be measured against the Strategic Plan and if they don't fit we will say no."
A statement made within the new plan says that "This new Strategic Plan reveals that change, and reflects the commitment of the Board of Directors and staff to renew and strengthen the organization’s focus and efforts. This document provides the road map that will guide the decisions and actions of LNEDA over the coming years." The plan also made mention of the fact that it was "critical" for the LNEDA to recognize its purpose and towards that end to develop programming with their three main goals being business attraction, retention and expansion. Acknowledging that there are areas where the LNEDA has needed improvement, most notably in public awareness and communications, Exec. Dir. Barbara commented that "You'll be hearing more from us, not less. Historically we have not done a great job communicating our successes but we have recently hired a new media/communications person and we are looking forward to that changing."