Rana Telfah and Ashleigh Weeden, doctoral students in the Rural Studies program in the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development, were recently profiled as emerging rural researchers by the Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation (www.crrf.ca). Each year, the Foundation devotes their winter newsletter to showcasing new and emerging rural researchers from across Canada and internationally. The CRRF newsletter is an opportunity for emer
Rural areas are places of wealth, however, wealth is increasingly mobile. How do rural communities tap into this wealth and to encourage the wealth to be place-based? Over the past two days, over 70 community representatives in two regions of Ontario gathered to discuss rural wealth, intergenerational transfers of wealth, and strategies for rural revitalization and development.
The Rural Ontario Institute hosted forums in Fergus (February 1) and Cobou...
Rural communities throughout Canada experience unequal access to high-speed Internet. This 'disconnect' hinders the ability of rural residents, businesses, governments, and nonprofit organizations. Recently, Dr. Gibson was involved in a formal submission to the Government of Canada, advocating for changes to how broadband connectivity is delivered in rural and northern communities. The formal submission makes five recommendations to the Governmen...
How can rural communities create long standing public benefit from individual legacies? The Rural Ontario Institute is hosting two forums to explore how philanthropy can be utilized to sustain and revitalize local communties. The forums will be an opportunity for non-profit organizations to exchange experiences and learn from one another about how to connect local philanthrophy with community priorities. For financial planners, municipal staff, and commu...
Communities throughout Ontario are seeking new economic development directions to support sustainability and revitalization. These new directions need to be built on local and regional assets and an understanding of economic development trends. The Corporation of the Town of Kingsville Tourism and Economic Development Committee hosted an two-day conference to explore these topics.
Dr. Gibson shared lessons on the future trends in regional econ
Authors from across Canada and internationally hosted a webinar to highlight the key stories from a new publication called From Black Horses to White Steeds: Building Community Resilience. The book celebrates and critiques the dynam- ics of innovation, governance, and culture in place. Case studies from both sides of the North Atlantic illustrate episodes of “turning around”: evolution, transformation, and visionary strategy that breath
On November 1, 2017, representatives from Town of Minto, Township of Mapleton, Township of Wellington North, the County of Wellington gathered in Drayton to discuss opportunities for joint economic development initiatives. Building on previous meetings, workshop participants identified recent positive changes that have been noticed in the region.
Dr. Gibson shared perspectives on the future of regional economic development from across Canada a...
Over the past 20 years manufacturing has changed dramatically. Natural resource industries continue to have cycles of boom and bust and globalization has changed the way in which manufacturing is done. Given these changing dynamics, how do regions better understand the extent of skill shortages in manufacturing in Renfrew County and how do we address struggles that manufacturers in Renfrew County have expressed finding the skilled workforce they ...
Community development and recreation can be thought of as strange bedfellows. At the recent On the Hunt for Quality Recreation conference brought together community leaders, community-based organizations, and government representatives gathered to discuss these topics. Dr. Gibson shared three community development tools with conference delegates: photovoice, asset-based community development, and social network analysis. A copy of the presentatio...
