On May 2, Ashleigh Weeden (PhD student, School of Environmental Design and Rural Development) shared insights from her career and research into rural community innovation with approximately 150 leaders in economic development from across Saskatchewan at the 2019 Intersections for Growth Conference, the annual conference hosted by the Saskatchewan Economic Development Alliance (SEDA).
Ashleigh’s presentation focused on the importance of developing a strong and future-oriented community development strategy based on relationship building and taking informed risks. She highlighted examples from her work on Grey County’s Connected County Initiative and the SouthWestern Integrated Fibre Technology (SWIFT) Initiative. Ashleigh also offered insight into the global context of innovation policy and the importance of local advocacy for promoting place-sensitive, future-oriented rural development.
Social media highlights of Ashleigh’s presentation are included below:
Engaging presentation from @ashleighweeden “Unicorns exist, they’re just fat and we call them hippos!”@saskecdevassoc #intersectionsforgrowth pic.twitter.com/HNzZXMjUR0
— Becky C (@MBWonderWoman) May 2, 2019
#IntersectionsForGrowth @ashleighweeden asks a lot of GOOD questions:
What are you doing for the people who are committed to & invested in your place? Are you celebrating their story? #ShowtheLove #Econdev @saskecdevassoc pic.twitter.com/Yw7Lx1nx4Q— Elan Buan (@ElanMB) May 2, 2019
Ashleigh’s slides can be found here: SEDA 2019 – Rural Innovation
More information about Ashleigh’s research can be found here: Place-Based Rural Innovation Systems