Canadian Rural Partnership
Models for Rural Development and Community Capacity Building

The research and analysis activities we undertake under Models for Rural Development and Community Capacity Building will contribute to the understanding of what approaches (models) to community development and capacity building work in rural, remote and northern communities. The information developed will be used to inform all levels of government to support their decisions on programs and services for rural Canadians, as well as future policy directions.

In addition to helping governments with their decision making, the information developed will benefit the individuals, organizations and communities involved with the models and other projects aimed at community development and capacity building.

More information on this initiative can be found by clicking on the items below.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Models Description
Models Factsheets
Regional Advisors - Contact Information
Program Officers - Contact Information
Research - Contact Information
Media Releases
models@agr.gc.ca : E-mail us your Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What do you consider "rural"?
2. What are models?
3. What is rural development?
4. What is community capacity building?
5. What are you hoping to get out of this initiative?
6. How do you decide what types of projects to use as models? Who makes this decision?
7. Who's part of the external advisory group and the other committees?
8. What were the criteria the models were selected against?
9. How can our community get involved in the Models for Rural Development?
10. Why have we never heard about The Models Program before?
11. When should we expect information regarding the successes or the lessons learned?
12. How much money is available for each project?
13. How are you ensuring the money being spent on these models will be shared fairly across the country?
14. How will you ensure that the money allocated to each model will be well spent?
15. How will other federal, provincial and territorial departments be involved in these activities? Will they be participating or contributing to them?
16. What are the current models being evaluated? What organizations are leading them?
17. How will people living in rural, remote and northern Canada benefit from the testing of these models?
18. Why is the Government of Canada involved in research? Aren't universities supposed to do research?
19. Earlier Rural Secretariat programs, like Pilot Projects and CARCI, helped many communities. Why did you not extend them?

Q: What do you consider "rural"?
A: The Rural Secretariat generally uses the Statistics Canada Rural and Small Town definition which considers any community of 10,000 or fewer people to be rural.

Q: What are models?
A: Models are approaches rural communities are successfully using to address challenges they face. We test these in other rural communities to see if they will be just as successful there. Models allow us to gain knowledge as to what rural development approaches work in different rural areas.

By testing these approaches we are implementing a participatory research approach and will gain useful information for developing future programs, services and policies for rural Canada.

Q: What is rural development?
A: Rural development is a grassroots approach where rural, remote and northern citizens work together and plan ahead to make balanced decisions to enhance the human, social, economic, cultural and environmental conditions of their community. The goal of rural development is to achieve long-term viability of a community. Through initiatives like Models for Rural Development and Community Capacity Building, the Government of Canada is enabling rural communities to develop local solutions to their local challenges.

Q: What is community capacity building?
A: Community capacity building is an on-going process that develops leadership in a community and engages citizens in developing a shared vision for their community. It enables a community or region to identify its strengths and weaknesses, to mobilize internal and external resources to meet local challenges, to develop strategies for effective action and to increase their individual capacity to take advantage of opportunities.

Q: What are you hoping to get out of this initiative?
A: Government and community partners will carry out and evaluate these models to gain information about what approaches and/or aspects of rural development work successfully in rural, remote and northern communities. The information collected will be useful to all levels of government for their decisions on programs and services for rural Canadians, as well as future policy development.

This information will also be helpful for individuals and organizations involved with community development and capacity building. The communities participating in the implementation of the models will benefit directly from the model and participants will gain important skills.

Q: How do you decide what types of projects to use as models? Who makes this decision?
A: Projects considered for The Models Program went through a thorough selection process. Successful projects were first brought to our attention by Rural Team members, Senior Policy Advisors, Regional Advisors and from previous Canadian Rural Partnership programs. They were then reviewed and discussed by a model selection committee, a steering committee and an external advisory group before recommendation to the executive director of the Rural Secretariat, and the Parliamentary Secretary for Rural Development. At each review level, potential models were selected against pre-determined selection criteria. Some models moved to the next level of examination, and others were set aside.

Q: Who's part of the external advisory group and the other committees?
A: The external advisory group is made up of three members with both academic and practical rural community expertise. Members of the other committees are Rural Secretariat staff from across the country, with expertise in various domains (e.g. research, policy development and programs).

Q: What were the criteria the models were selected against?
A: For each model, we asked questions like:

• Does this model develop capacity (e.g., skills) in the community?
• Does it involve various partners working together to make it succeed?
• Is the project specific to the community or could other rural communities also use it successfully?
• Does it meet the policy directions of the Canadian Rural Partnership (e.g. does it get local people and organizations involved? Is it a smart approach to infrastructure?)

• metro-adjacent: communities that are close to cities and where there is a strong attachment to the labour market of the nearby urban area(s).
• heartland: communities that are further away from cities and where there is a moderate attachment to the labour market of the nearby urban area(s).
• northern and remote: communities with weak or no attachment to the labour market of an urban area.

