Over the past number of decades, social scientists have produced a wealth of knowledge and ideas about various aspects of rural Canada. They have also been very active in organizing robust research and community of practice networks such as the Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation and, most recently, the Rural Policy Learning Commons. Given the wealth of knowledge and the depth of thought that exists within and outside the academic community related to what it means “to live rural” today in different contexts, from rural remote, aboriginal and northern, to those rural areas adjacent to large urban centres, there is a need to bring those conversations to larger audiences in order to provide better value to the Canadian public, exchange ideas and knowledge across jurisdictions and provide access to ideas and knowledge that can transform rural policies and rural conversations in Canada.

The Rural Routes audio program will provide knowledge mobilization and development support communications vehicle for researchers and community champions, policy makers, rural residents, and social and economic development practitioners interested in a wide range of rural issues. This project will consist of a series of broadcast-ready episodes structured as 30-45 minute weekly interviews that examine some aspect of rural lifeways. The program will be distributed free of charge through a variety of private and NGO partnerships in Canada and abroad. The project will be hosted on the CRRF website and as a free-to-subscribe podcast available to educators, community groups, scholars, and other interested individuals. A copy of each episode will be deposited in the Memorial University of Newfoundland Research Repository. The podcast will be promoted through the robust social media presence all of the partners have on a variety of platforms.

The overall goal of this initiative is to disseminate existing rural research and knowledge about rural Canada in an accessible and engaging format that can be easily shared at no cost to knowledge users. The project is led by Bojan Fürst at the Leslie Harris Centre for Regional Policy and Development at Memorial University.