Our Research

The CDI maintains a clear focus on research and on providing access to valuable resources toward the goal of increasing knowledge and understanding and building capacity around community, regional, and economic development. Our goal is to balance both applied and basic work so as to maintain academic credibility and to be of practical relevance to communities.

The information in this section is organized by topic. Please contact us if you need help finding information or have a question about any of the research or resources included here.

  • The Long Roads between Small Towns: Barriers to building community development partnerships in rural BC

    • Community and Economic Development and Transformation

    2009

    By Laura Ryser and Greg Halseth

    Northern BC is a rural landscape whose small town communities are working to cope with economic, social, and political change.  One of the ways to increase the capacity of small places to cope with these types of change is through the development of partnerships.  In response to the Mountain Pine Beetle epidemic, the Omineca Beetle Action Coalition emerged in 2005 as one effort to get a region of small places working together.  This presentation explores barriers that might impede community development partnerships across the OBAC example region.

  • Evaluation of Northern Medical Program

    • Community Services Provision
    • Community and Economic Development and Transformation

    2007-2009

    A group of researchers at both UNBC and UBC, led by Dr. Neil Hanlon in UNBC’s Geography Program, received a research grant from the BC Medical Services Foundation to evaluate the impact of the Northern Medical Program on physician recruitment and retention in its host community. A specific focus was to be on the role of social capital and social cohesion. The CDI will design a questionnaire and use it to interview local physicians and NMP organizers. The CDI will also provide analysis of the social capital building aspects of the NMP.

  • United Way of Northern British Columbia

    • Community Services Provision
    • Community and Economic Development and Transformation

    2009

    The United Way has recently reorganized the way it delivers programming across northern BC. The United Way of Northern British Columbia now serves a region that extends from Quesnel to the Yukon border, and from the Alberta border to the Queen Charlotte Islands. The CDI at UNBC is working with the United Way of Northern British Columbia to collect and organize information that will support United Way activities in these northern communities.

    Information to be collected includes socio-demographic summaries for incorporated municipalities and surrounding rural areas, as well as local interviews to identify emerging issues and needs within communities. Collected through a consistent and rigorous methodology, the information will assist communities and regional districts to better understand the social challenges and pressures faced by their communities and work within local partnerships to address those issues. Addressing social issues will have a direct impact on the economic stability, quality of life, and sustainability of northern communities. It will also assist the United Way of Northern British Columbia with strategic planning, fund-raising campaigns, and program investments. The research will take the CDI team to more than 26 communities.

  • New Rural Economy Project - Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation

    • Community and Economic Development and Transformation

    1998-2009

    Under this initiative, 15 university researchers (across Canada) are joining with rural people and policy makers to help build capacity in rural Canada.  Their research and education projects pursue four themes relevant to rural society: communications, environment, services, and governance.  

  • Omineca Beetle Action Coalition’s Future Forest Summit

    • Community and Economic Development and Transformation

    2009

    On September 19th, 2008, a Future Forest Summit was hosted at UNBC through a partnership between UNBC’s Community Development Institute (CDI) and the Omineca Beetle Action Coalition (OBAC). Results from the Summit were to inform OBAC’s “Future Forest Products and Fibre Use Strategy”. With a focus on future forest and fibre opportunities, the central message was that communities want the future forest to support economic opportunity (for a range of small to large economic players), quality of life, and the environmental services that protect both economic and quality of life assets.  The discussion focussed on the need to create viable community futures.  This included attention to keeping resource revenues in the north to sustain social and economic development, and to renew infrastructure for moving into more diverse and viable future economies.

    Funding for this project came from Western Economic Diversification Canada’s Community Economic Development Initiative and OBAC.

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