On November 8, 2018, Ashleigh Weeden (PhD Student – University of Guelph) delivered a workshop at the Canadian Open Data Summit in Niagara Falls, Ontario that encouraged participants to rethink what they think they know about rural communities. The session focused on core principles critical to modern rural development in the digital era – place, people, and policy – and emphasized the importance of rural communities to Canada’s digital agenda as the nation considers the future of open government, civic technology, and public sector renewal. As part of the workshop, Ashleigh invited Gemma Mendez-Smith (Executive Director, Four County Labour Market Planning Board) to share the innovative and collaborative approach that municipalities and community economic development organizations in Bruce County and Grey County have taken to sharing skills and resources to build an open data platform, BG DISC.