“Beyond Economic Survival – 97 Ways Small Communities Can Thrive – A Guide to Community Vitality” Released

More Needed to Survive in a Post-Recession Economy - Economist

ALSO ATTACHED – MINI COMMUNITY VITALITY INDEX – How Does Your Community Rate?

Nelson, BC - Does your community believe in itself? Do women consider it safe to walk alone downtown at night? Do young adults 25-34 consider your community a desirable place to live?

“If you’re not asking yourself these things you are not likely to have a viable community in the long run” says economist Mike Stolte, co-author of a just-published free guide to community vitality.

“Beyond Economic Survival – 97 Ways Small Communities Can Thrive – A Guide to Community Vitality” was released on the web this week by the Centre for Innovative & Entrepreneurial Leadership (CIEL – pronounced ‘see – elle’ meaning sky in French – www.theCIEL.com), a Nelson, BC-based organization that has worked with communities in Canada, the US, Australia & New Zealand.

The guide comes about after four years of development. “We looked at more than 60 studies from around the world, had a blue ribbon national advisory committee, and have now worked closely with 50 communities in four countries to produce this guide,” says Bill Metcalfe, the report’s other co-author.

Stolte, CIEL’s Executive Director, says that most of the 97 indicators rely on perceptions - things like newcomers being welcome in the community or the community having a festival that generates a feeling of magic and excitement. “These important perceptions are often ignored in communities because they are hard to measure,” states Stolte.

The CIEL team devised a method of measuring the perceptions on a 100 point scale allowing for an important comparison to other communities (a reference group) in developing the Community Vitality Initiative (CVI) for small communities in Quebec. “Like humans, communities need to know where they stand relative to others on important matters. We might think we’re doing poorly but compared to others, we’re not doing so badly.”

CIEL has combined the CVI indicators with statistics to take the temperature (the general health of the community) in communities across Canada, including Huntsville, Ontario (site of next year’s G8 Summit) to give the communities a starting point for getting the community focused and kick-started for taking strategic action, something Stolte argues is more important than ever in an economic downturn.

“Armed with information and freed by technology, people choose their communities much more carefully than ever before. Therefore, communities must be savvy in the retention and attraction of people. In fact, if communities don’t inspire their citizens they run the risk of becoming failed communities.”

The free Guide to Community Vitality offers communities a checklist of 97 important indicators, explains why they’re important and cites the indicator research origins. The guide is available for download at www.theCIEL.com

The Centre for Innovative and Entrepreneurial Leadership (CIEL – www.theCIEL.com) strengthens communities by helping them become more entrepreneurial, vital and sustainable. In addition to developing a community leadership program for small communities for the Government of Canada, CIEL also has worked with communities using the Business Vitality Initiative (business friendliness), the Community Vitality Initiative (vitality), Community Check-up, the Communities Matrix (readiness), and the Green Light Check-Up (sustainability), all tools and processes to assess and strengthen communities. CIEL also provides technical assistance, training and custom solutions for communities.

Mini-Bio of Co-Authors

• Mike Stolte, in addition to being the founder and Executive Director of CIEL, is also the Chair of the Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation (CRRF) and writes as the Happy Economist (http://happy-economist.blogspot.com/). Mike’s work has been featured on CBC Radio, Canadian Living and the Australian Broadcasting Company.

• Bill Metcalfe is Bill Metcalfe is a writer and researcher for CIEL. In addition, he works as a broadcaster and freelance writer. Bill co-manages Kootenay Co-op Radio in Nelson, BC. He also produces occasional pieces for CBC radio about the arts in Nelson, and writes freelance articles. He is a published fiction writer.

For more information contact:

• Mike Stolte 250-352-9192 x 222 w, 250-354-3737 Cell
• Bill Metcalfe 250-352-9192 x 224 w

How Does Your Community Rate?

Take the MINI COMMUNITY VITALITY INDEX

To see how your community rates, ask yourself these questions:

• you can strongly agree (score 4), mildly agree (3), neither agree nor disagree (2), mildly disagree (1), or strongly disagree (score 0) – add your score to see how you’re doing

A score of 60 or better – you’ve got a super community

A score of 51-60 – you’ve got some vitality and have much potential

A score of 41-50 – lots of work needed

A score 40 or below – you’re in jeopardy of losing chunks of your population.

