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Goals, Leading Indicators, and Potential Metrics for Tracking Progress and Measuring Success for Creating 'the Greenest Place to Work in the World'
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Measuring Success
FALSE CREEK FLATSGREEN ENTERPRISE ZONE
DRAFT: Fall 2014
For the past year, the Vancouver Economic Commission has been
searching for opportunities to help spur the shift of the False Creek
Flats (the Flats) from a traditional industrial area to the greenest place
to work in the world. Given the nebulous nature of this goal, it is time
to pause, consider what it means to be the greenest place to work, and
take stock of how we will measure economic development success in
the Flats context.
This document is a starting point for establishing those measures.
Based on conversations with businesses, City staff, academics, and
district-scale sustainability professionals, the aim of this report is to
build a shared understanding of what sustainable or regenerative
economic development looks like and how we might use it as a tool in
sustainable community development.
INTRODUCTIONWHAT WE MEASURE MATTERS
The phrase ‘what gets measured gets managed’ is pervasive in the
business world, yet we seem to spend an exceptionally small amount
of time deciding what to measure. This is especially true in the field
of economic development. The industrial revolution brought with it
the concept that a steady growth in revenue, output, and jobs was
the key to economic prosperity, heightening the importance of the
measures of GDP and employment rates. Today, in spite of a rapid
shift away from a resource economy toward a connection economy,
GDP and employment rates still drive a significant portion of our
global economic development decisions. In light of this shift, however,
these measures are no longer the most relevant—failing to indicate
resilience, impact, and idea flow which are essential to the success of
the localized connection and innovation -based economy.
The connection economy also demands to be measured on a different
scale. Unlike the resource economy, which is measured in terms of
global resource allocation, the connection economy functions at a
more local scale, predominantly the district scale. It relies on localized
infrastructure, access to a diversity of opportunities and ideas, and
informal face-to-face interactions with peers.
The Vancouver Economic Commission has been a leader in recognizing
the importance of the green economy to date. We are one of the first cities
to track green and local food jobs, and our investigations into existing
district-scale sustainability frameworks have highlighted the need for
us to lead once again—this time in demonstrating how proactive green
economic development can contribute to the development of more
sustainable neighbourhoods. This is especially important in industrial
areas where more traditional mixed-use approaches to sustainable
development might not work. The framework presented here attempts
to demonstrate the role of green economic development in building
more sustainable neighbourhoods—districts that are simultaneously
industry and jobs focused, regenerative to their physical, social and
economic contexts, and self-sustaining.
MANAGING WHAT WE MEASURE
LEADING THE GREEN ECONOMY
SWITCHING SCALES
Economic Development Goals + Objectives
Leading Indicators + Metrics
Principles + Evaluation Criteria
INSIDE
GOALS + OBJECTIVESA PROACTIVE APPROACH TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
CLIMATE FOR INNOVATION
Building off the momentum of the green building movement, the past
decade has brought an influx of energy and attention to neighbourhood
or district scale sustainability projects. The preliminary frameworks
that have been put forward to help guide and assess these projects have
quite successfully integrated environmental and social performance
areas, but they have only just begun to scratch the surface of the
economic development themes that come into play at the district scale.
This is, in part, because many neighbourhood-scale sustainability
projects have been focused primarily on residential areas.
In a business district, industrial sanctuary, or heavily commercial zone,
economic infrastructure can hold as much weight as physical and
social infrastructure for achieving a high-performing neighbourhood.
Based on prior green economy work, Vancouver’s Economic Action
Strategy, and the existing structure of the EcoDistricts Framework, the
following performance areas, goals and objectives for green economic
development have been established to help guide our thinking around
the role of economic development in crafting more sustainable
neighbourhoods.
GOAL Develop a work environment that promotes and sustains
business innovation.
OBJECTIVES• Create the physical and social conditions that are conducive
to exploration, idea sharing, networking, and resource sharing
among businesses.
• Identify and remove the regulatory barriers to implementing
innovative sustainability solutions.
• Build the digital infrastructure needed to support technology
sectors and smart city technologies.
• Promote public demonstration, prototyping, and testing of
innovative sustainability solutions, highlighting opportunities for
education in the landscape.
CLUSTER DEVELOPMENT
TALENT DEVELOPMENT
GREENING BUSINESSES
GOAL Retain, expand, and attract businesses with a demonstrated
role in the circular economy, green economy, or innovation economy.
OBJECTIVES• Ensure businesses are not displaced through regulatory changes.
• Seek opportunities to scale social enterprise and other green sector
businesses that can fill missing links in the circular economy.
• Use waste-resources, green & digital infrastructure, flexible
building stock, and neighbourhood branding to attract new green
businesses & investment.
• Leverage infrastructure changes and new development projects to
test and highlight innovative green solutions.
GOAL Develop and retain green talent across a variety of sectors
and skill sets.
OBJECTIVES• Embed low-barrier green job training programs in all relevant
sustainability programs and projects.
• Prioritize smart city training within local technical and academic
institutions.
• Create a diverse atmosphere of employee amenities and public
spaces that support healthy lifestyles.
GOAL Promote the greening of business operations across all
sectors and business sizes.
OBJECTIVES• Ensure equal access to information and resources related to
greening business practices.
• Build capacity among the business community to understand the
benefits of greening their operations as well as the risks of not
greening their operations.
• Implement programs to recognize and promote greening efforts
among businesses.
