The population crisis in NL is for the most part a rural crisis. This isn’t a new thing, or something unique to NL, but what is different here is how much of our identity (and our selling feature) is tied up in our rural identity and way of life – so if rural declines, where does that leave the province as a whole? Over the coming months the Harris Centre will take a deep dive into what issues are facing rural Newfoundland and Labrador and what possible strategies for rebuilding, reimagining and reviving rural can help us adapt to a changing future.

See the event listings below for upcoming events in the series, and stay tuned for more to come.

The survival of rural areas hinges on innovative approaches to social and economic sustainability. For many communities, social enterprise has become a source of hope and excitement in this regard, but is it the golden ticket we’ve been waiting for? What factors need to be in place for it to really work? What models of success can we look towards? What are the pitfalls and potential drawbacks of this approach? As part of the Future of Rural NL public forum series, Memorial University’s Harris Centre has teamed up with the Centre for Social Enterprise to present a series of panel discussions to take a closer look at social innovation in rural development.

See the event listings below for upcoming events in the series, and stay tuned for more to come.

We're looking ahead and setting our priority actions for 2019-20 and we'd like you to share your suggestions and ideas with us.

If you missed the St. John's session, you can watch it online and participate in the online survey.

There's still time to register for the session in Corner Brook: 

Thursday, February 28

10:00 am - 12:00 pm

Is regionalization a natural response to Newfoundland and Labrador’s demographic challenges? What exactly does regionalization mean in the context of Newfoundland and Labrador? Is it already happening? What services or programs are currently provided through regionalization, who manages them, and how? Should this province move towards greater regionalization and what challenges exist? Who are the players? How would it work? These are the questions tackled in the Harris Centre’s Population project report. Join us for a session exploring the findings of the report with author Pat Curran.

Given the complex challenges that face rural NL, what is the best approach to rural development in 2019? For some, the way forward has to be based in a new regional focus, but for others the regional model risks ignoring our attachment to specific communities, a possible key to sustainability. So what is the best approach to rural development given the complex challenges that rural NL faces? How has the thinking around regional and rural development changed over the last 20 years? How is it the same? What can we learn from strategies of the past? And what potential opportunities and new approaches are emerging to change and revitalize the conversation? In this Memorial Presents public forum Drs. Natalie Slawinski and John Schouten from the Faculty of Business Administration will present the PLACE framework for rural development rooted in social enterprise that emerged from their research team’s study of Shorefast on Fogo Island. The presentation will be followed by a panel discussion.

Increasing immigration is often touted as a key to addressing our population challenges, but the retention of newcomers is seen as a big challenge for rural areas. Yet there are many examples of individuals and families choosing to make rural Newfoundland and Labrador home. Award winning journalist Kelly Toughill, in a report commissioned by the Public Policy Forum of Canada, The People Imperative, unpacks the reasons why newcomers choose to move to, and stay in, rural areas. Join us for a presentation and discussion with Kelly on her report and the conversations she had with people who come from away, and stay.

Media industry is in trouble. For a long time now it has been shedding jobs and converging into ever larger corporate entities where profits outweigh any residual sense of responsibility to small communities for whom a local paper is often a necessity. Are there solutions? In this episode we will bring you interviews with journalists working a community owned paper in Blyth, Ontario and a co-op station in Nelson, BC as well as a conversation with two researchers from the Caribbean islands of Curaçao and Aruba studying journalism practices in small island settings.

Social enterprises are increasingly a tool in the community development toolbox. In November 2018, Drs. Natalie Slawinski and Blair Winsor from the Faculty of Business Administration at Memorial University of Newfoundland and the Harris Centre organized a workshop and a public forum on Fogo Island to present the final results of a research project on the role of social enterprises in community development. Using the excerpts from that event and the conversation in the studio with Dr. John Schouten, Canada Research Chair in Social Enterprise, and Kimberly Orren, director of Fishing for Success, this episode is your primer on the role social enterprises could play in rural development.

On February 5, Harris Centre staff met with a group of university and community stakeholders to talk about upcoming priorities and activities and gather feedback and ideas for our 2019/20 Strategic Action Plan. If you missed the session you can still participate by watching the recorded session and completing the online survey.

The Harris Centre and the Community Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador launched the 5th edition of Newfoundland and Labrador's Vital Signs report on October 10th. A new website containing all the data and articles from the report is available online and the full pdf version of the report is available to download.

Watch the Launch Presentation

Visit the Vital Signs Website

Download the PDF

Do you have an idea for a new research project? Why not enter it into Yaffle? We can help broker the opportunity with researchers and experts inside and outside of the University.

Why not take it one step further? Create your own Yaffle profile to showcase your connections and expertise.