The Rural Ontario Institute has released Rural Ontario Foresight Papers outlining key issues faced in rural regions.
The document, unveiled at a launch event in Guelph on Oct. 20, is a collection of six papers on themes that affect rural Ontario.
Some of the authors of the papers were on hand to discuss their findings at the event and engage in dialogue with stakeholders.
“We picked six topics and we found six experts to say what they thought the future held for rural Ontario,” said Norman Ragetlie, director of policy and stakeholder engagement with ROI.
“Now, we are bringing those papers out to a broader, diverse stakeholder audience and hopefully they can take some ideas that are in those papers and run with them.”
This is the first document of its kind for ROI and it plans on commissioning another collection every two years.
“We think that this thing is going to stir the pot, in a positive way,” said Rob Black, CEO and president of ROI. “It’ll provide the opportunity for folks … after today, to take it back to their own communities and chat about those issues.”
Stakeholders included representatives from provincial and local governments, non-profit organizations, economic development and private sector businesses.
“Rural Ontario is looking for solutions and this type of discussion here helps us get to those solutions,” said Ron Holman, chair of Rural Ontario Municipal Association.
The foresight papers includes:
– Growth Beyond Cities: Place-Based Development Policy in Ontario;
– The Impact of Megatrends on Rural Development in Ontario: Progress through Foresight;
– Broadband Infrastructure for the Future: Connecting Rural Ontario to the Digital Economy;
– Rural Business Succession: Innovation Opportunities to Revitalize Local Communities;
– Rural Volunteerism: How Well is the Heart of Community Doing; and
– The Visitor Economy and Rural Cultural Amenities.
The papers are available at ruralontarioinstitute.ca/foresightpapers.
