Areas of Expertise
Our strong
corporate growth is a direct function of our ability to deliver results.
Simply put, clients don’t engage Ference Weicker & Company to prepare
reports. Rather, they look to us to provide analysis and direction that
will drive action. Our role is to provide services that will have make a
significant and lasting difference for our clients.
Towards that end,
we have worked very hard to become a market leader in our core practice
areas including program evaluation, organizational reviews, development
strategies, cluster analysis, investment attraction, marketing strategies
and business planning. We apply these core skills across virtually all
sectors of the economy from high technology, education and tourism to
agri-food, energy, wood products, and small business development.
Core Practice Areas
Through strong leadership, on-going education, hands-on experience, continuing investment in our people, and a commitment to excellence, we have developed leading edge capabilities in our core practice areas. We strongly believe that our core services compare favourably with those available anywhere.
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Ference Weicker & Company is one of the
leading authorities in Canada in the design,
review and evaluation of programs and services. Since the inception of the
firm in 1979, we have undertaken over 400 evaluation studies of
government programs.
Our position as a market leader in program evaluation
reflects our demonstrated ability to develop detailed and accurate
program models, define key evaluation issues, determine appropriate
performance indicators and data sources, implement cost-effective
field research programs, apply leading-edge methodologies and
analytical tools to the data collected, and document and present
study findings in a manner that best meets the needs of each
individual client. Our
skills and methodologies in program evaluation have been applied
successfully to fields as diverse as forestry, innovation &
technology, healthcare, safety, energy conservation, economic
development, housing, and social services.
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We have conducted a wide
variety or organizational reviews, industrial engineering studies
and productivity improvement projects for both the public and
private sector. We have
undertaken organizational reviews of a wide variety of non-profit
organizations and industry associations including Fuel Cells Canada,
BC Biotech, the Software Productivity Centre, Apparel BC, VIATeC, Community Futures,
Innovation BC, and Canada-BC Business Service Centres. We conducted an extensive
study to examine the potential to streamline, re-engineer and
automate the operations of a metal fabrication company with over 100
staff, conducted extensive time and motion studies to improve the
productivity of mobile home manufacturing plants in Alberta and New
Brunswick, conducted an extensive study on behalf of ICBC to
determine the current level of profitability and opportunities to
increase the productivity of independent insurance agents handling
ICBC premiums, undertook an extensive re-engineering study to
automate and streamline the operations of a chemical plant,
undertook a year long industrial engineering audit of work
measurement systems and manpower scheduling systems on behalf of the
Auditor General of Canada, conducted reviews of the operations of a
variety of agriculture coops, and conducted a $250,000 study of
autobody shops in B.C. on behalf of ICBC and ARA in order to
estimate, with a high level of accuracy, the overall profitability
and productivity of the industry and to ascertain whether the
industry profit levels are adequate for the risk incurred and the
equity committed to the business.
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Ference Weicker &
Company has prepared economic development strategies for many
different regions, economic sectors and clusters. Our economic development
studies commonly involve working closely with a Steering Committee
consisting of industry, government and other representatives,
assessing the competitive position of the region or cluster,
conducting extensive surveys of key industry participants as well as
representatives from key markets and supporting industries,
undertaking reviews of programs and activities that have been
undertaken in other regions to promote development, conducting focus
groups with key stakeholders, and preparing a formal development
plan and implementation strategy. We add value to these
assignments because of our extensive experience in conducting
similar studies, our expertise in economic development, our
familiarity with programs, initiatives and strategies that can be
implemented to promote development, and our familiarity with the key
economic sectors. We
have conducted studies of virtually every sector of the
economy.
To assist us in
undertaking such studies, we have developed a Competitiveness Model
which incorporates factors related to both the macro environment as
well as the micro-business environment. At the macro level, the
model incorporates factors such as the stability and predictability
of the political system, the attitude of government leaders, the
legal and regulatory environment (international, federal, provincial
and local), the tax structure, and the macroeconomic
conditions. At the
micro-business level, the model incorporates factors such as the
availability and relative costs of skilled and unskilled labour,
production inputs, transportation infrastructure (highway, airports,
ports, etc), energy and facilities as well as access to the building
blocks of cluster development such as market access, financing,
technology, specialized services, and related supporting
industries. We also
review the availability of financial and other forms of incentives
(e.g. tax breaks, loans, grants, training, etc) as well as quality
of life and competitive issues that can affect location
decisions.
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We have over 20 years
experience in conducting cluster analyses and preparing cluster
development strategies.
Examples of economic clusters for which we have prepared
development strategies include health technology, life sciences,
energy, sound recording, film, marine technology, information
technology, value added wood, apparel, design, biotechnology,
medical devices, seafood, agriculture and food, wine, and
tourism. We developed a
major strategy for promoting innovation in regional British
Columbia which is now being implemented by
the Federal and Provincial Government. We conducted an extensive
review of the role of Western Diversification in promoting
innovation in Western Canada and
prepared a strategic plan for an organization established to
champion innovation in BC.
We have been commissioned to prepare a development strategy
for the technology industry in BC as well as a review of technology
transfer practices in the province.
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We have prepared
investment attraction strategies for clients ranging from local
communities to regional organizations such as Linx BC and
Leading Edge
BC. Our research has included
in-depth research into potential sectors which are targets for
investment; detailed literature reviews regarding the site selection
process, key selection criteria used by companies in selecting a
location for their operations, and best practices associated with
investment promotion; reviews of investment attraction strategies,
activities and models implemented by other organizations; and
extensive interviews with potential investors, companies in the
target sectors, site selection consultants, and other key
informants.
