CREC fellow
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Eric Canada Senior Research Fellow ecanada@crec.net |
Eric P. Canada, is a nationally recognized authority on economic development marketing as well as business retention and expansion. He is a psychologist by training, an entrepreneur at heart, and a developer by choice. He has a rich history of leadership in economic development thinking, tool development, and sharing. A few of his professional innovations include:
Competitive Capacity Analysis: Objective Key Performance Indicators (benchmarks) replacing traditionally subjective SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat) assessment.
Portfolio Analysis, Predictive Modeling, Competitive Intelligence via scientifically based business retention executive interviews.
Dynamic Manufacturing Marketing Networks, a sustainable, self-funding economic development program centered on existing manufacturing firms.
Synchronist Suite®, a cloud-based platform for managing economic development programs, the development of scientifically derived data for solid, data driven strategy and resource allocation. The Synchronist Suite software is the first and only BR|E tool to use a) competitive intelligence in BR|E, b) predictive analytics, c) regional and national KPIs, and d) asset value assessment – above and beyond traditional data for documenting business issues.
Working with CREC, Eric created the National BR|E Challenge to establish undated national benchmarks following 2 years of limited business retention executive engagement. Over 1,600 executive interviews were completed in 28 states for the 1St benchmarking challenge in 2021. Over 32 benchmarks covered categories including: workforce, supply chain, business growth, growth barriers, plans to expand and more. The 2022 Challenge is currently underway.
Eric has consistently created unique intellectual property for the economic development community. He has generated market gravity and is often cited as an industry expert. These are hallmarks of a persistent thought leader.
Mr. Canada’s new book Economic Development for the Team, is written for the new economic developer, staff, Board Members, and volunteers. Insights, diagrams, graphics, and success stories help make concepts relatable. The built-in glossary puts the acronyms and language of the profession at hand.
In his first book, Economic Development for Results, Mr. Canada successfully adopted business-to-business marketing techniques to economic development marketing challenges long before B2B became fashionable. The book broke ground helping: Accelerated the professionalization of the marketing function in economic development; Laid the ground work for applying competitive intelligence to business retention and expansion; Set in motion forces that would create national benchmarks for business assessment (patented); Spawned innovation in BR|E leading to the award-winning Synchronist Suite® software.
A veteran of local, regional, and statewide economic development positions, he began his consulting career in 1994. Canada has a BS, Psychology, Indiana University and completed Economic Development Institute as well as Chamber of Commerce Management Institute. He has taught at EDI, 8 Basic Economic Development Courses, as well as for a host of national economic development organizations.
Canada’s published primary research includes: The Art of Inquiry: Business Retention Interview Design, 1998; Missing Link: A Vision for Retention and Expansion, BR|E Results and Outcomes Research, 2002. BR|E International Benchmark Evaluation, 2014.
Whitepapers and articles include: The industry approved definition of BR|E2018; Locked in the Twilight Zone: Business Retention Fails the Strategic Value Test (Trilogy, Part 1); Rocketing out of the Twilight Zone: Gaining Strategic Insight from Business Retention (Trilogy, Part 2); (Trilogy, Part 3); the Missing Link: A Vision for Retention and Expansion; Breaking the Habit: Branding Strategies for Business Retention, BR|E Coaches Playbook, Elevating the Game