Rural Development

All about rural Alberta . . . Parkland County is working on becoming an Intelligent Community, meaning that they that will use broadband infrastructure for several key economic, educational and social development initiatives, including: innovation, digital inclusion, knowledge workforce and marketing programs. Click here to read more about Parkland's use of broadband. Click here to learn more about Intelligent Communities.

Vision for Rural Alberta
Rural Alberta has vibrant and sustainable communities where rural and urban families, individuals, organizations, businesses and governments are vital contributors to the growth, prosperity and quality of life of Albertans.

In this clip are examples of actions and tools for community economic development. The Vulcan EDO discusses the town’s experience with the Business Vitality Initiative. Hanna Learning Centre discusses its role in addressing identified economic development needs for Hanna. Technology expands opportunities for enhancing business operations. Vulcan’s Community Technology Facilitator gives an example of working with the Vulcan Waste Commission to utilize some of the unique opportunities with video surveillance and analytics.

The First Impressions Community Exchange (FICE) program has been utilized with great success by smaller communities in both Ontario and Saskatchewan as well as throughout the United States. This clip highlights the town of Westlock's experience in the FICE pilot, run through a partnership between AUMA and ARD. The exchange team share their experience, the benefits and outcomes from participating. Learn more about participating in FICE and see which other communities were involved.

Covering both formal, learning for credit and informal, lifelong learning, this clip highlights how the Vulcan Business Development Society and the Hanna Learning Centre have utilized partnerships and technology to access resources both within and beyond their regions. To read more about developing lifelong learning in communities, click here.

Questions or requests for rural information may be directed to rural@gov.ab.ca.

Programs and Funding

Rural Connections: Community Broadband Infrastructure Pilot Program - $9 million in new funding to help rural and remote communities increase access to high speed broadband.
Rural Connections: Community Broadband Infrastructure Pilot Program Approved Projects - list of grant recipients and their projects.
Rural Community Adaptation Grant Program (RCAP) - $15 million in new funding to increase the capacity of rural and remote communities to transition and adapt to new opportunities.
Rural Community Adaptation Grant Program Approved projects - list of grant recipients and their projects.
More funding sources

The purpose of the Weberville Community Forest Project (WCFP) is to design and pilot a process for the creation of a community-led Landscape-level Woodlot Management plan for the area. The project area covers 45,000 acres of land, 60% of which is privately owned. The project grew out of a smaller scale project undertaken by the Woodlot Extension Program in 2006-2007. The WCFP began in March 2008 as a two year pilot. Click here to learn more about the Weberville Community Forest.

Policy and Projects

Research and Statistics

Success Stories

Links

For more information about the content of this document, contact Patricia Macklin.
This information published to the web on April 10, 2008.
Last Reviewed/Revised on March 10, 2010.