SMARTstart

Community Futures SMARTstart Expansion Project  

January 2023 to October 2023 

The SMARTstart program aims to provide businesses and entrepreneurs with the knowledge, skills, and support needed to start and grow their businesses.  Community Futures Centre West initiated this project to address issues and concerns with the existing program so that they could expand the program to more locations across Western Canada.

Objectives

1. To assist with identifying the business requirements of a digital system to support the expansion of the SMARTstart program and to evaluate up to 5 options for implementation. 

2. To develop the SMARTStart Expansion Implementation Planning and Project Charter Templates and Tools identified in the planning session above. 

Accomplishments

• Community Consultation: Facilitated three online planning sessions with key stakeholders to determine technology/business requirements for current and future SMARTStart programs. 

• Recommendations: Summarized results and provided recommendations for next project steps.  

• Environmental Scan: Completed an environmental scan to gather necessary resources and pre-existing technology for implementation 

• Technology Implementation:  Researched, presented, and implemented one of three best LMS options based on client needs and budget.