The Business Development team within Invest Durham plays a crucial role for attracting investments to the Region. In addition to carrying out the traditional Economic Development model in the public sector (community support and collaboration, government administration/protocol, etc.), managing the opportunities for investment also requires best practices from business development models in the private sector, especially since many interactions are with private sector officials.
A core component of effective opportunity and relationship management is active engagement, entry, and maintenance of the Customer Relationship Management system (CRM). While implemented back in 2018, Invest Durham is now honing the architecture and process of managing records in the CRM which requires project management, sales expertise, and reviewing previous record entries to identify projects that are still open.
This is also an opportunity to reconnect with prominent investors, partners and senior government officials, and document reasons why certain projects were closed which could include indicators of how Durham Region can be more investment ready.
Host Department: Planning and Economic Development
Type of Collaboration: We are open to any type of collaboration
Anticipated Outcome: The collected opportunities and communications documented since 2018 will be up to date and a process to maintain and follow-up with opportunities moving forward will be established and proven at scale. In this process, we want to equip the student with valuable skillsets such as external communications, project management, sales acumen, and critical thinking that could be leveraged for future job opportunities.
Deliverables: Project management tools
Timeline: 4 months
Desired Start Date: Summer or Fall semester 2024