Innovative Workforce Strategies in Rural Ontario

Innovative Workforce Strategies in Rural Ontario
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

Embedding Wealth in Rural Communities

Embedding Wealth in Rural Communities
On 27 November 2023, Ryan Gibson share research on embedding wealth in rural Canadian communities at the International Association of Community Development's Researcher Forum. The presentation explored how rural and small communities can benefit from existing wealth to build their futures. Insights from community wealth building experiences from rural Canada were be shared, focusing on lessons learned, impacts, and transferability. A copy of the presentati...
  During Day 3 of the Rural Policy Twitter Conference three contributions were shared from researchers focused on the digital divide (Ashleigh Weeden and Wayne Kelly), barriers for newcomers to access recreation services for children (Niva Shrestha), and the role of rural community leaders (Norm Ragetlie and Lissel Hernandez Gongora). Check out the Twitter presentations below: https://twitter.com/ashleighweeden/status/1405510790996578312?s=20

Highlights from Day 2 of the ICRPS Rural Policy Twitter Conference

Highlights from Day 2 of the ICRPS Rural Policy Twitter Conference
  During Day 2 of the Rural Policy Twitter Conference two contributions were shared from researchers on workforce development and housing (Victoria Agyepong) and community investment programs (Alex Petric and Ryan Gibson). Check out the Twitter presentations below: https://twitter.com/VicInnovates/status/1405202528048975879?s=20 https://twitter.com/alectric91/status/1405158640764473346?s=20 The Rural Policy Twitter conference continues unt

Global Pandemic, Local Impacts – Webinar on International Perspectives on COVID19

Global Pandemic, Local Impacts – Webinar on International Perspectives on COVID19
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a catalyst for significant change at a rapid pace. Rural communities across the world have pivoted to address both the short-term and long-term implications for rural people, rural economies, and rural landscapes. Prof. Ryan Gibson joined a panel discussion hosted by the International Comparative Rural Policy Consortium examining three rural regions and their responses to COVID-19. The webinar share experiences of how  rural

ICRPS Rural Policy Twitter Conference

ICRPS Rural Policy Twitter Conference
From June 15-18, rural development practitioners, researchers, and policy analysts from across North America and Europe will share rural policy initiatives through a Twitter conference! Over this period, researchers from Guelph will share a number of research updates. Anyone can follow the conference through the Twitter hashtag #icrps2021. Research contributions from Guelph will include: Beyond City Limit (ations): Place-Based Innovation in Rural Canada...

Attracting Immigrants to Rural Communities – Impacts of COVID-19

Attracting Immigrants to Rural Communities – Impacts of COVID-19
How has the global COVID-19 pandemic impacted rural immigration? Restrictions on travel, closed borders and the fear of being infected with the COVID-19 coronavirus have put the brakes on immigration to Canada.  Newcomers were already much more likely to settle in large urban centres, but with the pandemic it has become even more challenging for rural communities to attract them.  At the same time, rural communities are continuing to struggle with labour m...

Building the Future project featured at 2021 OGRA Conference

Building the Future project featured at 2021 OGRA Conference
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...

P2P National Conference

P2P National Conference
Reflections on the 2020 Pathways to Prosperity National Conference Pathways to Prosperity held a virtual conference from 23rd November to 25th November 2020. The online conference did not compromise on anything to make it as lively as an in- person conference. There were plenaries, keynote speakers, workshops, posters, exhibitors, and networking opportunities. It was amazing to see the facilitators of every workshop considering most of the questions from

Passport to Research

Passport to Research
Rural research was on full display on November 18 at the Rural Talks to Rural Conference! In partnership with Libro Credit Union, the Passport to Research session invited four emerging rural scholars to share their connections to rural, describe the issues they are seeking to better understand, and describe the value of their research to rural community leaders, government, and businesses. The discussion featured Abdul-Rahim Abdulai (University of Guelph)