Dr. Ryan Gibson, Ashleigh Weeden (PhD candidate), and Melissa Visser (MSc Student) from the 'Building the Future: Rural Infrastructure & Regional Economic Development' project shared highlights from their research at the 2021 Ontario Good Roads Association Conference, held virtually this week.
The presentation was featured as part of the morning plenary on February 23rd and highlighted findings from case studies about innovative approaches rural com...
On January 14th, members of the 'Building the Future' research team shared the first-stage of findings from the project with staff at the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs as well as others from across the Ontario Public Service.
Dr. Ryan Gibson (University of Guelph), Dr. Sean Markey (Simon Fraser University), Ashleigh Weeden (PhD Candidate, University of Guelph), Melissa Visser (MSc Student, University of Guelph), Jay Maloney (MS...
The “Getting to Work: Investigating Labour Market Challenges in Saugeen Shores” project is now complete. This project was in partnership with the the Town of Saugeen Shores, University of Guelph, Bruce Power, and Mitacs, in order to research the specific labour market challenges in Saugeen Shores.
“We are fortunate to have these partners working together to conduct research and collect data for the Town of Saugeen Shores” says Mayor Luke Charbonneau, “t...
Professor Ryan Gibson and PhD candidate Ashleigh Weeden (SEDRD, Rural Studies) are working in partnership with the Town of Saugeen Shores, Bruce Power, the Saugeen Shores Chamber of Commerce, and the Four County Labour Market Planning Board to explore labour market dynamics in Saugeen Shores, Ontario. This research initiative will help provide critical considerations and recommendations to the Town of Saugeen Shores and local employers to support future in...
In partnership with the Ontario Good Roads Association, Ryan Gibson, Ashleigh Weeden, Sean Markey (Simon Fraser University) and Jay Maloney (Simon Fraser University) from the Building the Future project re-launched a province-wide survey aimed at exploring the challenges and opportunities involved in rural infrastructure and regional economic development during a webinar hosted by OGRA today.
To complete the survey, please visit: http://bit.ly/BTFSurvey20
The COVID-19 pandemic is challenging local governments on every level. Infrastructure investments are often used as critical mechanisms for supporting economic recovery.
This crisis, combined with anticipated challenges associated with climate change and opportunities presented by technological breakthroughs, requires new approaches addressing the connection between infrastructure and economic development. However, there is very little information avail...
Ashleigh Weeden (PhD Candidate, Rural Studies), believes the future of local government will look very different from its past and, in an interview with Municipal World's CEO and Editor in Chief, Ashleigh argues that this future requires recommitting to core values of inclusion, diversity, and integrity. The interview was recorded as part of Municipal World's new MW Shares podcast series and highlights Ashleigh's five years of contributions to Municipal Wo...
On February 25, 2020, in partnership with the Ontario Good Roads Association, the Building the Future research team launched a survey for rural municipal officials and staff to learn more about their experiences in planning for and connecting infrastructure initiatives and economic development strategies.
Ashleigh Weeden (PhD Candidate, Rural Studies) launched the survey to a standing-room-only session of more than 75 delegates at the 2020 Ontario Good
Ashleigh Weeden (PhD Candidate, SEDRD - University of Guelph) shared insights from summer field research in northern Finland at the 2019 Canadian Community Economic Development Network's annual conference, EconoUs2019, in London Ontario today.
In a PechaKucha style presentation, Ashleigh explored opportunities for applying rural community economic development strategies from Rovaniemi at home in Canada, and encouraged participants to take their thoughts o...
Rural places are often presented as “left behind”, especially when it comes to technology. But is that really the case?
The Intersection of Things podcast interviewed Ashleigh Weeden (PhD Candidate, School of Environmental Design and Rural Development, University of Guelph) in a feature episode about the intersections of the rural and the digital. The interview covers questions about rural data, and what it might mean for national security, different inno...