1. Local middle-income earners can afford to buy a house in the community.
2. Women consider it safe to walk alone downtown at night.
3. For newcomers to the community and those who wish to, there are meaningful opportunities to get involved and make a difference in the community.
4. This town believes in itself. We think that with enough support, we can do anything.
5. This community cooperates with its neighbouring communities.
6. There is a good balance between new ideas and a respect for tradition and history.
7. On divisive community issues, there is civilized debate, a good flow of information, and inclusive, respectful consultation.
8. The community considers environmental sustainability in its community planning.
9. We celebrate the arts and support local artists.
10. We have at least one public festival that generates a feeling of magic and excitement.
11. We have identified something positive that is unique to this community, and we promote it well.
12. Most people know the individuals in at least three neighbouring households by name.
13. Newcomers are welcome in the community.
14. Young adults age 25-34 consider the community to be a desirable place to live.
15. This community has an optimistic spirit.
16. Businesses in the community/region market their products and services as a group.
17. The community has a distinctive or unique brand or marketing image.
18. People prefer to purchase local products & services before those from out of the area.
19. There are friendly public spaces where a variety of kinds of people feel welcome: parks, squares, fountains, outdoor cafes, benches, playgrounds.
20. There is a vibrant town centre or community core.

If you want more, please go to CIEL’s web-site (www.theCIEL.com) to download the full guide with all 97 indicators.

The Incredible Case of Plessisville, PQ - Nurture the Youth and...

The higest rate of Millinneum Scholarships in Canada, no youth vandalism, 90% youth voter turnout - Read about a Quebec community that listened & empowered their youth

From The Nova Scotian

By Silver Donald Cameron

DARRELL DEXTER wants to keep young people here by creating a province where they can make a living, and where they will also want to live. Me, too. So I’d like to take him to Plessisville, Que.

Plessisville, pop. 9,000, is the home of La Samare, the remarkable little rural high school that has won more Millennium Excellence scholarships than any other public high school in Canada. It’s surrounded by smaller communities which provide about half the students of La Samare. And those small communities have given rise to a remarkable organization designed to "foster independence, initiative and a sense of responsibility among young people of 12-18 years."

Read the rest of the article in The Nova Scotian

Using Technology for Grassroots Movements - Final Event Draws Almost 50

The final CIEL 100 Mile Diet Speaker Series event was held at Oso Negro in Nelson, BC last night.

Four panelists - Michelle Laurie. Tom Clegg. Bill Metcalfe & Delyse Sylvester - stimulated rich conversation on Technology & Social Movements.

The crowd of 50 broke into groups of 5 using an Open Space format to discuss the questions:

• Are on-line technologies increasing or decreasing hierarchies in society?
• How can we improve the pace at which social groups and movements embrace social technologies?

Please check the CIEL web-site in the coming months for podcasts of the presentations and the discussion from this and the other four events.

Recommended: Don Tapscott's TV Ontario podcast on Growing Up Digital: How the Net is Changing Everything. Tapscott argues that young people today are in a more powerful position than ever before because of their tech savviness. The older generation would be wise to set up reverse mentoring netowrks and embrace the expertise of the younger set's technological fluency.

Community Success Stories- we want to hear them!

In order to inspire communities to move forward and have fun with it, we often describe actions that other communities have taken. We want to expand our knowledge base of success stories, and you can help us! If you have an inspiring story of innovative, entrepreneurial steps your community has taken, please send them to: info@theciel.com

Media Frenzy at CIEL

Now we know how Brad & Angelina feel. Several aspiring radio personalties from Kootenay Co-op Summer Youth Radio Camp stopped by CIEL`s Nelson, BC office to ask Mike Stolte a few questions today.

`What do you do?` had to do be the toughest question Mike said later. `Try explaining helping communities or getting communities going (from constipated) to some curious, young minds.`

Mike was also asked some other toughies:

• What`s your favourite food? chocolate (no surprise here)
• What`s your favourite animal? dogs
• What`s your favourite colour? blue - no green - no purple (Mike couldn`t decide)
• Where are you going this summer? Ontario & Alberta
• What else are you doing this summer? biking, mountain biking, kayaking, making 2 films with my kids for the film festival

CIEL`s Anna Planedin, former radio camp co-ordinator, reported the kids were impressed with Mike`s answers (whew!).

