From September 2010 to May 2011, Ryan Watmough, Executive Director of Golden & District Community Foundation travelled to High River, Alberta to take the SFU Certificate Program for Community Economic Development. He shares his experiences in this article.
It’s surprising how a few regular trips to small town Alberta can help with small town BC’s Community Economic Development. And it’s astounding how Community Economic Development philosophy can reshape one’s view of the world. But that’s what happened to this small town BC resident after taking Simon Fraser University’s certificate program.
The shorter trip between BC and Alberta also makes it easier for Golden residents to make a quick day trip to Calgary to do most of their grocery and big ticket shopping (saving some tax in exchange for increased fuel charges). With these purchasing leak pressures squeezing out from our community it is easy to see why the local retail community is struggling, and with it the negative effect on its associated jobs and entire tax base.
In fact, the only core industry that will benefit under this current economic state is sellers of real estate, as local land and homes are purchased at locally-unsustainable prices by non-residents. This phenomenon results in the most significant challenge this community has: housing unaffordability for full-time residents of the community. (The ratio of average house price to household income is over 5:1, when the CMHC considers 3:1 to be the threshold of affordability.) While it’s not a challenge unique to Golden, our community has yet to meaningfully address it. Long-time residents say they don’t want to end up like Canmore, AB, yet the Town of Golden is already the 2nd largest resort municipality in BC. Ultimately, we need to know what our community economy bucket looks like; how do we control the inflows and plug the leaks?
Over the two semesters, the feasibility of some incubating concepts and projects were hashed out, including a local builders & developers association (BDA); co-operative succession planning for heli-cat skiing operations; the adaptation of the National Park’s ‘requirement to reside’ in community-developed affordable housing; an assessment of our community’s sustainable food system status; and community organizing techniques that can help these types of grass roots initiatives off the ground and into the community’s priorities.
Personally, CED is the framework for helping community initiatives, created by local residents, for local residents, to be successful on a triple bottom line of financial, social and environment targets. CED is the missing piece helping non-profits, businesses and local government relate to each other and produce something that is greater than the sum of the parts. It is not focused on growth. It is focused on improving the community’s quality of living and long term prosperity.
Read the complete article here.
Apply Now! $1,000 Bursaries Available
The bursaries are for people who are working or volunteering in non-profits, social enterprises or co-operatives. Folks who are starting their own non-profit ventures "social entrepreneurs" are welcome to apply. People from Aboriginal or Immigrant communities are strongly encouraged to apply.
The program teaches enterprise and community development skills, in the context of sustainable economic development. For example, in a rural setting, municipal governments might partner with a credit union to start a community-owned forestry company. In an urban setting, a non-profit agency might start a catering business to provide dignified work environments for people who experience challenges in traditional work settings. Our participants come from a variety of settings - from Northern economic development officers and rural farmers markets to inner city social enterprises and neighbourhood organizers.
It's FUN! The program is for people who want to change the world in the most pragmatic way possible.
Click here to download the bursary application.
Click here to find out more about the program.
Thank you to our bursary program funders!
