This beautiful image was created by Levi - we use it here because of its iconic pillars...balancing the cultural identity of place.
IOTAD
has been designed by a team of advocates with 26 years of working with artists and 22 years of working with the media.
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“Everything that can be counted does
not necessarily count, everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted.”
Einstein
It has been proven time and time again – when a community is faced with a
‘dilemma’ it often results in the strengthening of bonds within that
community. If we were to face a ‘recession’ of sorts Jasper’s
business community and the way business is conducted may have to start thinking
of alternative enterprises. The
fastest growing segment of the travel industry (which effects all Jasperites) is
Cultural Tourism. In a recent
edition of Municipal World Magazine the concept of ‘Place Based Tourism’
tells of the future of destination travel – an industry that is driven by
consumers, not suppliers. Stats
Canada tells us that trips including museums and galleries, theatre and heritage
sites far exceed skiing, golfing, theme parks or gambling. (Stats Canada,
Domestic Travel Survey)
Jasper
is in an excellent position to catch this new wave of tourism. Three of the key cornerstones of such an industry include
Human Heritage (our museum), Natural History (Parks) and the Arts.
To bring this writing back to the point…two of those cornerstones are
not strongly supported or fostered by our present business community.
Ever try to build something on one cornerstone?
This
change in ‘consumer demand’ is compounded by the changing demographics of
the average traveler. The ‘baby
boomers’ driving the market earn more, travel more, spend more and stay
longer. By the year 2020 boomers in
Canada and the US will increase to 83 million – a 39% increase over 2008.
They are the most affluent and educated generation in North American
history.
But
who is going to take a chance on an industry as intangible as culture?
Traditionally business has been founded on the ability to measure
‘return on investment’. Again
– we are fortunate to live in Jasper. Where opportunity to explore intangibles is accepted.
Our captive audience – tourists – allow many of us to take chances on
our dreams.
And
when the dream gets too big or too risky we find ourselves, as we are now, doing
sustainability studies / feasibility studies and looking for measurable success
rates. While the demographics of
Jasper – transient population – negatively affect the potential to be
sustainable it is optimistic to note that ‘social enterprise’ is now
measurable for success. Getting
back to community and the bonds created during ‘tougher times’ – socially
directed activity, ‘Cultural Tourism’ included, while improving quality of
life can also make profits. Again
Jasper is in a win-win situation – if business / government and community can
work together.
Last fall a cultural industry event took place in Jasper that created a 5 to 1 ratio for ‘Social Return on Investment - SROI’. For every dollar spent on creating that event, $5 was brought into the community. One small 20-person two day event. This is measurable because of countable participants who retained the service / event / product. In tough economic times measurability is paramount to investment. And by creating numbers with a story to support those numbers – social enterprise becomes transparent and accountable. Govt expenditures using SROI will find it useful to assess the extent to which costs and savings created by a social ‘strategy’ can be measured against an ‘alternative social strategy’. (SROI City of Edmonton)
And sometimes it is not necessarily that too little money flows into a community but rather what the community does with that money. Too often it is spent on services with no local presence and the money immediately leaves the area. While this, in my opinion, may not be a huge factor in Jasper’s overall economy – if you are a culture seeker you often take your money out of town. Our children are sent to creative/arts campuses, many of us attend cultural events in larger areas, or simply shop elsewhere for diversity.
Jasper’s remote locale does not make us unique in this issue. “In many places, local energy and creativity become trapped, and different parts of the economy - local businesses, voluntary sector agencies, and the public sector - do not talk to each other to maximise local opportunities. We believe that promoting and supporting local enterprise should be part of any strategy for economic regeneration. Local enterprises are more likely to employ local people, provide services to improve the local quality of life, spend money locally and so circulate wealth in the community, promote community cohesion and, by reducing transportation of goods from across communities, are likely to have a smaller environmental footprint. The approach also recognises that communities do not develop their local economies in isolation.” (SROI Edmonton)
‘If Creative City’s are the end, Cultural Planning is the means.’ Municipal World Magazine Sept 2007
What is my point?
·
Jasper is growing
·
Economics and demographics are changing
·
Jasperites depend on the business community
·
Consumers will drive the next wave of business
·
Cultural tourism is the next wave
·
Social enterprise is now measurable
·
Government / business / community needs are inseparable
‘So while arts might be of marginal importance from a treasury perspective, they are of critical significance to economic growth and evolution’.
Jason Potts, Evolutionary Economics
IOTAD by design is destined for success!