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The Infocit� service
For greater networking synergy

Among the services offered by the Board of Trade to its members, one is of special interest to merchants. When an entrepreneur decides to open a business, its location is of prime strategic importance. Before a specific neighbourhood is chosen, a multitude of factors must be considered - including its population mix and socio-economic situation as well as the presence of nearby competitors - all of which could spell the difference between success and failure.

When making such important business decisions, entrepreneurs must be able to rely on a range of accurate and up-to-date strategic data. And this is precisely the mission of the Infocit� service: providing complete, accurate information about Montreal markets and business districts with a view to supporting the successful implementation of business projects.

Working at the level of neighbourhoods
"Basically, the Infocit� service is for businesspeople who want to launch projects and are looking for customized information to carry them out," explains Daniel Malo, director general of Convercit�, the not-for-profit organization that manages Infocit�.

Founded ten years ago under the name Centre d'intervention pour la revitalisation des quartiers (CIRQ), Convercit� initially worked with the Soci�t� de d�veloppement commercial de l'avenue du Mont-Royal to carry out development projects in Plateau Mont-Royal and participated in the redevelopment of the Mont-Royal metro station and the partial redevelopment of the Monast�re des P�res du Tr�s Saint-Sacrement.

Convercit� then extended its operations to other Montreal neighbourhoods and expanded its range of services, still with a view to revitalizing and improving the quality of life in neighbourhoods.

A fast, effective, and inexpensive tool
Launched seven years ago, the Infocit� service has relied since the beginning on public data bases and others of a similar type to create specialized graphic representations of Montreal neighbourhoods.

We use mapping to illustrate our data because that makes it easier to understand the various phenomena in any given area," affirms Malo. "It's a quick, effective, and very inexpensive tool for helping business people make the best choices," he adds. "We know our maps are consulted often, since our Web site gets between 40 and 150 hits a day."

In addition to the free information available on the Convercit� Web site, the Infocit� service also offers personalized advice to project developers at a very reasonable cost. "We help them interpret the data and deepen their market studies," reports Malo. "A hundred entrepreneurs take advantage of these personalized consultations every year."

While this type of service costs between $150 and $300, members of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal are offered a substantial reduction (see membership privileges). Moreover, Convercit� is a close partner of the Board of Trade, not only because the Infocit� service is one of the privileges offered to its members but also because it cooperates regularly with the Board of Trade's business information service - Info entrepreneurs.

In early 2004, the Convercit� team also participated actively in the creation of the first Montreal Health Report, published last spring by the Board of Trade.

Visit the Convercit� Web site (www.convercit�.org) free of charge to consult some 4,500 different maps presenting specific information about each one of Montreal's boroughs based on a variety of criteria, including their demographic, social, and economic structure (age groups, income, ethnicity, labour market, mobility, etc.)