Source CRRF : Canada's Disappearing Small Towns - 5-part series on Yahoo News This is a series of reports prepared by Yahoo News. The topics are: 1/ Small-town troubles 2/ Big-city dreams 3/ The human factor 4/ Small-town survival 5/ The future of small towns. Several New Rural Economy Sites are featured in this series - along with insights from the project (in part 5).
Source: The Monieson Centre at Queen's School of Business.
April 11, 2012, Radisson Hotel Kingston Harbourfront. Building on the success of the Monieson Centre's 2008-2011 KIS Showcase annual conferences, the 2012 Economic Revitalization Conference is a high-impact event connecting academics, policymakers, community leaders, and business people around pressing rural economic development issues. This year's theme - Sustainable Economies, Sustainable Communities - will foster discussion of community resilience, showcasing innovative approaches to rural economic transformation.
Researchers, policymakers, business leaders and Queen's School of Business students will advance the agenda of the future of rural Canada. Presentations and interactive forums will provide strategies and best practices for how communities can build long-term sustainability through business and economic growth.
This free conference offers:
-Valuable networking opportunities with academics and community leaders engaged in rural development
-Leading-edge research and case studies in business sustainability, with key real-world applications for rural communities
-Opportunities to engage in ongoing economic revitalization research projects with The Monieson Centre at Queen's School of Business
-Access to researchers from Queen's University and partnering academic institutions
-Examples of and best-practices in community-based research
Funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada through the Monieson Centre's Research Partnerships to Revitalize Rural Economies project.
With support from:
- Leadership Team Partners: Northumberland County Economic Development; Prince Edward/Lennox & Addington Community Futures Development Corporation; Eastern Ontario Wardens Caucus; RDÉE Ontario; Rural Ontario Institute; The Monieson Centre
- Steering Committee Partners: The Ontario Association of CFDCs; Eastern Lake Ontario Regional Innovation Network; Queen's Sustainable Bioeconomy Centre; City of Kawartha Lakes
For free registration and a full agenda, visit: http://business.queensu.ca/centres/monieson/economic_revitalization/economic_events/economic_revitalization.php
WWW: http://business.queensu.ca/centres/monieson/index.php
Le texte en français suit l’anglais.
Source: CRRN /RCRR.
Dear Colleagues, the CRRN has recently expanded the scope of its website content to include posts on Lessons learned in rural research and Opinions on rural research issues. You are invited to submit a short one-page piece on “lessons learned” or an “opinion” on rural research.
The emphasis should be on identifying the lessons learned from this experience (not necessarily research results) or one idea (opinion) that you see relevant for rural research. You can add links to further resources or more extensive documentation as well as a note on the author or organization. Submissions from student research work are particularly encouraged and welcome.
Your Lessons learned and Opinions will be posted on the CRRN web site and a link will be added in the bi-monthly email update that CRRN sends to about 5,000 contacts.
If you are interested in contributing, please contact patricia.macklin@gov.ab.ca.
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Chers / Chères collègues,
Le RCRR a récemment élargi la portée du contenu de son site Web pour y inclure des messages sur les leçons tirés de la recherche en milieu rural et les opinions sur les enjeux de recherche rurale.
Ces messages fournissent une occasion de partager les connaissances, de présenter les idées, et de promouvoir votre travail et vos activités sur la recherche en milieu rural à un large public.
Vous êtes invités à soumettre un court article d'une page sur les « leçons apprises » ou un « opinion » sur la recherche rurale. L'accent devrait être mis sur l'identification des enseignements tirés de cette expérience (pas nécessairement des résultats de recherche) ou une idée (l'opinion) que vous voyez utiles pour la recherche en milieu rural. Vous pouvez ajouter des liens vers des ressources supplémentaires ou de la documentation plus approfondie ainsi qu'une note sur l'auteur ou l'organisation. Les soumissions de travaux de recherche des étudiants sont particulièrement encouragés et bienvenue.
Vos messages sur les leçons apprises et les opinions seront publiés sur le site Web RCRR et un lien sera ajouté dans la mise à jour par email bimestrielle qui RCRR envoie à environ 5 000 contacts.
Si vous êtes intéressé à contribuer, s'il vous plaît communiquer avec patricia.macklin@gov.ab.ca.
Source: The Monieson Centre at Queen's School of Business.
September 19-20, 2012 Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Connecting the Future: Rural Broadband Technology, Policy and Impact is an international conference addressing leading-edge advancements in broadband development, with relevance to rural communities around the globe.
It will advance the broadband research agenda by exploring:
* Policy, including financing models for broadband as an infrastructure investment,
* Technology, including next generation broadband technology and innovative applications of ICT for rural regions, and
* Economics and community, including the economic and social impacts of broadband expansion on rural communities.
It will create dialogue between international researchers, policymakers, and industry leaders through research presentations, discussion panels, and networking events. As a joint, academic-practitioner event, it will both promote new research and provide opportunities for knowledge mobilization.
The event will further explore the Eastern Ontario Regional Network (EORN), a $200-million initiative to provide broadband service to 95% of rural Eastern Ontario, as a globally relevant case study of forward thinking approaches to broadband investment. The regional approach employed in this milestone infrastructure investment, which draws on funding from multiple government tiers and private-sector partners, creates a model for communities around the world.