CIEL CVI community to host next G8 Summit

Community Vitality Initiative (CVI) community to host G8 Summit - Huntsville, Ontario will host the G8 Summit next June. Huntsville participated in the CVI last year, helping it with its community planning process.

For more on the CVI

Click to download the Huntsville CVI report (in pdf):

Phase I - Assessment

Phase I - Summary

CIEL Announces Winners of Youth Artwork Competition

NELSON- This spring, the Centre for Innovative and Entrepreneurial Leadership (CIEL) hosted a community vitality artwork competition for youth ages 8-15. The competition was part of the 100 Mile Ideas Diet series of conversation cafés taking place at Oso Negro.

“The artwork competition is part of getting the community thinking and talking about what makes it thrive,” said Mike Stolte, Executive Director of CIEL. “Through art and artwork, we were able to engage with youth in the broader community.”

In order to de-mystify the concept of community vitality, CIEL Communications Coordinator Anna Planedin visited several schools in District 8 and gave interactive presentations on the topic. After questioning youth about what they thought the words “vital,” “community,” and “thrive” mean to them, she shared the nine indicators of community vitality that CIEL considers in its community-led development work.

“When I asked youth what they thought the nine indicators were, they listed almost all of them. It was a delight to see that Nelson and area youth are highly knowledgeable about the concept of community vitality,” said Planedin.

There were a number of significant prizes to be won, thanks to community sponsors Otter Books, the Columbia Basin Trust, and the Nelson and District Credit Union. In two age categories, first place was $100 in cash and a $50 gift certificate to Otter Books, second place was $75 and third place was $50. The six youth who received a prize are Yu Jeong Kang, Daisy Morrison, Alecia Maslechko, Amanda Eady, Reece Boulanger, and Seth Clark. All of the artwork was displayed at Touchstones last month and will continue to be displayed at CIEL until the end of the summer.

Most of the designs either featured a beautiful landscape or some sort of art/cultural depiction. Six of the submissions contained the orange bridge. Everyone who is interested in viewing the prize-winning artwork can stop by CIEL’s office on 604 B Ward Street during business hours. To learn more about the last 100 Mile Ideas Diet conversation café on technological advances in grassroots social movements, contact Anna Planedin at (250) 352-9192 ext. 221

Arts & Culture Needed For Communities to Thrive

Part of CIEL's Mike Stolte & Anna Planedin's address to the Nelson & District Arts Council (NDAC) Annual General Meeting July 8, 2009.

In a vital community there are galleries, concerts, and celebrations. There are people working in cultural and creative occupations.

It is becoming widely recognized that a rich cultural life attracts talented, educated new residents with young families. A diverse arts scene is part of the quality of life they are seeking for themselves and their children. Festivals and cultural events are linked to a greater sense of community.

How well does your community do in these key areas? The following are some of the key indicators CIEL's research revealed are important in thriving communities.

• We celebrate the arts and support local artists.
• The community has adequate displays of public art: sculptures, murals, etc.
• There are numerous opportunities to see local live theatre, and live music in a variety of genres: (classical, folk, hip-hop, choral, jazz, etc.)
• There is a pleasant and inviting venue for theatre and other special events that is open to people of all ages.
• There are numerous opportunities, in and out of school, for children to learn the arts (dance classes, etc.)
• There are adequate opportunities and venues for local artists and craftspeople to display and sell their work.
• We have at least one public festival that generates a feeling of magic and excitement.
• We are aware of and celebrate local history.
• The library is valued by the community.
• The community has a distinct culture and heritage that is appreciated by the community.
• The community has a distinct culture and heritage that is appreciated by visitors to the community.

Contact CIEL for more info on these & other of the Community Vitality Initiative [CVI] indicators. The 95 CVI indicators were developed by CIEL over two years utilizing an extensive literature review, team experience in the field and guidance from a national steering committee.

Photo: CIEL's Communication Co-ordinator Anna Planedin

Can Small Towns be Cool?

Monday, July 6, 2009 - originally published in Dorchester Times

Can Small Towns Be Cool?

A recent posting on Small Biz Survival -- a blog dedicated to small and rural business interests -- reports on a presentation by Dave Ivan of Michigan State University Extension to the Michigan Small Town and Rural Development Conference. The question Ivan asked was "Can Small Towns Be Cool?" His answer: "You betcha!"

