Community Development and Collaboration in Rural and Northern Communities

1. Community Development and Collaboration in Rural and Northern Communities Greg Halseth Marleen Morris UNBC Community Development Institute for Board Voice November 23, 2012

2. Outline • Introduction • Context • Community Development • Eras of Service Availability • The Voluntary Sector • Collaboration between Organizations • Discussion

3. 1) Introduction

4. Introduction I Issues affecting OECD rural areas: • Population aging • Resource frontier aging • Youth out-migration • Limited resource economic base • Social, political, economic change • Outdated governance structures

5. Introduction II Issues affecting OECD rural area capacity: • Small populations • Limited human and financial resources • Service closures • Skill losses • Distance/remoteness • Aging infrastructure • ‘Visibility’ in national debates • Beyond places of crisis

6. 2a) Community Development

7. Community Development Foundations • The ability of communities to identify aspirations & organize assets and resources to achieve their objectives • Increasing the skills, knowledge & abilities to access/use information & resources • Create strategies & partnerships to take advantage of changing circumstances • A long-term, sustainable vision that facilitates community well-being, quality-of-life & resilience

8. Community Development II Local economic system Local institutions Political leadership Community spirit Cultural strength Social structure And other factors beyond economics

9. Community Development Creates the Platform Create a broad community development platform as a foundation for seizing opportunities

10. In Practice: Interdependent & Mutually Supportive The Community Development Institute at UNBC www.unbc.ca/cdi

11. Community Development Take Aways A strong non-profit sector is critical to long-term community prosperity Provides services that support economic and business development Opportunity to build partnerships with business and industry that recognize the sector’s critical contribution Opportunity to build a stronger sector through collaboration

12. 2b) Rural Services: Changes/Challenges

13. Rural Services • Traditional Challenge of “Geography” • Large distances, low population densities = higher service delivery costs per capita • Rural and small town places struggle to provide services • Loss of services in rural places/small towns

14. Community Capacity • Small offices/organizations • Experience • Turnover and institutional memory • Limited technical support and resources • Often volunteer-based • Relationship demands • Difficult on time/staff • Often need financial commitment

15. Services Provision Eras • Rural isolation • Few services provided by State • Places were essentially on their own • Tremendous variation from place to place • Expansion of the State • Canadian “social safety net” • Direct and indirect government support for local services • Retrenchment • Market/urban models applied • Often unsuited to rural needs/geography • “Closure”

16. Current Processes • Public Sector Withdrawal • Loss of services in rural places/small towns • Vital to retention and recruitment of jobs and people

17. Care Service Issues I • Full integration of community development & care services • Individual / family / community • Education / mental health / social development • Wellness not medical intervention • Demographics • Services to an aging population • Services to recruit and retain the next generation workforce • Smart services • Role of technology • Get away from 19th century models of delivery / duties • Example: Port Clements

18. Care Service Issues II • Circle of support services • Circle of supports for all care professionals • Role of the voluntary sector • Increasingly key • Increasingly stressed

19. 3) The Voluntary Sector

20. Methodology • Selection of sites: • Regional representation • 4 NRE sites: • Mackenzie, BC • Tweed, ON • Wood River, SK • Springhill, NS • 29 organizations

21. Building Capacity with Voluntary Groups • Social cohesion: • Opportunities for social interaction • Residents use ‘well-worn’ pathways • Social capital: • Trust and confidence is built with local groups and leaders • Networks of support, information, and resources

22. Human Resources I • 75.9% of groups had a board of directors • 38.0% had local leaders on their boards • Local leaders bring skills, resources, and networks

23. Human Resources II • Staff: • 65.5% were strictly voluntary (no paid staff) • Challenges: lack of volunteers, volunteer burnout, and little participation by members • 34.5% were mixed voluntary and paid

24. Changes in Financial Resources

25. Partnerships I Does your organization have any partnerships - % yes ------------------------------------------- 2003 2005 ------------------------------------------- Non-local partnerships 69.0 75.9 Local partnerships 69.0 58.6 -------------------------------------------

26. Partnerships II Does your organization have any partnerships? - % yes, 2005 --------------------------------------------------- Board No Strict Mix Vol. Total Board Vol. & Paid --------------------------------------------------- Non-local partnerships 86.4 42.9 63.2 100.0 75.9 Local partnerships 68.2 28.6 47.4 80.0 58.6 ---------------------------------------------------

27. What are Partnerships used for?

28. Policy Implications I • Invest in volunteer training • Encourage and support development and training of board of directors • Support board membership diversity • Gender • Different sectors in the community

29. Policy Implications II Programs should facilitate collaboration Long-term and stable supports Partnerships development Need for ‘common sense’ funding programs and applications

30. 4) Collaboration Between Organizations

31. Benefits of Collaboration More effective use of resources Innovation through information and idea sharing Better service provision Extend reach and impact Increase influence Creates sustained change

32. Barriers to Collaboration Loss of organizational autonomy Loss of individual decision-making power Requires too much compromise Requires too much time Unequal contributions Unequal distribution of credit and glory Previous negative experience with collaboration

33. Dynamics of Collaboration What makes collaboration work? How do we get there?

34. Information and Knowledge • Need to: • Build understanding • Ground dialogue and planning in information and knowledge • Include demographic and service delivery data • Creates a common starting point • Helps to establish priorities, broker cooperation, and overcome vested interests

35. Goals and Outcomes • Need to: • Agree on what you want to achieve • Monitor progress • Establish synergistic set of outcomes: • Areas where working together will create benefit for both • Achievements that could not be realized individually

36. Governance & Staff Involvement • About relationship building • Need to create relationships at all levels of the organization: governance, senior administration, and staff • Need to create the time, space, and venues to have the necessary strategic conversations and think together

37. Collaborative Leadership • Successful collaborative leadership is different from operational or hierarchical leadership • Collegial and democratic not top-down • Needs to create common ground so people can talk and work together • Listening, “translating” meaning across organizational cultures, and building common understanding

38. Planning • Strategies and plans • Inclusive • Promote inter-organizational synergy • Promote inter-organizational teams • Must be oriented to achieve identified goals and outcomes • Implementation action plan • Supportive of collaborative activities • Create incentives

39. Dynamics of Collaboration What makes collaboration work? How do we get there?

42. Context: • - Assets and Aspirations • Objectives and Strategies • - Grounding Region in Local and Global Context

44. Structure-Links: - Groups & Organizations - Different Degrees of Formality - Interconnections & Relationships - Bring the Right People Together - Platform for Open Discussion

50. “Relationship Building Blocks”