INDICATORS + METRICSENSURING ECONOMIC RESILIENCE IN THE FACE OF UNCERTAIN FUTURES
SPACE TO GROW
The following indicators and metrics have been synthesized from
a much longer list of possible metrics, using the principles and
evaluation criteria detailed in the following section of this report. They
are based on understanding and addressing economic development
barriers in the local context, measuring both impact and innovation,
and developing a system of measurement that will remain relevant in
the face of political, social, and cultural change.
REAL ESTATE ACTIVITY• New Space coming online (and demolitions)
• Absorption rates and vacancy rates
• Flexibility and diversity of spaces available
• Reported incidences of innovative / green companies unable to
find suitable space
OPPORTUNITIES TO DEMONSTRATE• Number of demonstration projects implemented on both public
and private facilities
REGULATORY PROCESSES• Length of permitting reviews
• Number of new building permits issued
ANCHOR INSTITUTIONS + EDUCATION• Number of students / trainees engaged in innovative education
programs geared toward sustainability
• Number of spin-off businesses (and employees) from these
programs
BUSINESSES GREENING OPERATIONS• Uptake with the Greening Businesses Digital Platform
• Number of green retrofit projects underway (capital projects)
• Number of businesses engaged in sector-based greening initiatives
• Impact of these projects
COMMUNITY OWNERSHIP OF GREEN GOALS
NETWORK STRENGTH + COMMUNITY COHESION
EMPLOYMENT + INNOVATION
COMMUNITY-LED PROJECTS• Number of organizations and individuals engaged in community-
led greening initiatives
• Impact of these projects
ECO-INDUSTRIAL NETWORKS• Number of resource sharing connections made (+ impact)
• Number of colocation projects / hubs (+ efficiencies)
CLUSTER STRENGTH• Number of social events held and shared spaces animated
• Number of new connections made
• Strength of ties to local business cluster
• Social media activation
BRAND AND IDENTITY• Strength of brand and reputation locally and internationally
• Media coverage cohesion and messaging
JOB OPPORTUNITIES• Number of innovative / green businesses (+ expansion expectations)
• Diversity of green job types (low barrier to high tech)
• Number of green jobs and innovation workers
• Percentage of jobs that are ‘regenerative’ (display autonomy,
mastery, and purpose)
INNOVATION METABOLISM• Number of IP claims
• Number of new start-ups
• Quality of idea flow (social physics measure)
INVESTMENT IN INNOVATION• $ Investment in green and digital infrastructure (demonstration)
• $ Investment in new green technologies
PRINCIPLES + EVALUATION CRITERIADEVELOPING MEASUREMENTS THAT EMBODY MEANING + INSPIRE ACTION
EMBRACE CHOICE + FOCUS
The following principles and evaluation criteria were developed in
order to pair down a long list of possible economic development
metrics on the district scale. A strong process inspires action;
therefore, the measurement process can also help serve as a means to
an end in community economic development initiatives. It can build
up a community’s capacity to contribute to common goals, develop a
sense of ownership over and attachment to the success of the project,
and serve as an economic stimulus unto itself. Thus, the following
principles and criteria apply to both the performance indicator itself
and the process by which it is measured.
Get beyond the language of broad goals and principles and laundry
lists of current initiatives. Ask the tough, project-specific, messy,
unclear questions, such as “What does it mean to be the greenest
place to work in the world?”, and “What are the key components that
make up a hub of green innovation?”
EVALUATION CRITERIA1. Does this hold economic, environmental, and/or social
significance?
2. Can we take action on this? Do we intend to?
3. How relevant is this metric to the VEC? Other parties?
4. Can this be tracked? How? By whom?
Measure continual improvement as opposed to setting static goals.
Everyday progress, even small wins, can create momentum and
motivate further action. Understanding that the concept of the
greenest place to work will evolve over time with new technologies
and knowledge, its measurement tools must also be flexible to reflect
continual learning and incremental progress.
EVALUATION CRITERIA1. Can this be tracked on an ongoing basis? How? By whom?
2. What would incremental success in this field look like?
CELEBRATE INCREMENTAL PROGRESS
3. Is this likely to become irrelevant in the face of new information
or technologies?
Setting an audacious goal such as transforming the False Creek Flats
from a traditional industrial area to the ‘greenest place to work in
the world’ implies we will need to push the envelope of what success
looks like. This means we can’t be afraid to measure something
radically different than the status quo. This may alse mean we need
to explore new or innovative ways to collect, analyze, track, share, and
use information.
In the evolution of sustainable neighbourhood development, we
have seen progress from green neighbourhood initiatives (aimed at
doing less harm) to sustainable neighbourhood initiatives (aimed at
producing a net zero impact). The next evolution on this continuum
is the development of regenerative neighbourhoods (places that aim
to do more good).
EVALUATION CRITERIA1. Is this flexible enough to include the next generation of
sustainability solutions aimed at doing more good?
2. Does this allow us to continually evolve our definition of success
through future iterations?
3. Are there innovative information collection and analysis models,
such as crowdsourcing, developing new social networks, or big
data analytics that will allow us to track and measure progress on
this?
The transformation of the False Creek Flats will not be an overnight
project and is thus susceptible to the complexity and ambiguity that
accompanies political changes, market volatility, and cultural shifts.
In the face of uncertain futures, we need to consider how the green
enterprise zone project can set the Flats up for greater economic
resilience.
PLAN FOR LONG-TERM RESILIENCE
BE INNOVATIVE IN WHAT + HOW WE MEASURE
EVALUATION CRITERIA1. Will this contribute to the long-term economic resilience of
the Flats by contributing to its social, financial, intellectual,
experiential, natural, or material capital?
2. Does this ensure that diverse and flexible solutions will be
considered?
3. Will this contribute to the development of adaptable or stranded
skill sets, infrastructures, and assets?