Economic development practitioners, health practitioners, and researchers shared their insights and experience on twelve critical topics to the future of rural communities and regions at the Rural Talks to Rural Conference last week. The interactive session allowed conference participants to learn more about current best practices, learn about existing programming, and to hear about current research. Participants had the opportunities to migrate between ...
Throughout the week, the Rural Planning and Development social media accounts (Facebook, LinkedIn, and X/Twitter) are sharing reflections and contributions from the 2024 Rural Symposium. Presentation and poster contributions from the 2024 Rural Symposium can be found online - https://journal.lib.uoguelph.ca/index.php/ruralReview.
Details about the 2025 Rural Symposium are forthcoming - stayed tuned.
How are rural and northern Ontario businesses attracting and retaining workers? Ryan Gibson, Heather Graham, Paul Sitsofe, Niju Mathew, and Sarah-Patricia Breen share insights on this question in a recent publication in the Y Magazine of the Ontario Professional Planners Institute. The article, titled "Help Wanted: Innovative Approaches to Workforce Development in Rural and Northern Ontario", identifies challenges rural and northern businesses face in work
Researchers, policymakers and practitioners recently gathered in Letterfrack, Ireland for the 2024 North Atlantic Forum. The Forum focused on sustainable livelihoods and sought to engage new ideas in rural development, policy practice, and the social economy.
To facilitate knowledge mobilization a series of rural research summaries were created by graduate students on innovative approaches to sustainable livelihoods. The summaries provides a snapshot of r
Farmland preservation is critical to the future of rural Ontario. The Connecting the Dots initiative is excited share the first Rural Research Summary - Farmland Preservation and Urban Expansion in Ontario. This summary sheds light into the challenges and strategies associated with balancing farmland preservation amidst growing urban development pressures, providing implications and practical recommendations for policymakers, planners, and community stakeh
Four members of the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development shared rural research at the recent 74th annual Canadian Association of Geographers national conference in St John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. With a conference theme of Edges, students and faculty contributed research on rural health, rural economic development, northern veterinary service provision, and rural workforce development. Presentations shared at the conference included:
The future of rural businesses and communities is dependent on appropriate and effective workforce development strategies. Rural businesses and communities are confronted with challenges in accessing relevant human capital to support, maintain, and grow their operations. Without deliberate and place-based strategies, rural businesses and rural economies will be negatively impacted.
Researchers at the University of Guelph and Selkirk College are interested
We are excited to share a new knowledge translation and transfer initiative has been funded titled Pathways to Practice: Bridging Knowledge, Practitioners, and Students. The new initiative will build bridges between graduate students, rural economic development officers, and rural community leaders to connect knowledge, ideas, and networks. The project focuses on creating an in-person forum for facilitating these connections, creating a series of
From March 13th to 15th, Heather Graham (MSc Rural Planning and Development student) and Dr. Ryan Gibson attended the 26th Annual Metropolis Canada Conference in Montréal, Québec. They had the opportunity to present their poster, titled, "Innovative Workforce Strategies for Engaging Newcomers in Rural Ontario." The poster highlights the results of a survey they had completed in Fall 2023, which asked workforce planning boards and Community Futures Developm
Mark your calendars - the 2024 Rural Symposium takes place on March 5!
The Rural Symposium is an annual opportunity for University of Guelph graduate students to showcase their rural research to policymakers, policy analysts, and program staff from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA). The event facilitates knowledge mobilization and network building between graduate students at the University of Guelph, researchers, and ...
