Measuring Success in the False Creek Flats

FALSE CREEK FLATS GREEN ENTERPRISE ZONE

Measuring Success 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.

DRAFT: Fall 2014

INTRODUCTION WHAT WE MEASURE MATTERS

MANAGING WHAT WE MEASURE

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.

SWITCHING SCALES

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.

LEADING THE GREEN ECONOMY

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.

INSIDE

Economic Development Goals + Objectives Leading Indicators + Metrics Principles + Evaluation Criteria

GOALS + OBJECTIVES A PROACTIVE APPROACH TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

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.

CLIMATE FOR INNOVATION

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

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.

TALENT DEVELOPMENT

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.

GREENING BUSINESSES

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 + METRICS ENSURING ECONOMIC RESILIENCE IN THE FACE OF UNCERTAIN FUTURES

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.

SPACE TO GROW

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

COMMUNITY OWNERSHIP OF GREEN GOALS

•

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-LED PROJECTS •

Number of organizations and individuals engaged in communityled greening initiatives

•

NETWORK STRENGTH + COMMUNITY COHESION

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

EMPLOYMENT + INNOVATION

•

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 CRITERIA DEVELOPING MEASUREMENTS THAT EMBODY MEANING + INSPIRE ACTION

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.

EMBRACE CHOICE + FOCUS

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 CRITERIA 1. 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?

CELEBRATE INCREMENTAL PROGRESS

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 CRITERIA 1. Can this be tracked on an ongoing basis? How? By whom?

2. What would incremental success in this field look like?

3. Is this likely to become irrelevant in the face of new information or technologies?

BE INNOVATIVE IN WHAT + HOW WE MEASURE

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 CRITERIA 1. 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?

PLAN FOR LONG-TERM RESILIENCE

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.

EVALUATION CRITERIA 1. 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?