Rural Economic Development (RED)
Fundamentals of Rural Economic Development (RED)
Practical Strategies for Building Stronger Rural Communities
Rural communities face unique opportunities and challenges that require a different approach to economic development. Limited capacity, volunteer-driven initiatives, geographic distance, workforce pressures, and changing demographics mean that strategies successful in urban centres do not always translate to rural settings.
Fundamentals of Rural Economic Development (RED) is designed for economic development practitioners, municipal leaders, volunteers, and community champions working in rural, small-town, county, and regional contexts. Building on the foundations introduced in ETF, this course explores how economic development tools, strategies, and planning processes can be adapted to fit rural realities. Participants will learn how to assess community strengths and needs, build on local assets, work within capacity constraints, and turn ideas into action through practical, collaborative approaches.
The course introduces Strategic Doing as a practical framework for moving from analysis to implementation, while helping participants identify realistic priorities, secure resources, build partnerships, support local businesses, and strengthen community resilience. Topics include business retention and succession, agri-food development, tourism, broadband, housing, workforce attraction, immigration, renewable energy opportunities, funding strategies, and regional collaboration.
Whether your goal is to strengthen existing businesses, attract new investment, address workforce challenges, or build long-term community resilience, this course provides practical tools and strategies tailored to the realities of rural economic development.
This is an optional course within the Community Economic Development Certificate Program.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Explain how rural economic development differs from urban practice and why those differences matter for strategy and delivery.
- Identify key challenges and emerging opportunities facing rural communities, including demographic shifts, broadband gaps, climate disruption, and energy transition.
- Apply community analysis tools, including needs assessment, asset mapping, gap analysis, and SWOT, through a rural lens.
- Assess organizational, leadership, volunteer, and regional collaboration capacity as a basis for realistic rural strategy selection.
- Explain the Logic Model at rural scale and use it to connect limited resources to clear outcomes.
- Facilitate a basic Strategic Doing process using its four questions and core skills to move from ideas to action in small-community contexts.
- Select rural economic development strategies that fit local conditions, including BR&E, succession, agri-food, tourism, broadband, workforce, entrepreneurship, and downtown revitalization.
- Describe the economic development role in rural housing, health access, and immigration as workforce and quality-of-life issues.
- Identify appropriate funding sources, partners, and community-based financing options for rural initiatives.
- Explain how rural economic development delivery models and governance structures can support practitioners with limited capacity.
- Apply practical performance measurement principles at rural scale using the SOME Framework and a small, consistent set of indicators.
- Describe how to integrate a steady-state resilience lens into rural economic development, building on the Community Economic Resilience course.
Delivery Option & Cost
Individual
Online, self-directed learning. Available 24-7.
$195 Members $295 Non-Members
Group
Hybrid- Online:
Self-directed, augmented with live instructor sessions
$325 Members $435 Non-Members
In person:
Group session in your community. One day instructor-led online workshop.
$2950 Members $3450 Non-Members