2. Evaluate the different models of regional economic development.

Should Stuckenberg
recommend an in-house, arm's-length, or blended model of regional economic
development?

Stuckenburg should recommend a blended model of economic development. Fund and

expertise-wise, an in-house delivery would be an ideal regional economic development model as
the government will fully fund it and has a specific budget solely allocated for the development
projects. They can also hire professional advisors for the team to work with other local
businesses to have a more structured and organized approach toward regional development. But
the history of past economic development bodies organized by the government of the City of
Prince Albert and other surrounding municipalities did not end well and has left a negative
perception on the public, which may cause community groups and businesses not to support the
projects. Similarly, employing an arm's-length model may pose difficulties in terms of funding
since even if the government funds the projects, there is no specific budget for them, and they
may stop the assistance whenever something goes wrong. Funding from members may decrease
as members start to pull out, resulting in unfinished projects. Although arm's-length is more
business-friendly as most organizers will be business people, they can only rely so much on their
experiences as entities, and professional help may be unavailable. Thus, maintaining a good
relationship with other organizations like the government and community groups is also critical
for the arm's-length model as funding will be coming from these people.

Hence, it is recommended that the City of Prince Albert should use the blended delivery
model for regional economic development so that the city can get the best of both ends while
mitigating the risks of the polarising models. Since the City of Prince Albert already has an
existing initiative committee, the same committee should plan out how the government can
organize a regional economic board that will oversee the steps taken by the government and the
projects initiated by non-profit organizations and ensure that such projects coincide toward the
same direction. This means that while the City of Prince Albert's local government is performing
an in-house model, other organizations are also conducting an arm's-length model at the same
time, but they should coordinate with one another to make sure that they are focusing on the
same economic development goal thus harnessing a "blended" model.
\For example, the second area most stakeholders are interested in based on the focused
group discussion conducted in 2014 is infrastructure development and transportation. To ensure
that a blended model is implemented in this area, the government can take on projects that
promote infrastructure and road developments. At the same time, business organizations can
focus on providing transportation access for local residents and tourists. This hand-to-hand,
blended model for economic growth may increase costs for the government as they have to fund
both the city's economic development projects and the businesses and other community groups-
initiated projects; still, the gain will come in faster as economic growth will be rapid. Moreover,
this blended regional economic development model will solve the issue of diversity among
stakeholders as they will be working closely together. Funding will no longer be a problem as
there will be several groups working together, plus the allocated budget from the government.