Research partners to study economy
The Niagara Workforce Planning Board is teaming up with the region’s post-secondary institutions to find ways of overcoming barriers to Niagara’s economic vitality.
Representatives of the planning board, Brock University and Niagara College’s school of business each signed a memorandum of understanding Monday to launch a five-year research project looking at ways to stimulate economic growth in Niagara communities.
In a media release, Brock Niagara Community Observatory director Charles Conteh said the research will provide a “panoramic view” of how the economy, business and labour interact with one another as Niagara Region moves forward with regional development.
“Let’s co-ordinate our strength and together begin to ask larger questions about the economic vitality of Niagara and job creation: What are the gaps? What are the challenges? Bottlenecks? Constraints? How can we overcome them?” Brock’s interim research vicepresident, Joffre Mercier, said input from the community will direct the research conducted by the team, while the research itself will “help inform decisions that will enhance the economic and social health of Niagara.”
“The Niagara Community Observatory plays a key role in directing and driving these efforts, and we are grateful to them for their hard work,” he said.
Niagara College president Dan Patterson said the partnership between post-secondary education and labour market experts is “key to identifying labour market research priorities for our community, and it leverages our individual roles and strengths in support of economic development in Niagara.”
“The MOU we’ve signed today reflects our shared goals of aligning the skills and knowledge of our workforce with the current and future needs of Niagara’s business and industry,” Patterson said.
Niagara Workforce Planning Board executive director Mario De Divitiis said the partnership between “the foremost public research institutions in the region … opens up so much possibility for Niagara.