Summary Analysis of Participants' Responses

What do communities need to build capacity?

The Nova Scotia Rural Partnership Team identified several areas that need to be addressed by the federal government in order to improve the community's capacity-building.

1. Leadership, empowerment and civic participation

The participants determined that having a strong local leadership is very important in motivating and supporting the community. Such leadership plays a decisive role in mentoring, involving youth in the community, and empowering local residents in their dealings with the federal government. The participants -- who asked the federal government to refer to them as citizens, not consumers -- also suggested that the government should focus on meeting the needs of communities rather than making the communities conform to its requirements.

2. Strategic planning, analysis and research

The participants suggested that community capacity-building must be built on better planning and careful examination of specific local issues. This will allow both the communities and the federal government to understand what the community has to offer and what its needs are. It will also contribute to a better understanding of issues that are common among the communities and suggest ideas for action.

3. Communication

The participants emphasized that communication within and among communities is extremely important as it makes the communities feel less isolated and allows them to share information about federal programs and services.

4. New business and jobs

The participants agreed that access to education and technology is sparse in many smaller rural communities. They pointed out that a more adequate and stable funding could provide a partial solution. They also said that having a more direct access to federal government representatives would be helpful in addressing problems such as lack of local employment opportunities.

What can Government do to help?

1. Significant changes are required in terms of governance, empowerment, equity and diversity

The participants see the federal government as deserting rural Canadians. They do not feel represented in rural partnerships and in the Rural Team. They suggested that the federal government must improve the way it listens to the communities. That includes trusting and respecting community's initiatives, looking at new development models, assisting in identifying new community leaders, and having a human presence in small communities.

The participants also said that they were tired of "twisting their values to fit into funding pots." They said that, apart from decreasing community empowerment by creating a "them versus us" dynamic, this approach creates the feeling of dependency rather than collaboration.

The participants proposed decentralizing government offices, increasing the availability of local government representatives, and improving the co-ordination of the federal, provincial and municipal governments.

Finally, they wanted the federal government to recognize the skills, talents and wisdom that exist in communities and address the communities' needs rather than its own needs.

2. Focus on youth

The participants suggested that the federal government should make more effort to ask the young people living in rural areas what they want or need. The government should also address rural-youth related problems such as increase field trips, discuss school drop-outs and financial support for university education, and provide more funding for local youth organizations.

3. Improve programs, projects and evaluation

The participants suggested that the federal government must be flexible and community-specific with its programs. For example, it should increase the number of CAP sites and expand their hours of operation to include evenings and weekends. Other proposed improvements included increasing access to technology in rural areas, providing realistic time frames for implementing new programs and decreasing the administrative burden on community groups. In each case, the government should be careful not to duplicate efforts and allow flexibility in the length of funded projects.

The federal government should support and initiate programs aimed at reducing poverty and creating jobs. The participants requested that for every job closed, the federal government must create another one of equal value. The federal government must also be more sensitive to small community needs. This often means accepting what communities want to do and finding ways to fund and support them. Participants gave the example of assisting the celebration of common issues and differences that exist within common issues (race, gender, disabilities).

The participants called on the federal government to create alternatives to taxes in rural areas, and to eliminate red tape from funding and investment processes. The proposed solutions included allowing communities to put a dollar value on volunteer hours, creating tax credits for business/job creation in rural communities, supporting more asset mapping, and providing incentives for young entrepreneurs in rural areas.

Finally, the participants suggested that banks and businesses should be required to give back to the communities they do business with. That could take a form of easier access to start-up loans or co-op's.

4. Strengthen education, training and exchange

The participants suggested that the federal government should improve education delivery in rural settings. The suggestions included offering essential business programs at little or no cost, creating opportunities for mentoring, and supporting sharing and regional student exchange. Developing proposal writing centres, providing free adult education up to the high school level, and granting high school and university credits for volunteer participation was also high on the participants' agenda.

Finally, the participants wanted to encourage the Department of Education to make the Grade 9 Community Economic Development curriculum mandatory and to involve community organizations in the program. They pointed out that accessibility to education is not enough -- education should occur within community projects.

5. Improve dialogue and communication

The participants wanted the rural dialogue to be an ongoing process of clear communication between communities and the federal government. Such process would contribute to an increased recognition of community achievements and allow local visionaries to be heard. It would also improve communication among communities thus facilitating information exchange. The participants also wanted to get rural health information on-line by link to the Canadian Health Network, and asked the federal government to provide more facilitators and trainers.

6. Increase resources to community level

The participants complained about a lack of resources at the community level. They wanted the federal government to fund leadership education, asset mapping projects and group rejuvenation activities (made necessary by volunteer burn-out). They also called for assistance in funding annual community meetings, international travel, human resources, and the provision of resources (e.g. materials, information, technology). Finally, they said that development effort in communities requires government funding to be more flexible.

7. Support planning

As a last priority, the participants proposed that the government should allow more time for planning and visioning. They also suggested that the federal government should define its intervention boundaries (catchment areas).

Prepared by Keith Cossey (902) 426-8570

AAFC #2067/B
Cat. No. A21-47/3-2000
ISBN: 0-662-65403-X

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