Canadian regional development today involves multiple actors operating within nested scales from local to national and even international levels. Recent approaches to making sense of this complexity have drawn on concepts such as multi-level governance, relational assets, integration, innovation, and learning regions. These new regionalist concepts have become increasingly global in their formation and application, yet there has been little critical analys...
How do approaches to rural economic development differ between rural Ontario and rural Ireland? What can be learned from decades of rural economic development practice in both Canada and Ireland? For five days in May, staff and board members from Community Futures across Ontario engaged in conversations with rural economic development leaders in Ireland. During the five day forum discussions were held with policy makers, local economic development pra...
On October 3, 2018, Dr. Gibson provided testimony to the House of Commons Finance Committee meeting. The Finance Committee is studying the pre-budget consultations and more specifically what steps the federal government can take to support and encourage Canadian businesses to grow the economy in the face of a changing economic landscape. Dr. Gibson shared information and stories on how the budget bill could be used to strengthen local economic de...
Over the years, Canada has accumulated many lessons learned when it comes to developing and implementing policies in rural areas. These lessons were shared with parliamentarians on June 6, 2017 when Dr. Ryan Gibson presented to the Scottish Parliamentary Cross Party Committee on Rural Policy. The presentation reflect on Canada’s rural policies and programs, what has worked, what has not worked, and what lessons emerged from the various experience
