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 natio
On September 25, 2018, Dr. Ryan Gibson (Libro Professor in Regional Economic Development, University of Guelph), Ashleigh Weeden (University of Guelph) and Bojan Furst (The Harris Centre, Memorial University of Newfoundland) delivered a skill-building workshop to nearly 40 community economic development professionals from across Canada at the Canadian Community Economic Development Network's EconoUs18 conference in Moncton, New Brunswick. The workshop focu
Last week in Saskatoon rural community leaders, businesses, nonprofit organizations, governments, researchers, and students gathered to discuss rural issues at the Health and Shared Prosperity: 30th Annual Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation Conference. The conference brought 150 rural leaders from across Canada and internationally together to discuss the future of rural issues. The School of Environmental Design and Rural Development was we
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...
Academics and governments create definitions of what is a rural community, and what is not a rural community, on a regular basis. These definitions might be based on population counts or based on access to services. How communities actually define themselves, however, is a different question.
Neil Stoop, Master of Science in Rural Planning and Development candidate, share findings of his thesis research at the International Geography Union/Can...
SEDRD students Ashleigh Weeden (PhD, Rural Studies), Valencia Gaspard (PhD, Rural Studies) and Alex Petric (MSc, Rural Planning & Development) recently shared their insights on open data and innovation in rural communities at the 2018 GOOD Conference in Barrie, ON. Ashleigh, Valencia, and Alex were featured on a panel about the ‘networked rural’ and the opportunities and challenges of open data initiatives in rural communities, moderated by B
How can communities build and plan for vibrant local futures? Dr. Gibson recently contributed a keynote presentation on this topic to the 2018 Inspiring Results: Working Together to Make Great Things Happen Conference in Halifax.
Regional development and planning in Canada plays host to numerous experiments and experiences towards building vibrant local futures. Rural communities and regions encounter unique challenges related to distance, spa...
Each year, graduate students and faculty from the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development participate in a two-week summer institute focused on comparative rural policy. The 2018 edition of the International Comparative Rural Policy Summer Institute will be held in Tuskegee, Alabama from June 24-July 7, 2018. An introductory session for students interested in learning more about the 2018 International Comparative Rural Policy Summer ...
On March 1, Dr. Gibson delivered a presentation to the Recreation Connections Manitoba Conference in Winnipeg outlining how community development tools could be used to advance recreation in both rural and urban communities. The presentation focused on photovoice, asset-based community development, and social network analysis. Each of the three community development tools were explored through recent community development initiatives in Manitoba,
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...
