Themes

Futures of Rural – looking ahead to 2040 

Brandon University will host ICRPS in the summer of 2020. In a rapidly changing world, rural communities are faced with an increasing number of challenges and opportunities. Rural researchers, students and practitioners are working in a rural reality that regularly includes digital change, demographic change, agricultural change, economic change and climate change.  

In 2020, ICRPS will take the opportunity to look ahead and examine how rural research can help shape the futures of rural in Canada and other countries. While this will be the first ICRPS summer institute to focus on the ‘future’ of rural, the emphasis will still be on the core comparative research and policies that have been central to ICRPS over the past 16 years.  

Indeed, 2020 will not be a shift in content, instead it will be more of a shift of emphasis. ICRPS faculty members and students already regularly focus on, share and discuss policy recommendations, options, challenges and opportunities focused on improving rural realities in the future. At ICRPS 2020, these forward-looking elements will be put front and centre as we explore how rural research issues and policies can give us some insights into what the futures of rural may be in the year 2040.  

While some futurist content and resources will be included by the hosts and invited speakers to help guide discussions, ICRPS faculty and students will continue to focus on those topics that have been central to their research, study and understanding of comparative rural policies.  

Future Rural  

This thematic area will include discussions and reflections of what rural means and how it differs in ICRPS member countries. Rural Manitoba and rural Canada examples will help provide understanding of rural definitions, issues, challenges and opportunities along with identifying specific rural policies or government agencies focused on rural.

  

Future of Rural People 

The future of rural is anchored in its demographics. Are rural regions aging or getting younger? Growing or declining in population? Increasing in diversity? Demographic projections will provide insights into how rural will continue to evolve and change regionally, nationally and internationally. This topic area will examine how rural populations are changing through immigration, out-migration and retention and how policy has been used to address these rural demographic issues. To answer these questions, the realities of being a newcomer, a senior and a youth in rural Canada and in other rural countries will be considered. This topic will also include Indigenous people and the essential role that they play in today and tomorrow’s rural Canada.  

Future Development 

As rural communities change in demographics, as the economy continues to digitize and globalize and as climate change impacts local and international realities, how do rural communities survive and thrive? This topic will investigate innovation and economic development in rural regions. Rural broadband has become an essential infrastructure and its importance for the future of rural will be discussed as well. The growing role of Indigenomics (Indigenous Economy) will be examined with details on the extent of Indigenomics’ impact on the province of Manitoba serving as a case example.   

As rural communities change in demographics, as the economy continues to digitize and globalize and as climate change impacts local and international realities, how do rural communities survive and thrive? This topic will investigate innovation and economic development in rural regions. Rural broadband has become an essential infrastructure and its importance for the future of rural will be discussed as well. The growing role of Indigenomics (Indigenous Economy) will be examined with details on the extent of Indigenomics’ impact on the province of Manitoba serving as a case example.   

Future of Agriculture and Food 

Rural and agriculture/food production go hand in hand. ICRPS 2020 will explore what some of the opportunities and challenges are in agriculture and food production to gain better insights into where this relationship may be heading. What role is climate change playing in agricultural policy and development in Canada and in other countries? Further discussion of the rapid digitalization of agriculture will also be included to better understand what is driving digitalization, what are its impacts and where is it headed?  

Future Policy 

To understand policy better on these and other key issue for today and tomorrow’s rural, it is important to explore what policy is, how it is made, and what it is built on. A case study will be used to explore how rural policy is being taught within Canada’s universities – is Canada developing the skills and expertise for addressing all of the changes facing its rural regions, or is there an opportunity in Canadian Universities to fill a key need? The role of evidence in developing policy will also be examined as will the importance of knowledge translation and transfer to communicate research results and impacts with policy makers.