How can social innovation lead to increased educational engagement, lower school dropout rates and prevent future youth homelessness and inter-generational vulnerability? Australia's Geelong Project, may have the solution.

Choices for Youth and The Harris Centre, in partnership with A Way Home Canada and the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness, invite you to attend an evening of knowledge-sharing featuring Dr. David MacKenzie of Australia's Geelong Project and a panel discussion on how the model can be applied in a local context to meet the needs of at-risk children and youth in Newfoundland and Labrador. 

Rural communities across Canada are searching for innovative ways to sustain their livelihoods, ecosystems, and heritage. A research team from Memorial University, studying social enterprise on Fogo Island, has derived lessons that may apply broadly to other communities. 

Join the Harris Centre for a special Memorial Presents public forum with researchers Natalie Slawinski and Blair Winsor, as well as Shorefast's Diane Hodgins to discuss how these learnings may inform rural community champions and innovators elsewhere.

Extended travel to and within work is a key part of the lives of a growing number of Canadians. The consequences of this travel for life at home, on the road, at work and in the wider community are substantial and largely invisible. Join the Harris Centre and the On the Move team of researchers and community partners to learn more about these consequences and discuss their implications for policy, communities and industry.

The shifting of populations from rural to urban is not a new phenomenon, nor is it unique to Newfoundland and Labrador, and more specifically, the outmigration of youth from rural areas has been a trend for decades. Join the Harris Centre for a discussion with Ray Bollman, rural development researcher, about rural outmigration and an in-depth look at the trends over the past decade and the implications for rural communities. 

In many small-island regions hit hard by demographic change and shifts in industry, tourism is seen as a potential saving grace. What are the actual economic impacts of these tourism industries? How do they affect life in their immediate communities and regions? What can different jurisdictions learn from each other?

Join us as we explore these questions, with help from a group of interesting panelists including Mark Stoddard (Memorial University) , Jane Severs (Association of Heritage Industries NL), and Jerry Byrne (local tourism operator).

The panel discussion will include a Q&A with the audience, including visiting guests representing the UK, Japan, Spain, and France as part of the RETI Symposium .

Come provide your input on Memorial University research projects happening on the Southwest Coast. This is the second workshop in the Thriving Regions Partnership Process for the Southwest Coast, following up from the first workshop held on October 18 (report found here ). Specific research projects will be selected in the coming weeks and announced on the Harris Centre website prior to the session.

Everyone is welcome and registration is free.

The Harris Centre is accepting Expressions of Interest for our exciting Southwest Coast Thriving Regions Applied Research Fund. Open to all Memorial University faculty, staff and students, funding will support research that impacts the sustainability of the Southwest Coast that falls within the following themes:

• Embracing the Aging Population

• Understanding Tourism Patterns

• Building Food Security

We are particularly interested in projects that incorporate these regional priorities with the overarching themes of entrepreneurship or community/regional collaboration. You can find more about these themes here.

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

In Atlantic Canada, long-distance commuting for work is a daily reality for many families, particularly those living in rural areas. Families can be separated for weeks, months, or sometimes even years, with loved ones working away and their families keeping life moving along at home. This episode of Rural Routes is based on interviews with researchers, mobile workers and their family members done at the Families, Work and Mobility Symposium on Prince Edward Island. 

Developing rural tourism is a complicated process fraught with pitfalls, but, when done right, it provides economic and social benefits to rural communities. In this episode we talk to researchers and practitioners about tourism development in Newfoundland and Labrador, Scotland, Denmark, Alberta, and BC. And, if you speak Klingon, you’re in luck- this rural tourism episode includes a trip to Vulcan! So, come with us where no episode has gone before.

The European Union’s Northern Periphery and Arctic (NPA) Programme provides funding to support collaborations across national borders to develop new projects related to innovation, entrepreneurship, energy and cultural/natural heritage. Learn about available funding opportunities for agencies, businesses, institutions and governments in NL.

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.