FedNor trade-export program in limbo again: agency ignored consultant's report to keep trade advisors.

• Author: Ross, Ian
• Position: Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario

FedNor's new director general wants to hear the "good, bad and the ugly" from Northerners on what direction the regional economic development agency needs to go.

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Aime Dimatteo is seeking advice and opinions in shaping programming which is now under a top-to-bottom organizational review before he presents his findings to federal Industry Minister Tony Clement this winter.

The former executive director of the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund told a Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce lunch crowd in September that he wants to re-establish FedNor as the "the eyes, ears and voice" as a major development partner in community investment.

One issue Dimatteo must tackle is the cloudy future of FedNor's international trade strategy following the disbanding of its regional trade and export advisory program, known as Trade Northern Ontario.

Four trade advisors in Sudbury, North Bay, Sault Ste. Marie and Thunder Bay were laid off this past summer when funding for the trade network ran out in mid-August. It's the third time in four years funding was allowed to lapse.

The trade program has chronically operated in stops and starts since 2006. Its administration has been shuffled off to a number of community development organizations, the last being the Northwestern Ontario Development Network in Dryden.

The trade advisors, who were private contractors, acted as the public outreach arm of FedNor's trade strategy, dealing one-on-one with small and medium-sized companies in building up their export capacity.

But disbanding the trade program ran contrary to the findings made in a 2008 consultant's report prepared for FedNor. One of the report's objectives was to determine if FedNor was getting fair value and results for its $1.5-million investment.

The review prepared by Performance Management Network (PMN) Inc. criticized FedNor for launching its export initiative "with a minimum level of direction" in guidelines, objectives, expectations, methods of-gathering information and reporting requirements.

The consultants attributed much of the program's success to the work and relationships formed between the trade advisors and their client companies.

One of the recommendations clearly stated: "FedNor should continue to fund an initiative that delivers one-on-one trade-related services directly to SME's (small and medium-sized enterprises)."

The consultants, conducted a survey of 150 clients, including 54 in-depth phone interviews with a range...