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Canadian Rural Partnership
Models for Rural Development and Community Capacity Building 
Models Description
A new approach to diversify and better manage primary resources in rural Canada! The Community Consensus Building model engages rural organizations, citizens and government, brought all together to develop a plan to deal with the management of primary resources in a specific rural region. A proven success in Nova Scotia's forestry sector, this approach is now being applied to the local watershed of Bedeque Bay in Prince Edward Island. The Heartwood Centre for Community Youth Development has many years experience working with youth through adventure and leadership programs. The centre uses youth action teams to involve other youths in community activities. The end result? Rural communities are coming to realize that youth can and do contribute to social and economic development. Establishing these relationships encourages youth to remain in the community and further, helps rural regions identify and respond to youth needs. New Brunswick has delivered an innovative approach to early childhood development that targets preschool children, their parents and rural communities. It addresses the need for early childhood development while working to improve parenting skills and self-confidence. Every week, children and parents gather at a location that quickly takes on the appearance of a play group, with crafts, games and reading. With the help of resource people, parents learn to lead and organize the sessions. After a few months, parents can easily organize activities, to the benefit of their little ones. In the long term, parents learn as much as the children do. Carrefour d'Immigration Rurale The Carrefour d'Immigration Rurale model brings the community together to support demographic growth and cultural diversity. This model provides communities with the right tools to draw upon the international francophonie population to counter declines in rural population. While strategies are adopted to recruit, host and integrate immigrants within the community, the model also promotes the importance of immigration and its cultural benefits. This model is first and foremost an alternative school that is developed by and involves the participation of rural communities. The principle behind Maisons Familiales Rurales (MFR) is to offer an alternating work and study program for students at the secondary school level. The program relies on the willingness of the community, educators and business sectors to partner to offer youth a professional training program while ensuring the completion of their secondary education. The result of these partnerships is the coming together of all sectors to meet the local labour needs and create employment opportunities for youth. Keeping young people in their community is a positive and direct impact of establishing an MFR. The exchange of information and expertise between academics, rural planners and community organizations is the purpose behind the Université Rurale Québécoise. This type of event can attract upwards of 300 participants to debate the various rural community themes. Université Rurale Québécoise is held every two years to build rural skills, exchange information and promote rural life, its issues, challenges and successes. Réseau Migration – Foire des Villages This model encourages rural communities to adopt activities that will attract and retain new residents from urban centres. Rural community program leaders develop attraction and retention plans, and hold a public event in an urban centre. The event provides opportunities for rural areas to display and promote their communities and for urban residents to explore the possibilities of moving to these communities. The Place aux Jeunes model responds to youth leaving rural areas by involving youth and helping them build ties to their rural communities, so that they will have an incentive to stay in or return to rural regions. The model helps youth, their friends and families, and local stakeholders better understand how important it is to retain and attract youth to rural communities. This benefits both the community and young people who might not be aware of the opportunities that exist in their own rural areas. Rural Knowledge Clusters bring together the local community college, community organizations, government, employers, workers and others, to create a hub of expertise in a specific industry. The Association of Canadian Community Colleges and three member colleges will adapt and apply the Rural Knowledge Cluster model to offer rural communities a solution for diversifying their resource-based economies. The model will allow participating institutions to create a competitive advantage for local businesses by developing a rich base of skilled workers, an enhanced local entrepreneurial culture, and increased research and commercialization capacity. Rural Philanthropy Resource Network The Rural Philanthropy Resource Network model is an innovative approach to advancing the rural non-profit and voluntary sectors. A resource network will be created to improve opportunities in philanthropy in rural communities. This network will establish a systematic and strategic fundraising approach that rural non-profit and volunteer agencies can use to enhance their contribution to their communities. The Integrated Hub Model focuses on building a seamless blend of supports and services. Communities achieve service integration through housing similar services in one location, delivering services through interdisciplinary staff teams, or through many other community-driven innovations and initiatives. The Integrated Hub Model is a collective way of providing services to rural communities. Community Collaboration Project Increased participation by rural, remote and northern areas is helping the Community Collaboration Project model succeed in communities in mid-Saskatchewan, British Columbia and the Yukon. Working with a committee of federal, provincial, territorial and non-government agencies and organizations, participants identify regional, social and economic opportunities or challenges to find common solutions and implement programs and projects. Opening the process to participation from organizations and groups outside of the community also means that previously unrecognized strengths within the area are given their due. By partnering with aboriginal communities, the West Region Child and Family Services Committee Inc. of Manitoba has implemented an innovative approach to rural Aboriginal community development that is making a difference. The Skownan Model brings together community members to provide community-based, culturally appropriate education and training to address social and economic challenges. The result is increased high-school graduation rates, a better sense of Aboriginal identity, and improved teamwork, communication, parenting, employability and problem-solving skills. The approach is tailored to the needs of Aboriginal communities, and builds strong partnerships. Social Enterprise: A Community Wealth Builder The Canadian Centre for Community Renewal in British Columbia is applying a unique approach to make the process of social and economic development more effective and efficient. The model has two major thrusts: an energetic, focussed approach to training, capacity building, and second a strategic networking aimed at increasing the effectiveness of social enterprise developers. Northern Governance and Community Capacity Building Model The overall goal of this model is to undertake a research and evaluation of the School of Community Government model to assess the validity of this approach in enhancing the development of northern governance structures and supporting capacity building for community and aboriginal governments in the North. The community of Kugluktuk, Nunavut has faced rapid changes resulting in the abandonment of many core traditional values and ways of life. Consequently, this impacted all cultural, economic, social and physical aspects of the community. While the community has experienced some economic opportunities, there are significant social woes that they are facing such as alcohol and drug abuse, gambling, child neglect, violence and suicide. The Kugluktuk – Tahiuqtiit model assesses the needs of the community and provides support for skills/learning development. By providing the community with the skills, attitudes and aptitudes necessary to take advantage of new opportunities, the entire community will benefit. It's all about accessing existing community financial services to support small business/enterprises in rural communities! The Micro-Credit Financing model taps into existing credit unions to foster small business growth at the grassroots level. Currently getting underway in Nova Scotia, the program also supports a credit union mandate to become the principal financial provider for small enterprises. A successful implementation will see a community employing its own financial resources. British Columbia is taking an active role in training the leaders of tomorrow. Participating in the Leading Communities model, the Centre for Innovative and Entrepreneurial Leadership is spearheading the development of a network that will identify leadership training gaps in British Columbia. Once the needs have been determined, the centre will devise and deliver a curriculum that will work to fill the gaps. Yukon Sustainable Community Partnership The gathering of resources is crucial for the successful implementation of the Yukon Sustainable Community Partnership. The Association of Yukon Communities (AYC) is working with communities to identify their needs and to develop sustainability plans targeting economic development, environmental stewardship, community growth, and healthy and safe rural areas. A committee of federal and territorial government representatives will then be formed to assist in the implementation of these community plans. The AYC will facilitate the development of the plan and play a liaison role with the committee to ensure a co-ordinated response to the priorities expressed by the communities. Models for Sustainable Community Learning Two Canadian rural community organizations are addressing long-term community learning. The Random North Development Association in Newfoundland and the Lethbridge Community College in Alberta are looking at ways to develop sustainable community learning so residents' skill sets will meet the needs of new and existing businesses. The program relies heavily on partnerships with community and existing educational institutions to provide non-traditional learning opportunities. It is hoped that by completing this process, communities will be able to take advantage of economic changes as they occur.
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