Accordingly, the conference objectives are to:
* Generate international discussion around the future of rural broadband
* Highlight innovative and effective policymaking strategies for ICT infrastructure development
* Advance research on the social and economic impacts of broadband investment
* Showcase emerging technologies and innovations for rural broadband delivery
* Share findings of models and strategies for public-private partnerships (PPPs) and multi-tier, regional collaborations for infrastructure investment
* Create opportunities for long-term research partnerships between researchers, government, and business for the ongoing assessment of broadband impacts in Eastern Ontario
* Discover opportunities for global research collaborations and sharing of lessons learned
* Engage students in broadband impact assessment research
Call for Papers
The Monieson Centre at Queen's School of Business invites abstract submissions on any of the following, or related, themes:
1. Policy
* Funding models for broadband infrastructure
* Public-private partnerships (PPPs)
* Rural broadband pricing
* Land-use issues
* Engagement of aboriginal and minority populations
2. Technology
*Technological innovations and solutions, including: Fibre-optic technologies, Satellite technology, Mobile broadband
* Broadband adoption issues such as public Internet access; barriers to broadband adoption; digital literacy
* Broadband access issues
3. Economics & Community
Economic impacts of broadband, including:
* Entrepreneurial growth
* Job creation
* Access to markets
* Econometric modeling of economic impacts (e.g., input-output modeling, regression analysis)
Social impacts of broadband, including:
* Educational impacts
* Government service delivery
* E-health
* Social networks
* Political activism and participation
* Population retention
Abstract Submissions
Abstracts must be submitted to monieson@business.queensu.ca by 5pm, EST, Apr. 15, 2012. Abstracts should be limited to 750 words. Applicants will be advised of adjudication results by May 15, 2012.
The review panel welcomes research from all countries. Research proposals should address issues related to rural broadband, but may also address broadband issues related to small urban and remote contexts, as well as urban-rural interactions.
Papers presented at the conference will subsequently be published in a conference compendium. Final, completed papers are due Aug. 31, 2012.
Conference Partners
* Ontario Ministries of Government Services; Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs; and Economic Development and Innovation
* Eastern Ontario Wardens' Caucus
Source: The Monieson Centre
On April 12, 2011, The Monieson Centre will host the third annual KIS Showcase. This day of learning and discussion will celebrate the many successes of this research partnership between The Monieson Centre and the communities of rural Eastern Ontario. 
Included in the program will be examples of rural business best practices, discussion of the future of rural entrepreneurialism, and lessons learned in building university-community partnerships. Following the event, presentations and videos from the day's proceedings will be made available over the course of the summer.
This is a must-attend event for business people, community leaders, economic developers, and researchers with an interest in rural economic development.
Click here for free on-line registration.
View the Agenda
Conference / Venue Information:
April 12, 2011
9:00am-4:30pm
BMO Financial Group Atrium, Goodes Hall, Queen's University
By: Mike Knutson. Rural Learning Centre, South Dakota.
This piece on lessons learned is based on the presentation titled “Using Social Media to Support Entrepreneurship in Rural Communities.” prepared for the Grassroots & Groundwork Conference in Portland, OR, 2010.
What are we talking about? We have used a three-part process in working with local entrepreneurs: (1) Skill building training sessions on how to use tools like Facebook and Twitter; (2) One-on-one technical assistance with interested business owners on developing their strategies; and (3) “Social media networking” events where people talk about the problems they are facing and learn from each other.
We want to share a few lessons we have learned from our efforts.
1) Start small. It is tempting to jump into the social media pool with both feet, but we’ve learned that dipping your toes in the water is a more manageable way to get started. Pick one tool, and master it before you try to take on others. Starting small also allows you to better manage the time you’re investing in social media.
2) Social media is not about advertising. It’s about building relationships, building trust, engaging your customer base, and being a resource. This is a paradigm shift that some businesses have struggled to embrace. New ways of doing things take time.
3) The Curse of Knowledge can be a barrier to teaching. Dan & Chip Heath write about this in their book Made to Stick. The more we know about a subject, the more difficult it is for us to communicate the subject effectively with our audience. It’s important to communicate with people at their comfort level.
4) Branding work should come first. Social media is a great tool for building stronger brands, but if your business or organization doesn’t understand it’s brand, social media isn’t going to help.
5) Push through the discomfort. It’s tempting to stop (or never start) using social media when you realize that you are opening yourself up to the world in a new way-”you mean people can write whatever they want on our wall?” But, often rewards await those who push through the discomfort of the unknown. You can always change your settings if you encounter a problem, but in the mean time you may be surprised at the trust that is built with your customer base if you are open and willing to talk about the good and bad sides of your businesses. Where else are you able to hear what people are really thinking? Use it to your advantage to build better products and better service.
Helping businesses in our community with social media strategies has been fun, but it’s been challenging. We’re not social media experts, so we feel like we’ve extended beyond our skill level. Whenever these inadequacies get me down, I just remind myself; “At least we’re trying! If we don’t help, who will?”
That’s why sharing opportunities like Grassroots & Groundwork are important. We’re willing to stick our necks out and share what we know with the hope that others will share with us. That’s what we mean when we say “building a deeper conversation about rural.” Whether you attending the conference or not; whether you are a social media expert or novice; whether you work in rural or urban community; you have valuable information to contribute. And we hope you’ll take this opportunity to share a bit of what you’ve learned by sending a comment.
About the author
Mike Knutson came to the field of rural community development not as an expert, but as a rural resident with a passion for the future of his community, Howard, SD. For six years he served as the economic development and housing director for Miner County Community Revitalization. During that time he developed a deep connection to the community of Howard and a love of rural places. And although life has taken him away from the everyday life of Howard, the ReImagineRural.com blog is one way that he can continue to be a part of developing a new future for Rural America. Read the blog: www.reimaginerural.com
Contact
Mike Knutson can be reached at - mike at ruraltransformations dot com.
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Lessons learned is an initiative of the Canadian Rural Research Network (CRRN) meant to stimulate debate and knowledge mobilization through information sharing. Authors of Lessons learned are invited to present their views on issues of relevance to rural research and knowledge dissemination. The view presented in Lesson learned are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the CRRN or its partners.
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