Grappling with governance: Emerging approaches to build community economies

Economic development is evolving. Where building the economy was once largely the purview of businesses and governments, communities are increasingly taking action to build local economies that are more sustainable, equitable and inclusive. This research leveraged a community economies framework to explore the role of non-traditional, community actors in advancing local economic development.

The Community Economies Pilot project was launched by Shorefast, Community Foundations Canada and the Canadian Urban Institute in 2021 in the height of the COVID-19 pandemic with a goal of building a pan-Canadian network of communities. The project sought to explore how to strengthen community economies through four pillars: attracting and retaining capital; leveraging data; building capacity; and creating new architectures of collaboration.

This project’s research question picked up on the fourth pillar and asked: How can rural communities collaborate locally to build stronger, more resilient community-led economies? Through an empirical investigation into how one rural community, in Prince Edward County, Ontario, is developing a new governance structure to build a community-led economic development plan, the research team explored perceptions around local assets, challenges, and views on local economic development.