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Canadian international economic relations unit builds strategy with Suunta.ai

Sherbrooke’s international economic relations unit wanted to strengthen their internationalization and innovation focused work. The aim was to clarify direction, standardize strategy documents, and respond more quickly to team questions and feedback. They were also driven by a broader question: could the same approach in the future support local startups, technology actors, and growing SMEs? In response Suunta.ai provided a secure way to build and refine strategy documents and turn strategic ideas into concrete action.

Security and systematic strategic work at the core of implementation

Sherbrooke is a city of about 180,000 residents in the province of Quebec and a hub for higher education and the regional technology ecosystem. The city’s international economic relations unit aimed to strengthen their internationalization and innovation focused work. The goals were to clarify strategic direction, create a consistent structure for strategy documents, and enhance the unit’s ability to respond agilely to team needs and feedback.

Additionally, the unit collaborates closely with local startups and growth companies, offering support for business development. This led Deputy Director Stephen Cabana and Special Project Manager Jérémy Laplante-Chapdelaine to explore whether a new AI-driven strategy tool could also help local entrepreneurs structure their goals and develop their business activities. The potential of Suunta.ai was recognized not only for internal strategy work, but also for strengthening the region’s growth companies.

Security and data privacy were key criteria in the implementation, as retaining full control over data was essential for a public-sector organization. The solution had to ensure that user data would not be used to train underlying models and that all content would remain under the organization’s control. Suunta.ai met these requirements, and the unit adopted multiple consultant licenses to support its strategy work.

 

Suunta.ai brought new approach to the team – AI became part of daily strategy work

In practice, Suunta.ai was used to build strategy frameworks, create reports, and support idea generation. According to the experts, the platform helped translate ambitious goals into concrete actions and provided a systematic structure for planning. Special Project Manager Laplante-Chapdelaine describes Suunta.ai’s usage:

 

“I’ve used Suunta.ai as a strategic platform to quickly turn our ambitions into actionable strategy documents. It has enabled faster drafting, easier alignment with our objectives, and a more coherent approach across our International Economic Affairs service.”

 

The experts found Suunta.ai particularly helpful as the tool guides users through structured questions and clarifies complex topics. The work became more iterative: strategy was no longer a static document, but a continuously evolving process. They noticed that the best results came when time was allocated for responding to questions; in fast-paced environments, Suunta.ai works best as part of a planned workflow.

 

 

A more dynamic approach to strategy and new opportunities for business services

With Suunta.ai, strategy work became a part of daily operations. Plans were updated as circumstances changed, and the chat function was used for quick sparring and preparing decisions. Suunta.ai proved particularly useful when both rapid documentation and deeper strategic thinking were needed. The experts described that the tool brought clarity and consistency to strategy development. Laplante-Chapdelaine shares future plans:

 

“I plan to keep using Suunta.ai to further develop and update our living strategy, ensuring our plans are always current. The chat feature will provide quick decision support and help respond rapidly to team questions and feedback.”

 

Deputy Director Cabana has also explored expanding the use of the tool and examined how it could support business services more broadly. One discussed approach is to allow entrepreneurs to draft initial plans on their own and later refine them with expert support. This could be particularly beneficial for growing companies that need clear strategic direction and strong decision-making practices.