Rural Communities in the Creative Economy - A Monieson Centre Seminar Series

The Monieson Centre presents a public lecture series exploring how rural businesses and communities can thrive in the new creative economy.  Find out more...

The Knowledge Impact in Society (KIS) Project PDF Print E-mail
Many of Canada's rural communities are in economic, demographic, educational and social decline, according to a 2006 Interim Senate Report on rural poverty. The Monieson Knowledge Impact in Society (KIS) project will mobilize academic knowledge to increase rural Eastern Ontario's economic activity in order to grow healthier rural communities.

KIS is a collaborative effort among The Monieson Centre, led by its Director Dr. Yolande Chan, Queen’s School of Business, the Eastern Ontario CFDC Network, and the PELA CFDC.

KIS is sponsored by The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the federal agency that promotes and supports university-based research and training in the humanities and social sciences. Through its programs and policies, the Council enables the highest levels of research excellence in Canada, and facilitates knowledge sharing and collaboration across research disciplines, universities and all sectors of society.
 
KIS activities include:
  1. Discovery Workshops at each of Eastern Ontario's 15 CFDCs to inventory their particular rural economic development challenges
  2. This website that includes a knowledge repository and a social space for use by academics, economic development professionals, and rural constituents
  3. Business cases that illustrate keys to rural business success
  4. Practitioner-oriented syntheses of academic literature
  5. Student consulting projects, conferences and team meetings to establish social networks, discussion of lessons learned, and ongoing practitioner feedback
  6. Best Small and Medium Enterprise Surveys provide companies with feedback to adjust their organizational practices and improve employee engagement.
Located within the Queen's School of Business, The Monieson Centre creates researcher-business collaborations to explore how to generate value through knowledge.

The Centre brings together teams of Queen’s faculty and graduate students, along with experts from other universities, to conduct research with leading organizations.

This strategy ensures that problems are addressed thoroughly and creatively. Centre staff translate findings into effective, practice-based recommendations and publications.

Queen's School of Business is one of the world’s premier business schools, consistently capturing top international rankings for its programs. The world-class reputation of this small, elite school is a testament to the high quality of its programs, its faculty and its students – who come from Canada and abroad.

Founded in 1937, the School continues to innovate to ensure it provides the best business education in the world, and the academic excellence and exceptional experience that are the hallmarks of every Queen’s program.

The role of the EO CFDC Network Inc is to advocate on behalf of the membership in order to support regional economic development initiatives in Eastern Ontario. It was created to strategically administer and coordinate the opportunities that are available to the 15 Community Futures Development Corporations of Eastern Ontario.
  • Its membership consists of only Community Futures Development Corporations
  • It acts as a coordinating entity for the membership and its strategic partners
  • It can apply for and administer Government of Canada funding
  • It has project management capacity
Prince Edward/Lennox & Addington Community Futures Development Corporation (PELA CFDC) is a community-based, non-profit corporation aimed at encouraging local entrepreneurship and economic development. Founded in Prince Edward County in 1987, and expanding into Lennox & Addington County in 2001, PELA CFDC is funded by the Government of Canada, Industry Canada, and FedNor. Offices are located in Picton and Napanee, are staffed by business professionals and are governed by a board of local volunteers.

You will find this KIS website rich in ideas, resources, and contacts to mobilize academic knowledge to increase rural Eastern Ontario's economic activity.

Feel free to Contact Us with your questions, comments, and ideas.