Rural economic development is a team effort. It requires collaboration between municipalities, businesses, and community partners to build resilient and thriving local economies.
The Rural Economic Development Toolkit is designed to support municipal leaders shape and advance economic development efforts. Whether you are establishing a new economic development initiative or refining an existing program, this toolkit provides practical guidance, best practices, and tools to help navigate the process.
Economic development requires alignment among municipal leaders on the role of economic development and its value to the community, as well as deep collaboration with the community.
This chapter provides guidance on:
See Tool #1: Economic Development Inspiration Deck to help deliver on the guidance in Chapter 1.
Not all economic development partners are created equal. Establishing an economic development committee or set of project partners requires deliberate and proactive selection of participants to ensure a the right mix of skills, perspectives, and personalities are at the table.
This chapter provides guidance on:
See Tool #2: Example Expression of Interest Form & Evaluation Process to help deliver on the guidance in Chapter 2.
Maximizing the impact from an economic development committee requires establishing an effective committee structure.
This chapter provides guidance on setting up an economic development committee, including:
See Tool #3: Example Committee Bylaw to help deliver on the guidance in Chapter 3.
Building and reinforcing a local economic identity can be a powerful tool in economic development, aiding with workforce, tourism, and investment attraction and motivating collective community action.
This chapter provides guidance on:
See Tool #4: Marketing & Communications Framework to help deliver on the guidance in Chapter 4.
Municipal economic development committees can play a much broader role than advising on business needs.
This chapter provides guidance on how to effectively mobilize committee members for:
See Tool #5: Partnership Scoping Framework to help deliver on the guidance in Chapter 5.
The broad mandate of economic development initiatives, coupled with the long timelines for seeing results, can make it difficult to monitor progress and evaluate outcomes effectively.
This chapter provides guidance on:
See Tool #6: Economic Development Evaluation Scorecard to help deliver on the guidance in Chapter 6.
There are multiple ways to get participate in the launch of the toolkit, including both in-person workshops and online webinars. Register below.
In Person Workshops
Join us at our Spring Convention on March 17th and 18th 2025 for hands-on Rural Economic Development workshops. For more information on the convention, click here.
Online Webinars
Join us this spring for virtual workshops where we will be presenting components of the toolkit, fielding questions, and facilitating dialogue on economic development with other municipalities.
Contact the RMA
For any further information about this initiative, please contact Kallie Wischoff, Policy Advisor, at kallie@rmalberta.com.
