Ourlaine Pashley, a Master of Science in Rural Planning and Development student, will defend their thesis research titled “The Becoming of an Ontario Shared Rural Vision: A New Narrative from Rural Ontarians”. A brief description of the research is listed below: 

The purpose of this research is to gather the perspective of rural Ontarians regarding their collective priorities for the future of rural Ontario. This Shared Rural Vision 2021 is like a tapestry woven with strong bold threads of sustainability, capacity development, and building. The research is supported by the pillars of place- and asset-based development principles, anchored with self-determination, communication, and socio-economic growth. 

This project used a mixed-method data collection through online surveys and offers an empirical understanding of the application of strategies for perspective measurement to manage contributions of shared vision in rural contexts. It also devises a set of complementary tools to support categorizing and analyzing the emergent correlations of information shared by rural citizens about their vision for their rural conditions through their desirable rural realities. The study opens many doors for the validation of the Shared Rural Vision from rural Ontarians. 

Members of the examination committee will include: Prof. Ryan Gibson (advisor, SEDRD), Prof. Dave Guyadeen (graduate faculty, SEDRD), Prof. Sara Epp (graduate faculty, SEDRD), and Prof. Silvia Sarapura will serve as chair. For instructions to join the defence please contact rpd@uoguelph.ca [1]