Q: How can our community get involved in the Models for Rural Development?
A: We know that many communities will be interested in participating in these projects. Each of approximately 25 to 30 models will be tested in two or three communities, which means there will be a limited number of communities involved in implementing and testing the models. Criteria for selecting sites will include, among other things, a variation in community characteristics to produce the greatest range of information. We'll be counting on our network of rural development experts to advise us on which communities would be most appropriate for the models we'll be testing.

Q: Why have we never heard about The Models Program before?
A: Because this is a research initiative, it isn't surprising that you haven't heard of it before. Contribution programs tend to receive more attention. Now that we've selected models to research, and as we begin to see results from our research, you will hear more about it. Watch the Research section of our Web site (http://www.rural.gc.ca/programs/mrdi_e.phtml) for updates

Q: When should we expect information regarding the successes or the lessons learned?
A: It will take time to select the test sites, set up the model in those sites, and for the model to really get underway. We don't anticipate having many success stories or lessons learned until the models have been underway for at least a year. As they become available we will be posting them to the Research section of our Web site (http://www.rural.gc.ca/programs/mrdi_e.phtml).

Q: How much money is available for each project?
A: There is no set amount of funding available per project. The amount of funds invested in any one project will depend on the scope of the project. This initiative has funding allocation of up to $18.5 million until March 2008.

Q: How are you ensuring the money being spent on these models will be shared fairly across the country?
A: It is expected that a number of sites will be balanced across the country and amongst the three types of rural communities (see above for definitions of three types of rural).

Q: How will you ensure that the money allocated to each model will be well spent?
A: Each organization responsible for carrying out a model will be required to first provide a plan for how the money will be spent and what results are expected. It will then have to provide regular reports indicating how money was spent, describe how the project is progressing, and respond to an evaluation framework. The Rural Secretariat will also be monitoring the projects.

Q: How will other federal, provincial and territorial departments be involved in these activities? Will they be participating or contributing to them?
A: Other departments will be important partners in these activities. For each model, we will be contacting the most suitable department(s). Their exact involvement will depend on the project and how they can best contribute to its success.

Up to 80% of the funding for a project can come from federal, provincial and territorial departments and agencies.

Q: What are the current models being evaluated? What organizations are leading them?
A: They are:

• Integrated Hub Model - Childcare Family Access Network
• Youth Engagement in Community Model - HeartWood Centre for Community Youth Development
• Rural Knowledge Clusters - Association of Canadian Community Colleges
Community Collaboration Project - Rural Development Institute, Brandon University

• Skownan Model - West Region Child and Family Services Inc.
• Les Petits Crayons - Association francophone des parents du Nouveau‑Brunswick

Q: How will people living in rural, remote and northern Canada benefit from the testing of these models?
A: Rural Canadians will benefit from these activities in two ways. In the short-term, people living in the communities in which we're testing the models will benefit from the project and will gain useful skills. This information will also be helpful for organizations and individuals involved in rural development. In the long-term, the lessons governments and rural communities learn from these models will provide government with validated information on what does and doesn't work in rural communities. This will be extremely useful for developing programs, services and policies affecting rural Canada.

The exciting part of this program is that people living in rural areas are playing an important role in gathering information that will have a positive impact on their own and other rural areas. This addresses comments made at the second National Rural Conference that governments need to work with communities to develop policies, programs and services that assist rural communities, and that the solutions to the challenges facing rural Canada are found in rural communities themselves.

Q: Why is the Government of Canada involved in research? Aren't universities supposed to do research?
A: These research activities will provide us with important information that will influence how government provides programs, services and other activities to rural, remote and northern areas.

Excellent research on rural Canada is being carried out in universities. Our research will complement what is already being done and will take a national approach. It will look at how successfully rural development approaches can be used in different types of rural communities in different locations in Canada.

Q: Earlier Rural Secretariat programs, like Pilot Projects and CARCI, helped many communities. Why did you not extend them?
A: Our earlier programs encouraged rural communities to implement local actions to define and deal with local challenges. Many rural communities have benefitted from the projects we helped fund.

With this experience in mind, Rural Secretariat programs have been evolving so as to take into account the concerns and ideas of rural citizens. Two of the things we've been told are that:

• governments need to improve collaboration and work with communities to develop policies, programs and services that assist rural communities in their capacity building activities, and
• rural development initiatives should have a sustained level of support to ensure long-term success.

These research activities address these comments by ensuring that governments and communities work together to define successful approaches to rural development in order to consider how best to provide long-term support to rural communities.

[ Français | Contact Us | Help | Search | Canada Site ] [ Home | News Releases | Key Rural  Initiatives | Site Map | Publications ]