Town of Cochrane Strategic Plan – Final Report October 2014
3.3.1 BEAM Statistics183
NEOnet’s Broadband for E-Business and Marketing (BEAM) program is a regional initiative designed
to assist small businesses offset the costs of capital investment for online operations. BEAM offers a
maximum amount of $5,000 at a subsidy rate of 75% for eligible project expenses, and includes an
educational framework designed to impart the skills necessary for E-business management upon
exiting the program. There have been two BEAM phases, with a total funding commitment from
Industry Canada in the amount of $1,000,000. The initiative is available to all northeastern Ontario
SMEs throughout the Cochrane and Timiskaming Districts, including those residing in Cochrane,
ON. As such, it is revealing to examine Cochrane SMEs’ current utilization of the program.
To date, a total of 12 Cochrane businesses have applied to NEOnet’s BEAM program. The BEAM I
initiative received a total of 214 applications, with 179 businesses eventually completing projects
and receiving a grant. In total, 4 Cochrane businesses applied to the program, and only 3 of those
completed their projects. Cochrane therefore represents 1.68% of BEAM I’s successful beneficiaries.
All three of Cochrane’s BEAM I websites are still active today. Cochrane’s businesses have utilized
the BEAM II initiative to a greater extent than BEAM I, with 8 applications being received by NEOnet
among a total of 138 to date. This represents a Cochrane leverage rate 5.8%.
A sectoral analysis of E-business activity shows that the service industries lead Cochrane’s BEAM
involvement with 58% of the share (2 industrial services applicants, 2 food services, 1 legal services,
1 financial services, and 1 First Nation economic development services). Next, the tourism sector
takes 25% with 3 beneficiaries, and retail and forestry each have 1 application to speak of.
Cochrane SMEs have a current average subsidy rate of $3,893.66 per business, slightly higher than
the regional average of $3,554.34 per business. In terms of total project costs, in BEAM I Cochrane
E-business operations averaged $2,670.57 per business, while in BEAM II this rose to $5,611.75.
Because the BEAM II initiative is still ongoing, data does not exist regarding how many of Cochrane’s
potential BEAM recipients have completed their projects.
Cochrane’s higher-than-average subsidy rate in the BEAM II program suggests one of two things:
either Cochrane SMEs are implementing more ambitious projects, or Cochrane’s favoured web
developers charge more for their work, skewing the market. As mentioned above, no local web
developers are present in Cochrane. See Figure 1 for developer markets.
Overall, although Cochrane uptake in the BEAM II program has been considerable when contrasted
with its BEAM I participation, the fact that 344 firms (as of 2009)184 operate in the community and
just over 25% of current Board of Trade members list websites suggest a need for greater
involvement still.
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BEAM data provided courtesy of NEOnet Inc. Acquired by request.
See Phase 1 Cochrane Strategic Plan. Millier Dickenson Blais (2009). Cochrane Community Adjustment Committee
Skills Inventory and Socio-Economic Assessment.
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