‘Rurban Round Up: ROI’s, Intermunicipal Resources, Creative Economies, Civic Engagement, and More

Posted on | January 19, 2012 | 2 Comments

If you're new, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

With so much going on this month, please read on to discover …

The Canadian Community Economic Development Network (CCEDNet) is looking for organizations who have done a return-on-investment (ROI) or social-return-on-investment calculation (SROI) on their programs and services … examples and calculations will be compiled and shared to assist other agencies with demonstrating the value of community economic development approaches. Contact Kirsten Bernas at kbernas@ccednet-rcdec.ca.
The Cultivating and Sustaining Your Creative Economy event is being hosted in Toronto, ON on February 28th & 29th, 2012. Visit www.creativecitiescanada.com to view the agenda and to register.
As local governments are faced with ever-increasing pressures, Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA) has developed a webpage of resources to support inter-municipal efforts – including sample agreements, research reports, publications, and links to additional programs and services. The information can be found here.
A recent report, released by the University of Alberta, Augustana Campus, presents information aimed at better understanding how university students from rural backgrounds view the relationship between rural communities and civic and political engagement. Learn more here.
New information has been released on the Community Information Database (CID), a free Internet-based tool providing social, economic, and demographic data for all communities and regions across Canada. Resource-reliant indicators, residential property taxable values, property tax revenues, and updated population estimates are now available.
An interesting podcast – Understanding “Rural” Canada: Terms, Trends, and Policy (Centre for Open Learning and Educational Development, University of Guelph).
Farmon.com is looking to hire an online business coach to serve rural clients! Click through for more information. Deadline to apply is January 31, 2012.

Do Highway Bypasses Bring Benefits?

Posted on | January 16, 2012 | 2 Comments

My community has gone through several agonizing months of presentations, consultations and the like in order to determine the best possible scenario for a proposed major highway realignment. I won’t lie, it’s been heated at times, with residents arguing for - and against – the proposals.

But do highway bypasses really create unimaginable damage to communities? Or are there there hidden benefits to such schemes?

From listening to many transportation, engineering, and land-use planning experts recently – as well as doing some investigating of my own – the answers are as diverse as people’s opinions on the topic; effects can be both positive and negative as well as short-term or long-term.

As I’ve noted before, the more dependent a community is on drive-through traffic, the more likely it is to feel negative impacts from a highway bypass.

The concerns of local businesses, especially those that rely on drive-through traffic, are most likely to be voiced. However, studies have shown that if the community is viewed as a trading centre for the region (which my town has grown to become), consumer impacts are lessened as there is a typically a wider range of businesses from which to draw customers.

Even more interesting … downtown business districts - take note! Those of you with well-developed downtown cores are even less affected as you have already built up a local client base that isn’t dependent on traffic patterns. Some studies also note that the presence of a local economic development agency has been beneficial for businesses forced to adjust to such a transition … different communities experience different adjustment processes.

Overall, much research – including that which focused on smaller, agricultural-based communities – indicates modest negative effects on most communities.

A situation like this reminds me of a popular saying … never waste a good crisis. It’s precisely in such times that quality leadership is valued as folks rally to come up with a solution for their specific situation.

Do you agree?

Category: Infrastructure
Tags: community > construction > development > downtown > Economy > highway > Leadership > planning > rural > rurban > traffic

3 Words to Live By: 2012

Posted on | January 12, 2012 | No Comments

2012 is here … have you made any New Year’s resolutions?

Admittedly, I’ve started this year with the vague aspiration to help my family eat healthier and remain active … but I still hate resolutions. Instead, as my regular readers may know, I try to choose three words to act as themes to help guide my personal and professional development during the coming year. Chris Brogan laid down the original challenge and I found it a great take on the more “traditional” ways we tend to set goals for ourselves.

This year I plan to …

Partner – No one can reach their goals by themselves. This year I aim to consciously focus on what I can bring to partnership ventures as well as review what I can receive from them, in return. My time and attention is valuable and I want to purposefully place it where I feel it makes the most difference … for myself, for my family, and for those I work with.

Productive – Following along those same lines, I plan on working smarter, not harder. I know, I know, it’s an old cliche, but I want to increase my freelance writing and blogging and want to ensure I’m meeting all my other obligations, as well. Any tips out there?

Open - Who knows where opportunity will strike? In 2012, I want to remain curious and open to new possibilities … whatever they might be.

And you? What do you do to start the New Year?

Click through to find my words for 2010 and 2011.

Category: Miscellaneous
Tags: 2012 > New Year's resolutions > themes

‘Rurban Round Up: Rural Policy Summer School, Rockin’ the Farm, Rural Small Business Trends, De Niro’s Emails, and More

Posted on | January 10, 2012 | No Comments

While I enjoyed a slightly extended Christmas break this year, a slew of interesting items came through my inbox … read on to find out more about:

Governing for Sustainable Rural Futures: The International Comparative Rural Policy Studies Summer School (June 21 – July 6, 2012), Quebec – Bringing together international graduate students, researchers, and practitioners to discuss relevant rural development policies, case studies, and best practice examples.
Rock the Farm (February 4, 2012), Edmonton, Alberta – An agricultural industry conference for young producers (18-35).
STEP UP Mentorship Program – A Canadian on-farm learning placement program that matches those considering a farming career with an experienced farm manager to learn critical aspects of farm business management in a hands-on setting.
If brevity is the soul of wit, it should also be the soul of email correspondence. Having problems? Think: how would Robert De Niro answer an email? An amusing – and relevant - article on email etiquette and business correspondence from Entrepreneur.com.
Rural Small Business Trends 2012 by Becky McCray, Small Biz Survival.