NEWS RELEASE
CITY OF BARRIE
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In May 2021, the City started collecting data for Barrie’s first-ever Business Data Survey, a large-scale data collection project with a goal of creating a comprehensive list of all Barrie businesses.
The City will conduct direct outreach to businesses in commercial and employment districts through phone calls and door-to-door outreach to support data collection efforts, pending COVID-19 regulations.
“The data from this survey will allow the City to better understand existing business and industry classifications, business sectors, business longevity and employment trends,” notes Stephannie Schlichter, Director, Economic & Creative Development. “It will give more insight into the City’s economic landscape and will help the City make informed decisions that better support our businesses and residents.”
In this phase of data collection, expected to continue into August 2021, Barrie businesses may be contacted by a City of Barrie employee to ask for participation in the survey. Alternatively, businesses can self-supply their data through an online form at buildingbarrie.ca/BusinessDataSurvey. Data received via online survey submissions will be verified by City of Barrie employees for accuracy.
Participation is voluntary. By participating, businesses will become part of a future online business directory to be published online by the City. Upon completion of the project, any information provided to the City that is not in the public realm will only be released publicly in an aggregate form, as part of a business community profile.
This initiative is intended to be an annual survey, with 2021 as a baseline inventory. Like other municipalities undertaking similar projects, data will support the identification of employment trends and concentration in the City, business sector growth and other key information that the City can use to inform future policy and program decisions, such as transit service, road improvements and others.
Businesses can learn more about the survey and the ways to participate at investbarrie.ca/data/business-data-survey.
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