By: Akua Afrakoma Osei & Kwabena Owusu Amoateng
July 4, 2025
What are we doing?
As Master of Rural Development (MRD) students, and interns at the Rural Development Institute (RDI), we are engaging in a dynamic learning experience this summer through the Cooperative Experience course. This opportunity has allowed us to collaborate directly with Community Futures Westman and Manitoba (CFW & MB), a regional seed-funding not-for-profit organization dedicated to stimulating rural entrepreneurship, strengthening local economies, and generating employment through targeted grants and loans. Our work began with a thorough review of the current RDI Community Development (CD) Capacity Building Framework, which maps projects by levels of ownership, community involvement, capacity, and project types. This analysis revealed that CFW & MB predominantly operates at the grassroots level, indicating relatively low capacity within its operational scope. To complement this understanding, we also undertook the PLAR assessment, a reflective tool used to gauge our own competencies in areas such as leadership, project management, and community engagement. Building on these foundations, and through collaborative engagement with our partners, we are now in the process of designing an Excel-based framework that will systematically organize the diverse types of rural projects undertaken by Community Futures. It is intended to serve as a practical guide to help local organizations, individuals and communities as they initiate, scale, and replicate their own community economic development (CED) projects.
Why is it important?
A guiding question throughout our work has been posed by Beckley et al. (2008):
“How do communities get things done? Or alternatively, how or why do they not get things done?”
This question highlights a core theme of our course: capacity building. For rural communities striving for self-reliance, increased engagement, and long-term economic viability, it is essential to establish their own pace and set their own priorities. By leveraging distinct skills and local community capitals, these communities can pursue development pathways that are not only sustainable but also deeply meaningful to their residents. However, significant challenges persist. In a recent discussion with CFW Executive Director Bill Hogan, we learned that the CFW region has only three or four CED offices, none of which have staff members dedicated exclusively to CED. This lack of specialized personnel makes it difficult to sustain and effectively manage certain projects, despite mandates to implement at least two CED initiatives each year. Our involvement seeks, in part, to address this gap by providing organizational tools that can support local capacity.
What is innovative?
The Excel-based framework we are developing represents an innovative step toward bridging existing capacity gaps. Unlike generic project management tools, this framework is tailored specifically to the operational context and strategic needs of Community Futures. It is designed to help individuals, local organizations and community stakeholders learn from other CED projects and thereby support more effective and sustainable outcomes. What further distinguishes our approach is its integration of personal competency assessments (through the PLAR) within the RDI CD Capacity Building Framework. This dual lens allows us not only to support external community initiatives but also to critically evaluate and enhance our own capacities as emerging rural development practitioners.
Looking ahead
We are grateful for the insights and practical experiences gained thus far and look forward to observing how our contributions may impact local communities. This work continues to challenge and refine our understanding of rural capacity building and the essential role of community-led development.
We eagerly anticipate sharing our next chapter and the results of these efforts in our upcoming blog posts. Until then, we remain committed to learning, collaborating, and fostering meaningful change.
Reference:
Beckley, T. M., Martz, D., Nadeau, S., Wall, E., & Reimer, B. (2008). Multiple capacities, multiple outcomes: Delving deeper into the meaning of community capacity. Journal of rural and community development, 3(3).