Once upon a time, when I was a know-it-all university student rolling my eyes at my father’s insistence computers were a fad, my grandfather delivered a shock to my smug world view. He phoned me...
Community and Regional Development: Plan Alone, Die Alone
When English poet John Donne wrote No Man is an Island in the 17th Century, he probably wasn’t thinking about rural North America in the 21st. And it’s safe to say he didn’t have community...
Small Town Economic Development and Leadership
Leadership vs. Public Opinion: A democratic dilemma “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others.” – Winston Churchill Given the choice we will always choose democracy. No...
Community Economic Development Consulting: What We Do, Why We Do It, And How We Can Help You
Community Economic Development Consulting: What is it and why do we do it? On May 9, the Empire-Advance newspaper in Manitoba published a story about me and 13 Ways Inc. under the headline,...
Community in the Metaverse – What It Is and Why You Should Care
Community: What will it look like in the Metaverse? In October of 2021, a NASA flight surgeon was beamed aboard the International Space Station as a hologram. Dr. Josef Schmid had his feet planted...
The Politics of Civic Engagement
The Politics of Civic Engagement: A Concept Pushed Too Far? Or a Critical Tool for Your Community’s Success? Civic engagement: what is it? When asked for his secret to a successful political career...
Community Organizing: Examples of Effective Change-Driven Collaboration
Like many things in life, the act of driving change and improvement in our communities is most effectively achieved through collaboration. By bringing together people with a common interest, goal or...
Building A Community & A Culture of Innovation – Innisfil, ON
A Success In Progress Story - The Town of Innisfil is Reimagining Rural Living and Building A Community from Scratch! To imagine the city of tomorrow look no further than the ambitious community of...
Four Trends in Small Town Economic Development
Trends in Small town economic development strategies Two Trends to Try, and Two to Leave Behind Two Small Town Economic Development Trends to Try: Small town economic development strategy is about...
Community Development Strategies: The Future vs. The Obsolete
Community development strategies were on my mind the other night when I decided to sit down for an evening to watch a movie. If you watch a movie, on what do you watch it? Do you go on your Netflix...