About Us

The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador released its Strategic Economic Plan (SEP), "Change and Challenge", in June of 1992.

While the SEP is an economic blueprint for the province, governments and community-based organizations recognize that different regions have different needs and opportunities. For this reason, the SEP states government's intention to establish economic zones charged with citizen-led planning and implementation at the local level.

Economic development can be defined as creating wealth -- increasing gross domestic product -- in a way that is fairly distributed and is sustainable over the long term.

Community economic development emphasizes that the people of a community themselves should be directly involved in pursuing and managing their own economic development. Community economic development emphasizes collective action by the community. It integrates social, cultural, and environmental concerns with economic development. It emphasizes the development of individuals and groups to sustain their activities. Finally, it focuses on a long-term process which is accountable to the residents of the community.

Local commitment and accountability must be fostered if the innovation, entrepreneurship and productivity necessary for success in the new economy is to be unleashed.

The SEP also emphasizes the need for governments to relate their development activities to regional goals and conditions. Success in the global markets requires an integration of regional, private, public and community-based organizations, working in tandem with provincial, national and international agencies and firms.

Integration of local goals and activities will be integrated with external opportunities through strategic planning at the regional level. Individual communities and sub-regional groups must play a lead role in the development and implementation of strategic economic plans, but only by working together at the regional level can they ensure maximum efficiency and effectiveness. Government agencies, in turn, will know where to look for an understanding of regional priorities and strengths, to ensure that their own efforts reinforce, rather than distort, local development opportunities and initiatives.

Federal, provincial and municipal governments, community organizations, business and labour organizations, and education and training institutions need to form partnerships and coordinate their activities to bring about economic renewal in the face of the continuing challenges in the industrial and resource sectors of this province.