A group of 6 people walk down a path that runs between trees and houses

KTT Case Study: Building Social and Economic Development Capacity in Rural SW Ontario communities

Summary

This project was designed to leverage student skills and funding to connect 12 municipalities with knowledge and expertise in support of local projects. Students applied knowledge from a graduate-level rural planning and community development course. The student consultants’ planning and communications strategies generated engagement, investment and innovation in communities across southwestern Ontario.

Knowledge Translated and Transferred (KTT)

The students focused on applying their knowledge from the graduate level rural planning and community development course. Although the original project strategy was to focus on online engagement and communication, the student consultations and projects shifted to reflect diverse community development and planning needs. In particular, the collaborative efforts of the student consulting teams and the community project teams identified and documented local, district-specific ways to promote and meet the social and economic needs of rural communities.

Lead photo: Located in Huron County, Vanastra (pop. 650) was one of the 12 project sites matched with student consultants.

Path to impact

How KTT can change communities

Issue request for proposals (RFP) to find projects. The project issued three RFPs in municipalities across Ontario, asking whether community projects needed consultation around social media and communications.
Match project to student capacity. Students chose the successful RFP from submissions based on their own learning goals and interests.
Supervise via experienced consultants. Three faculty members with experience in rural community development and consulting and a PhD student in rural studies supported project selection and management.
Create useful reports. Each project included in-person meetings, which led to a specific community engagement and rural planning (capacity enhancing) strategy “final report” for each municipal project.
Work together. Community liaisons from the municipalities volunteered for each project. When the liaison was able to engage in regular communication and provide ongoing input, projects were more successful.
Adjust with feedback and troubleshooting. Student evaluations and reflections helped faculty supervisors guide and course-correct the projects and work through challenges and opportunities that emerged.

Example project: Putting Vanastra on the map

Located in Huron County, Vanastra (pop. 650) was one of the 12 project sites matched with student consultants. The graduate student consultant team worked with local business owners and other community members and developed a plan to communicate the benefits of living and working in Vanastra.

The resulting report, Putting Vanastra on the Map, is credited with “galvanizing the community” and triggered a positive cascade of attention and investment, including more than $2M of infrastructure funding.

“We had this group of young people coming into our community, fresh eyes. Hands-down, it was really the catalyst for the change that we’ve seen today, because the report was so comprehensive. It kept coming up that it was the report putting Vanastra on the map, and it did. It put Vanastra on the map.”
- Jan Hawley, Business Development Office, Huron East

Positive impacts

Social and economic impacts from small-scale consultation projects

The projects had a substantial impact on participating communities. The student consultants’ communication and strategy products, tailored to the needs of local municipalities, created social and economic impact. Project partners reported that fresh perspectives helped them solve real-world municipal challenges, and enabled projects that would not have otherwise been possible. The final reports were also useful KTT products that were leveraged for further funding and planning.

[We] really didn’t know how to tackle the issues, the challenges, of Vanastra, because it was so unique… [now] we have a game plan and we have a focus, [an] objective. Your program allowed me to take those objectives and formulate an even more comprehensive plan.
- Jan Hawley, Business Development Office, Huron East

Students gained real-world experience and skills

Students gained real-world consultation and KTT practitioner skills in a supported and collaborative environment. They gained a sense of responsibility from being entrusted to complete the process planning and implementation

Highlighting best practices in KTT for agri-food and rural research

Best Practice 1: Realistic expectations for time and scheduling are key

This set of projects worked because of attention to schedules of both people and projects. Aligning student and municipal volunteer schedules required careful planning. Additionally, student strategies needed to be vetted for realistic timelines (e.g., expected social media growth over a semester).

Best Practice 2: Adapt to stakeholder needs and preferences

An original goal of the project was to share social media skills. During consultation with local municipalities, it became clear that more substantial communication products and strategies were needed more urgently than social media support. As a result, the class decided to refocus their efforts on projects that were more closely aligned with stakeholders’ immediate needs and preferences (e.g., written reports and detailed communication strategies).

About this report

The Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance is committed to “getting science off the shelf” to support a thriving agri-food sector and vibrant rural communities. This series of reports highlights the impact of research funded through the Alliance and illustrates best practices knowledge translation and transfer (KTT). Many thanks to Prof. Wayne Caldwell (University of Guelph) and Jan Hawley (Huron East Business Development Office) for participating in interviews about the impacts of this project.

The Application of Innovative Web-Based Engagement for Community Projects Principal investigator: Prof. Wayne Caldwell (University of Guelph)

2012-2013 Keywords: rural development, capacity building, engaged learning, highly qualified personnel

Selected project team and partners: 45 graduate students from the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development and municipal representatives from Bruce County, Elgin County, Huron County, Perth County, Halton Region, Brussels, Huron East, North Huron, Grey Highlands, Township of Elizabethtown-Kitley and the City of Guelph.

KTT Funding Program 299566

This research was supported by the KTT program, which received funding from Growing Forward 2, a federal, provincial and territorial initiative, and from the Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance (previously the OMAFRA-U of G Partnership)