According to the article, Ivan showered attendees with ideas and examples gathered from community visits to more than 250 communities. The main point of his presentation (which can be viewed by clicking here) is that small towns can be cool if they are willing to follow some common success themes.

1. Strong Engagement Between Citizens, Community Organizations And Local Government. For example, in St. Joseph, Mich., approx. 8000 pop, city leaders holdneighborhood town hall gatherings in backyards all across town. They also produce a unified community calendar and hand-deliver it to residents. Coopersville, Mich., uses their town entry sign to salute a different nonprofit, business person, and teacher each quarter.

2. Local Entrepreneurial Investment. Ivan said this is often initiated by a local entrepreneurand then served as a tipping point to get others to invest. In New Carlisle, Indiana, Bill Owens expanded a floral shop into gifts, a furniture store, and transformed the community into a regional destination. This can also be a community initiative, such as economic gardening to grow entrepreneurs, where you may have village staff used to make things work for business. In Ord, Neb., they developed a wealth transfer plan to strategically fund their community economic development initiatives. By asking people to give 5% of their estate back to the community, they now have $8.5 million in hand or in pledges.

3. Willingness To Change. This may be the hardest part for many towns.These newopportunities may require changes in all sorts of local laws, including zoning. Suttons

4. Actively Pursues Cultural Elements To Economic Development. The most common cultural elements include the arts. In Three Oaks, Mich., the creatives are working to integrate with the existing parades and local celebrations. So it can work.

5. Cultural Efforts Reach Out To Community Youth. New York Mills, Minn., established a cultural center that capitalizes on the natural amenities.

6. A Deliberate Effort To Engage Youth. There is a continuum of efforts to involve youth. You can do things to youth, or do for youth, or do with youth, Ivan said. It can be tough to get a town moved along the continuum. One idea was to provide disposable cameras to young leaders. Ask them to take pictures of what they like and dislike about the town, and have them present it at a future meeting. Can you imagine the impact this could have?

7. Retaining Youth And Attracting Families. Create economic choices that are appealing to youth. Ord, Neb., for example, has a youth entrepreneurship program starting in grade schools. Brookfield gave kids a mailbox with their name on it. "Brookfield is always going to be your home town. Go out, explore, learn, but come home."

8. Conviction That, In The Long Run, You Must Do It Yourself. Cool small towns are not waiting for an outside savior. Argonia, Kan., lost their grocery store. But they built a community convenience and grocery store. They are now doing spec houses to sell at cost to new families. And if you enroll kids in the school, Argonia will even cover your closing costs. The mayor of St. Joseph, Ill., said, "We're always looking for projects we can't afford." That's a great development attitude!

According to the story, Grant Griffiths of Kansas asked about implementation. "Ideas are great and we have to have them. But how do we get them implemented in our rural towns?" Ivan's short answer on implementation was strong leadership. And don't let the CAVE people (Citizens Against Virtually Everything) define the community."

The best advice for all small towns wanting to be "cool" maybe a quote from President Theodore Roosevelt: "Do what you can with what you have and where you are." (We especially liked the "20 Ideas for Small Town Businesses" also presented by the Small Biz Survival blog.)

Posted by Village Dweller at 2:55 PM

CIEL's Recent BVI Work Featured on Government of Alberta Web-site

CIEL's work with four Alberta towns was recently featured on the Government of Alberta Agriculture & Rural Development's (ARD) web-site.

CIEL worked with Vulcan, Hinton, Castor and Peace River on piloting the Business Vitality Initiative (BVI) in Alberta. The evaluations revealed that 100% of participants involved in the community session would recommend the process to other communities.

CIEL is hoping to extend its partnership with ARD to include the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA) and the Community Futures Network of Alberta (CFNA).

For more information on the pilots and the successful outcomes contact CIEL at info@theCIEL.com.

Photo: Mike Stolte, CIEL's Executive Director poses with some of Vulcan's more famous residents at the Vulcan Trek Centre

Can Small Towns be Cool?

Can Small Towns be Cool? Yep - check it out (Dorchester Times)

Undoubtedly, we've come across more than a few. This article suggests towns have to do more to keep their talent, especially their young talent. Sounds like it's time to look at the espresso bar/laundromat/day care!

Will Nelson Become a Hollow Boutique Community?

