Canadian Rural Partnership
Nova Scotia Rural Team Capacity Building Workshop
East Coast Conference on Community Development
Sydney, Nova Scotia, April 7, 2000
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
Date Modified: 2001 01 25
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