rural development
Rural Innovation — Communities As Engines Of Change
by Rupert Downing, June 1, 2018 This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Highland and Islands Enterprise (HIE) in Scotland, one of the most impactful examples of community partnerships for change in rural areas anywhere. It was fitting that the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) chose to hold its 8th international conference on rural development, Enhancing Rural Innovation,…
Read MoreHighlands & Islands Enterprise — Prickly Thistle
Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) is an ambitious Scottish organization with a unique mandate, one that successfully integrates economic and community development in rural northern Scotland. HIE, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, works in a diverse region which extends from Shetland to Argyll, and from the Outer Hebrides islands to Moray, covering more…
Read MoreBy Their Own Hands — St. Andrews, Nova Scotia
Building on the legacy of pioneering Scottish and, later, Dutch immigrants, St. Andrews, Nova Scotia, a rural agricultural community, has been able to muster active and enthusiastic volunteers for a series of ambitious community initiatives and has maintained a thriving community into the 21st century. This 22 minute video explores some of the reasons why…
Read MoreCooperation At the Heart of One Small Community’s Success
Community — pulling together collectively to affect real change — is often the key in small town turn-arounds. In this informative article written by Spotify’s Dayna Winter, we’re introduced to Almonte, Ontario, a town of 5,000 that has managed to revitalize itself through developing a collaborative consensus around development. Small towns exist in snow…
Read MoreNew Denver/Silverton Report Summary Released
New Denver/Silverton were recently the unsuspecting hosts for a contingent of “secret visitors” from Kaslo, who spent an October day checking out everything from the highway entrances to the two villages, to their take on the local economy. The project, called First Impressions, was carried out under the auspices of the BC Rural Centre with…
Read MoreMillennials Make the Move to Rural Ontario?
Tony Scott is a Millennial, and the founder and president of Akira Studio, an established tech company based in London, Ontario that designs, develops, and hosts websites for over 450 companies across the globe. Akira employs web developers, software engineers, network analysts and content creators that work together to optimize the online presence and competitiveness…
Read MoreRural citizens investing in themselves in Creston
Rural citizens investing in themselves in Creston? What does that mean? Every year, rural Canadians place hundreds of millions of dollars into RRSPs. Most of this money ends up financing economic development “somewhere else” — usually in major metropolitan areas. What if at least some of that money stayed in rural communities, where it was…
Read MoreMobilizing Rural Investment Capital
The Need for Rural Investment Capital in BC Access to investment capital is crucial to business and economic development anywhere – but is especially important in rural areas. However, research completed by SIBAC and others has noted that it is often difficult to access business financing – and specifically patient equity investment financing – in…
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