Opportunity Ranking Criteria

Opportunity Ranking Criteria

Prior to identifying community specific or enterprise level opportunities the Working Group developed an opportunity ranking criteria. The ranking criterion was used to prioritize opportunities within each sector. Opportunities were not ranked across sectors due to the interest in developing a diversified economy (i.e. a forestry related opportunity was not be ranked against a tourism opportunity and vice versa).

1. 
   Goals were identified for the EDAP (the Working Group identified the goals for economic development in the Morice).
   
   
   
2. 
   Goals were then categorized into logical groups. In most cases sub-categories were necessary to differentiate the intent of a specific goal(s).
   
   
   
3. 
   Grouping of goals were then refined to produce a generalized statement of what is to be achieved.
   
   
   
4. 
   For each category an indicator for each goal was developed (i.e. for employment one indicator was the number of jobs created by an opportunity).
   
   
   
5. 
   Each indicator was then given a measure of success (i.e. a measure of low may be less than ten for a goal of maintaining or improving the number of jobs in an area while a moderate level may be ten to fifty jobs).
   

6. 
   Finally, points were assigned to each category based on the measures determined by the group.
   

The Working Group identified the following goals:

• 
  To provide long term sustainability
  
• 
  Develop a training and educational base
  
• 
  Improve infrastructure for growth
  
• 
  Build confidence for investors
  
• 
  Develop local leaders in management
  
• 
  Promote supporting industries for the local forest sector
  

• 
  Maintain healthy sustainable communities
  
• 
  Diversify employment opportunities (small and large enterprises)
  
• 
  Have complete First Nations involvement
  
• 
  Maintain a healthy environment
  

• 
  Identify criteria and economic opportunities for success
  
• 
  Ensure land use decisions consider economic opportunities
  
• 
  Be consistent with community values and goals
  
• 
  Be economically and environmentally sustainable
  
• 
  Diversify the economy
  

Table 1 and Table 2 illustrate the refined goals and ranking criteria developed for this process.