Survey to disclose local perspective on Nanaimo’s business trends

Meyers Norris Penny LLP (MNP) Chartered Accountants and Business Advisors announced a joint initiative with the Vancouver Island University's (VIU) Faculty of Management. 

MNP and VIU have randomly selected 1,000 local business leaders to


share their views on doing business in Nanaimo as part of the first


Nanaimo Business Leaders’ Survey.

The purpose of the anonymous survey is to determine how confident Nanaimo business leaders are about the future of their business, while also exploring other factors related to doing business in Nanaimo. The results of this survey will be analyzed and used to identify trends within the business community and raise concerns to the government, business leaders, other stakeholders and the community.

“This initiative is the first of its kind in the Nanaimo area,” said Lucie Gosselin, CA, a partner with MNP’s Nanaimo office. “MNP and VIU have a long history of working together. It is a great opportunity to combine our resources to identify issues which Nanaimo business leaders often face. Identifying these concerns and partnering to find ways to resolve them will help boost community spirit and the local economy.”

The 2008 Nanaimo Business Leaders’ Survey is a pilot project and is limited to include business leaders in the Nanaimo region. Future surveys may expand to include other communities such as Duncan, Courtenay and Campbell River.

The survey will be championed by two VIU faculty advisors, Dr. Bonita Russell and Duane Weaver, in consultation with MNP’s regional marketing manager, Peter van Dongen. The survey will be executed and analyzed by Handoko Utama and Ye Qian, two International MBA students who are completing an Applied Business Project as part of their studies at VIU.

“This is a great partnership with MNP and I knew that our faculty would be interested in getting our students involved in an applied research project,” said Mike Mann, Dean of Faculty of Management, VIU. “The results of this survey will benefit private businesses as well as government, by looking at issues of the business and economic climate from a local perspective. I look forward to continuing this survey annually, which will allow us to identify developing trends in the Nanaimo business community”.

The Nanaimo Business Leaders’ Survey questionnaires will be distributed to business leaders via mail September 2-5, 2008. Results will be released to the public in November.