Although the conference will not be held this year due to the ongoing COVID19 pandemic, please feel free to read more about what the expectations for the conference were. Innovation • People • Action The year 2020 is a great time to look ahead and explore what change might look like in the year 2040. Read More ...
The Rural Development Institute wants to acknowledge the individuals and organizations that have been working towards evolutionary reform regarding challenges and opportunities faced within Canadian rural communities, and rural policy design. It is this curiosity and evolutionary mind-set that is inciting change to enhance the rural way of life. Please feel free to check out Read More ...
A brief look into agricultural economics & COVID-19
The ongoing pandemic has altered both agriculture, and the socio-economic structures of countries all around the world. The relationship humans have with food is constantly changing, and it has been predicted that the impacts of COVID-19 on the world of agro-business as well as consumer habits will have lasting implications on the future. Michael Asante, a Research Assistant of the Rural Development Institute, has formulated a report reviewing the work of Brent Swallow, which outlined the leading “pathways of vulnerability.” Read more >>
The Globe and Mail Webinar Reports
Throughout the month of May, The Globe and Mail conducted two webinar segments discussing some questions and concerns having to do with the postsecondary education adjustment to digital structures. The following reports were written by RDI Research Assistant Nicole Breedon and briefly outline the content that was discussed, as well as some remaining questions for the future.
The Globe and Mail: Postsecondary Education – Online
The on-going COVID-19 pandemic is raising questions of what is to be expected of the upcoming academic year. In this webinar segment, Joe Friesen (pictured to the left) of The Globe and Mail talks with academic leaders from across Canada to inquire what their thoughts are regarding the changes that may be implemented, and how students and faculty can best prepare for the year to come. Read more >>
The Globe and Mail: Virtual Learning
A previous webinar segment form The Globe and Mail discussed what might be expected from the digital transition for postsecondary education programs, and in this follow up segment host Nicole MacIntyre of The Globe and Mail elaborates on some remaining questions and concerns. This segment in particular pays more attention to the logistics of this transition, as well as the pros and cons of the digitalization of programs to come. Read more >>
A Series of Rural Futures
These Notes summarize and comment on issues with significance for public policy and rural futures. Taken collectively, they point to no single pathway forward, instead underscoring what we all know: that the ‘future’ is a journey of many paths by many people that starts a second from now.
Rural Futures: Futures as Innovation
When imagining futures, that the ‘s’ on futures is critical, since there are many futures, not just one, and not just one way to get there. Innovation is often mentioned in conjunction with future. Read more >>
Rural Futures: Data & Decisions
Data informed decision-making is not new to government or public policy. What data and how it is interpreted is critical to strategy building and actions. The emphasis on a go-slow approach in Canada is a strategy with built in assumptions about the role of citizens. But there are other strategies. Read more >>
Rural Futures: Agriculture
If asked about the “future of farming” here in Canada, what might be the first topics that come to mind? This Note addresses this question based on the recent publication of sponsored content from various leaders in the agriculture and agri-food sector in the March 28, 2020, Globe and Mail (Prairie Edition). Read more >>
Rural Futures: Looking Down the Road
There is no crystal ball for the future and – spoiler alert – there is no single future. Yet we are finding ways to collaborate on a global scale for good, across government and corporate boundaries, they were impenetrable only eight weeks ago. Are we seeing a rise of the public good again? Read more >>