Baylor study

A research partnership has been forged between the City of North Bay and Baylor University in Texas.

A multi-phased study will be done that will create the basis for a long-term economic development plan for the city.

It’s the first time a Baylor Business Focus Firm project will be working with a municipality.

It will include distinguishing the city’s competitive outlook with community insight and propose solutions for the city to remain viable and increasingly successful in the long-term.

Kevin Hutchison is with Invest North Bay and was asked how we should gauge the success of the partnership between the city and the university.

He says the key outcome will be does it drive value and create a positive impact for job creation in North Bay and raise the visibility of North Bay around the world.

Mayor Al McDonald says they are getting quite the gift from Baylor.

He says Baylor works with major companies and are now taking on North Bay and the city can only benefit from that.

Hutchison says to get a major institution like Baylor involved would normally cost over a million dollars just to get started.

He says this is a unique opportunity for North Bay.

Hutchison says the project will officially begin in the next week or so and is due to wrap up with recommendation in the spring of next year.