Made in the Kootenays Housing Crisis Requires Home-made Solutions

Now that I have my house in the Kootenays should I care about housing for others? If prices are too high here, won’t the current financial crisis straighten things out, like it’s doing to formerly overheated housing markets south of the border? If there aren’t enough rentals, won’t the market respond and build some?

These are all questions that emerged at the “100 Mile Ideas Diet” conversation café on innovative affordable housing solutions that CIEL (www.theCIEL.com) organized at Oso Negro (www.osenegrocoffee.com) last week (this was the 4th of 5 forums on issues related to community vitality). Housing is such a broad and relevant topic (we all need housing) that the café was only able to scrape the surface of the issue, in the process tapping into some passionate beliefs and values when it comes to housing and possible solutions.

“The market has failed, and failed colossally here”, began housing consultant Derek Murphy. In the last great market failure, governments stepped in. Murphy gave the caffeinated crowd of 75-80 some history and context. A housing shortage caused by the swooning ranks of boomers in the ‘70s led provincial and federal governments of the day to become proactive, not only providing units (through non-profits and cooperatives) and incentives for housing developments, but also offering generous subsidies to low and even middle income earners to buy homes (up to $10k). This time around that same supply crisis we experience here in Nelson is more of a regional issue. It’s confined mainly to the west and differs from community to community. Therefore, we shouldn’t expect it to be addressed by deficit-laden Ottawa or Victoria any time soon said Murphy.

What does that mean for us? With rentals in short supply (and disappearing yearly), developers only building higher-end units (and all that’s moving much more slowly – if at all- in a slow economy), prices still hovering in the $300 k range (unaffordable for most first-time buyers), and the issue being complex (spans geographical and political boundaries – Salmo, Castlegar, the Valley, Nelson are interconnected), are there any signs of hope?

To make matters worse, many of us who bought when things were cheaper (like me), are often oblivious of the issue. Or they believe we should raise the drawbridge and not let anyone else in. But if young families, and many of those who helped to build the vitality that we appreciate in Nelson (seniors, artisans, people who work in lower paid sectors that fuel much of our service-based economy) can’t afford to make this place home, we become a hollow boutique community. “The word is out,” said panellist Stacey Lock, community outreach worker, “Don’t move to Nelson unless you have accommodation.”

Some of the innovative solutions suggested were interesting: allow innovative non-profits to flourish (like years ago), provide land trusts (public owns the land, therefore units are more affordable) like they do in Europe (CBT was suggested as the catalyst), offer shared accommodation (in Philadelphia, trusts operate larger renovated houses accommodating 7-8 people), provide housing where a full range of services can be provided to the homeless (like Portland Hotel in Vancouver – panellist Michelle Mungall pointed out that it costs 33% less to house those in need than provide for medical, health, and justice services to the homeless. She also stated that one in five clients of emergency housing services locally are the working poor).

There were also some more affordable construction options offered; the new Castlegar seniors residence is coming in at 2/3rds of typical development costs, yurts (a fully insulated yurt for less than $20 k), supporting local builders (Mandala, Top Notch, etc.), or accepting more cheap modular (pre-fabricated) housing. Tata, the Indian manufacturer of a sub-$5,000 car, is selling out of its new basic $5,000 five hundred square foot pre-fabricated three story walk-up apartment units in the Indian housing market.

Nelson is going to have to get over its extreme Nimbyism (Not In My Backyard) if it wants to move forward on the issue concluded panellist Derek Murphy. He asked some provocative questions:

• Is Nelson willing to accept 40-60 unit multi-family dwellings (which we currently seem to oppose)?
• Are we willing to expand City boundaries to allow for more serviced land (and therefore more affordable units)?
• Are we willing to accept and push for more modularized homes (e.g. mobile homes and other pre-fabricated choices), getting over our hang-up for custom (more expensive) homes?

All food for thought and worth having a continued community conversation and respectful debate on. Closing our eyes and ignoring the issue won’t make it go away. Only good focussed leadership will help.

To follow the continuing discussion: http://ciel1.blogspot.com/

To listen to the café’s conversations, stay tuned in the coming weeks to KCR for the ‘100 Mile Ideas Diet’ and CIEL’s web-site (podcasts of the show).

Mike Stolte is the Executive Director of the Nelson-based Centre for Innovative & Entrepreneurial Leadership (CIEL – www.theCIEL.com).