Case Study - Reimagining Rural Communities Using ABCD

Wendy McCaig
Wendy McCaig
@wendy-mccaig
3 years ago
24 posts

The top result from our interest survey to the question, "Which of the following best describes what you would find most helpful in your context" was "Case Studies from a rural context that include both story and specific tools/strategies." To start dive into a deeper understanding of this result, we did a poll and 100% stated what they were most interested in learning from case studies was "tools and strategies."  To get us rolling on this, Heather shared a rural case study that Tamarack helped to document and we committed as a group to read this case study and to share questions or comments about the case study in the comment section to this thread. 

You will find the case study here: https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/library/case-study-reimagining-rural-communities-using-abcd

We will use the questions and comments posed below to help shape our time together next month.  Please take a few minutes to comment or share a question that will help us mine the wisdom of this story or share how this story connects with your own ABCD experience. 


updated by @wendy-mccaig: 07/26/21 10:20:53AM
Wendy McCaig
Wendy McCaig
@wendy-mccaig
3 years ago
24 posts

I want to start by thanking Laverne and Heather for thier willingness to use this case study as our launching place for our Community of Practice.  As I read the case study, what I appreciated most was the specifics about the process.  It was laid out in a very concise and logical fashion.  The lingering question I have is about the community leaders.  What non-paid professionals used thier gifts to help advance the communities goals?  I see this is touched on in the lessons learned and conclusion, but I wonder if there is a story of a resident leader who emerged from this process that shows how their individual gifts were leveraged toward the communities goals?  I know like all our development efforts this is an unfolding one but the grassroots organizer in me would love to know how ordinary neighbors used thier gifts and grew as leaders. For me community leaders and their stories are the best way we have of demonstrating the ownership principle. 

Emiliano Espinosa
Emiliano Espinosa
@emiliano-espinosa
3 years ago
2 posts

The case study on reimagining rural communities left me inspired. The problem of having less population census after census can be a big challenge for many small rural communities in the US and the world. Most of the times, a decrease in population is a result of a lack of  jobs and opportunities in the community. On top of that, if the community is not united, strong and supporting one another other, the feeling of decay can feel stronger. It reminds me of how Dale Williams tackles this same issue in a small town in New Zealand were most youngsters leave because there is no opportunity https://youtu.be/ib-raWy_TXI

I was impressed by the simplicity in which the project in the East Shore of Canada was conducted. Grant money allowed a GIS intern to be hired, that intern started the asset mapping process, the events/meetings brought community together and helped to build trust and stronger bonds between community members. The website shows the final product of this efforts. My question is, how has the team managed to keep the website and the project moving forward? Or is the content of the website the same as when the project got developed?

Good take aways were:

"The project uncovered a cultural character of the communities that suggested they have a resistance to technology, with a preference for personal contact. However, newer residents and younger people tended to rely more on technology."

- Creating a digital hub to bring people together.

- "There needs be a plan on what to do with the assets and data. There were attempts to work with existing websites and regional mapping initiatives, but ultimately a new website had to be created. The absence of a plan meant more work as data was incomplete, and had to be sanitized and reworked for the website. Know what the outcome will look like and where it will be housed, to avoid having to re-do or add significantly to the data."

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