Hacking the Rural Renaissance: Understanding Models of Rural Innovation Ecosystems and Their Implications for Public Policy and Community Development Practice

The Government of Canada opened its Innovation Agenda consultations by stating: “Innovation is a Canadian value…. [It] will create jobs, drive growth and improve the lives of all Canadians…. We have the talent, the drive, the dedication and the opportunity to succeed. So, what’s next?” However, it often seems like “what’s next” are policies that fail to recognize, support and leverage innovation in the diverse rural communities that feed our bodies and fuel our economies. This research will use a comparative case study approach to examine how different rural communities successfully leverage innovation systems for community economic development and identify key drivers for rural economic resiliency by exploring: (i) the influence of spatial, relational, and structural dimensions in the development of place-based rural innovation ecosystems; (ii) the influence and role of infrastructure investments; and (iii) the influence of provincial/national policy frameworks on rural community capacity to leverage placebased innovation ecosystems.