RDÉE Nouvelle-Écosse

The Réseau de développement économique et d’employabilité (RDÉE) Nouvelle-Écosse (N.-É.) (Economic Development and Employability Network of Nova Scotia) sponsored by Le Conseil de développement économique de la Nouvelle-Écosse (CDÉNÉ), acts as a catalyst in economic development for the Acadians and Francophones of Nova Scotia. Stemming from a partnership between ten federal departments and the francophone community outside of Quebec, the RDÉE provides you with access to a national network of francophone economic development!

Of Nova Scotia’s population of 938,000, more than 37,000 are French or bilingual. Therefore, it is important to recognize the contribution of Francophones to the province’s economy. In the past and even today, Nova Scotia’s Acadian economy is predominantly based on the fishing and tourism sectors. The RDÉE N.-É. has the mandate of supplying this community with tools which are necessary for economic growth and diversification as well as job creation.

This provincial structure of intervention proceeds in various ways in order to accomplish this task. It contributes to the reinforcement of community capacity and to the planning of human resources according to the need within the regions in order to stimulate job creation. In collaboration with advisory committees representing our business communities in Nova Scotia as well as other strategic partners, the RDÉE N.-É. gathers the economic resources in the following priority sectors: rural development, knowledge-based economy, integration of youth in economic development, and tourism.

The officers of RDÉE N.-É. offer various services such as:

• creation of links between various community participants in order to facilitate the obtaining of financing for various economic and job-creation initiatives,
• direction toward solutions to the economic challenges faced by the communities and the entrepreneurs,
• heighten the awareness of entrepreneurs and community associations in the regions to the economic potential and the advantage of exchanging knowledge with other entrepreneurs and communities,
• promotion of entrepreneurship and cooperative spirit amongst youth in order to diminish the departure of young people and to encourage their return to the regions.

The RDÉE N.-É. has accomplished a great work of the regrouping of statistics, research, and information requested of participants in the community in order to develop the following tools, now available to all persons interested and involved in the economic development of our regions:

• a community profile and a document of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) for each of the 5 target regions: Clare, Argyle, Cheticamp, Isle Madame and Halifax,
• a community profile and a document of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) for the whole of the francophone community of Nova Scotia.

In 2006, as a result of community forums and surveys carried out by the RDÉE in each region, we will deliver new tools such as:

• a survey report for each of the targeted regions, noted above, on human resources,
• a survey report for the whole of the francophone community in Nova Scotia,
• a community plan for each of the targeted regions,
• a provincial community plan for the whole of the francophone community in Nova Scotia.

For more information on its services, please contact RDÉE N.-É. by mail, telephone, fax or e-mail:

RDÉE Nouvelle-Écosse
Cogswell Tower
2000 Barrington St., Suite 603
Halifax, NS  B3J 3K1
Tel.: 902 424-7230
Toll-free: 866-552-3363
Fax: 902 424-6002
info@cdene.ns.ca
http://www.cdene.ns.ca