The City of Quinte West is seeking quotes from experienced and qualified consulting firms to develop a comprehensive Business Retention and Expansion (BR+E) Strategy and Implementation Plan. Managed by the City’s Economic Development and Tourism Division, this initiative seeks to support and grow the local commercial sector, which includes retail, professional services and other commercial businesses. It will establish innovative municipal best practices to support, retain, and drive growth within the local business community for future programming and investment.

The goal of the project is to:

• Identify the needs, concerns, and opportunities for existing commercial businesses in Quinte West.
• Develop a clear, actionable strategy for the City to retain existing businesses, encourage expansions and attract new businesses.
• Provide an analysis tool to assist the Economic Development team to proactively address challenges and support a vibrant commercial economy.

Key Project Components

• Consultant-Led Business Engagement: Designing, executing, and analyzing business surveys with one-on-one stakeholder interviews to capture the real-time needs, challenges, and sentiments of Quinte West businesses in the commercial and service professional sectors.
• The information gathered through the BR+E will be used by the consultant and staff to develop targeted action plans that directly support the business community.
• The data will be used to develop a strategic action plan to pinpoint critical needs and capitalize on new opportunities. 
• The business survey will identify the following:
• To identify gaps in service
• Understand barriers facing small/medium business owners in the identified sectors
• Raise awareness of existing programs offered by the city; adapt or recommend new programs that meet the needs of the business community
• Uncovering and addressing issues that impede business growth before they lead to closures will ensure our commercial/retail sector remains competitive and sustainable into the future. 
• Environmental Scan & Benchmarking: Conducting regional comparative analysis and benchmarking best practices against top-performing jurisdictions to identify gaps and opportunities in the commercial sector.
• Actionable Frameworks: Developing standardized tools, templates, aftercare procedures, and program models (e.g., business visitation, entrepreneurship supports, and incubation) for cross-organizational use.
• Implementation & Analytics: Creating a clear resourcing roadmap and a sustainable data-collection framework to track and evaluate BR+E progress with action plan initiatives.

Critical Timelines

• Project Kick-off: end of August / beginning of September, 2026 (upon contract execution)
• Draft Report Deadline: October 16, 202
• Final Report & Presentation to Business Community: by mid December, 2026 

Budget

• The City has established an upset limit of $45,000 for this assignment, exclusive of HST.