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We
have prepared market and marketing studies for products in a wide
variety of industries such as forestry, energy, investments, medical
device manufacturing, food processing, agriculture, fish and
aquaculture, biotechnology, ginseng, pharmaceuticals, tourism, soil
conditioners, cultural attractions, marine technology, and design
industries.
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Ference
Weicker & Company has prepared business plans and feasibility
studies covering virtually every sector of the economy for new and
existing businesses, non-profit organizations and government. We have had numerous
standing offers and ongoing relationships with different government
departments to review business plans and requests for financial
assistance to government programs. We also prepared the
Interactive Business Planner, is an online computer software program
that uses the capabilities of the Internet to assist entrepreneurs
in preparing a 3-year business plan for their new or existing
business. The IBP has
been used by thousands of small businesses throughout the world to
prepare business
plans.
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Economic Sectors
While it is critically important to have strong core skills, it is also important to have hands-on experience relevant to specific sectors of the economy. Fortunately, our consultants can draw upon years of direct, front-line experience in a full range of industries. From agri-food to fuel cells, we have worked in virtually ever sector of the economy.
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We are a leader in high
technology, from the preparation of cluster development strategies
for the high tech sectors to the preparation of strategic plans and
marketing plans for high tech companies to the evaluation of f
government funded programs and initiatives designed to promote
cluster development and innovation in British Columbia. Examples of
programs we have evaluated in the past include the Equity Capital
Program, an e business institute for Western Canada, BC Research
Corporation, the Science Council of BC, 7 Regional Science Councils
operating in BC, the BC Biotechnology Alliance, the Software
Productivity Centre, Vancouver Island Advanced Technology Centre,
the First Jobs in Science and Technology, the Green Economy
Development Program, Technology BC Program, OSAP, Community Futures,
the Loan Investment Fund Program, the Women's Enterprise Society,
the four Canada Business Service Centres operating in Western
Canada, and the Program for Agriculture Technology
Transfer.
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Members of the Ference
Weicker & Company have conducted nearly 100 evaluations and
reviews related to training, education and apprenticeship. For example, we have conducted an evaluation of Employment
Program for Persons with Disabilities, a three year review of the
Canada/B.C. Labour Market Development Agreement, an evaluation of a
series of pilot projects funded under the Agreement, evaluations of
a series of cooperative apprenticeship programs, an evaluation of
the Forest Worker Development Program, an evaluation of the Self
Employment Assistance (SEA) Program in BC, an extensive survey to
determine the demand for information technology workers in the Lower
Mainland, and an evaluation of the effectiveness of various labour
market adjustment and worker transition programs offered by the
Federal Government.
Ference Weicker and
Company also provides program design and redesign services. Based upon an assessment of
client needs, the existing programming environment and the local
labour market, we provide recommendations with respect to program
objectives, the activities that should be undertaken in pursuit of
these objectives, staffing and resource requirements, and monitoring
and information systems.
In addition, we have undertaken numerous surveys of both
individuals and employers in order to assess the types of programs
that should be implemented to meet the needs of specific target
groups.
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We have conducted
studies of almost every segment of the tourism industry including
the outdoor adventure travel, marine tourism, golf, conferences
& conventions, fishing resorts, tourist attractions, ski
resorts, urban tourism, cruise ship industry, First Nation's
tourism, ecotourism, cultural tourism, accommodation facilities,
interpretative centres, museums, and heritage
attractions.
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Since
the inception of the firm in 1979, the company has conducted studies
of almost every aspect of the agriculture and food industry. We have assessed the
domestic and international market potential for a wide variety of
food products and prepared developed strategies for specific
products (ranging from tree fruits, berries, ginseng, fish,
shellfish, greenhouse vegetables,
herbs, dairy
products, meats, alternative meats, spreads, dressings and oils,
soups, pastas, bakery products, snack foods, seaweed and
beverages to
functional foods, organic products, and food
additives)
and for specific regions.
We prepared Focus on the Future, which identified and assess
key issues that are strategically important to the overall long-term
success of the BC agri-food industry and defined specific strategies
and meaningful actions that industry, government and the Investment
Agriculture Foundation of BC can pursue to assist industry to
expand, diversify and enhance its competitive position and build a
stronger industry future.
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We have conducted a wide
variety of energy-related projects ranging from process and market
evaluations of demand-side management programs such as Power Smart,
development of provincial energy programs, policies and strategies,
and reviews of alternative energy projects such as wind power, solar
power, and fuel cells
projects.
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Ference Weicker &
Company is very familiar with the forest and wood products industry
in British Columbia. For example, we have
conducted numerous evaluations on behalf of the Forestry Innovation
Investment, Forest Renewal BC and the Ministry of Forests, conducted
surveys of companies in the forest sector in BC to obtain input
regarding the training activities and needs, prepared marketing,
business and strategic plans, facilitated joint ventures, and
conducted feasibility studies on various aspects of the
industry.
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Many of our projects
have focused on small business development through evaluation of key
government programs (e.g. Canada Business Service Centres, the Loan
Investment Fund Program, Community Futures Program, Self-employment
Assistance Program, Entrepreneurs with Disabilities Program, Women's
Enterprise Initiative, Equity Capital Program, Aboriginal Capital
Corporations, First Citizens Loan Fund, and Business Advisory
Centres), extensive surveys of small businesses, specialized
initiatives and research (e.g. for the Leadership and Management
Council of BC), preparation of entrepreneurship development
strategies, development of on-line tools (e.g. the Interactive
Business Planner, Enterprise Online, the Interactive Exporter, the
Small Business Check-up and the One Step Business Registration) and
the provision of management consulting services to small
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Core Practice Areas
Economic Sectors
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