City of Surrey's Annual Financial Report 2020

CITY OF SURREY OVERVIEWS INVESTMENT & INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS DEPARTMENT

The Investment & Intergovernmental Relations Department's programs and services include economic policy and strategy, economic analysis, business attraction, sector development, government relations, policy analysis and communications. The department also has responsibility for the following operational divisions:

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT The Economic Development division is responsible for producing and implementing the City’s Economic Development Strategy. The division identifies and develops relationships with key stakeholder groups in order to build a strong ecosystem that stimulates investment attraction, job creation, entrepreneurship development and innovation. The Economic Development team maintains current information about businesses in Surrey, and collects and analyzes local, regional, and provincial economic data.

INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS The Intergovernmental Relations division is responsible for producing and implementing the City’s Government Engagement Plan. The division advances the City’s interests with all levels of government and identifies provincial and federal priority alignments and joint program opportunities.

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• Worked directly with the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General’s office to help achieve establishment of the first Surrey Police Board. • Assisted City Departments to secure funding from senior levels of government, including $16.3 million from the Federal Rapid Housing Initiative Major Cities Stream to build an additional 50 units of affordable housing to add to the existing affordable housing infrastructure. • Developed Economic Recovery Roadmap, with regular updates and information on the state of Surrey’s economy. This document was provided to the Investment & Innovation Impact Committee. manufacturers in retooling and securing contracts to help supply Personal Protective Equipment and Medical Supplies to Health Authorities, Government Organizations, and other groups in need. The program supported 25 Surrey-based companies, generating more than $12 million in total PPE sales, over $5 million in private capital equipment investment and property improvements, as well as 55,000 sq ft in new industrial space activation across the city. In addition, over 145 jobs were attracted, retained, and created as a direct result of this program. • Developed and launched the Surrey Makes PPE initiative to support local Surrey-based

• Launched the Surrey Store to Door Buy Local campaign, promoting 521 businesses across Surrey in retail, restaurants, business services, and health and wellness. The campaign has resulted in over 41,300 shoppers visiting our online shopping hub, with over 66,400 click-throughs to local Surrey businesses. Over 90% of Store to Door businesses who responded to our Business Impact Survey • Despite COVID-19 related challenges, staff continued to work with local businesses and investors looking to expand or establish a presence in Surrey. This includes 33 leads and inquiries managed by staff, with six leads successfully locating or expanding their presence in Surrey in 2020. • Partnered with BC Infrastructure Benefits to provide employment opportunities to Surrey residents through a Build Pattullo campaign. The campaign resulted in 293 job applications submitted for the Pattullo Bridge Infrastructure Project, with 40% of Surrey applicants self-identifying as part of equity groups such as indigenous, women, people with disabilities, visible minorities, or LGBTQS2. indicated that they considered the buy local initiative to be helpful to their business.

• Partnered with Simon Fraser University to launch a ‘Pivoting Your Business Towards Success Workshop Series’ to provide step-by-step support for business model innovation to build resiliency through COVID- 19 and beyond 30 businesses participated in this workshop series. • Engaged with over 420 businesses as part of our outreach program to understand the impact of COVID-19 on our local business community and prepare them for recovery. • Initiated weekly emergency e-newsletter communications with over 11,000 businesses and individuals during the first wave of COVID-19. • With Surrey’s Manager of Economic Development as the inaugural chair of the Regional Economic Prosperity Advisory Committee (REPAC), provided leadership and guidance in prioritizing investment attraction activities that add value to Surrey’s metropolitan transformation.

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