"The BVI is a great tool & process. We need to have more people working with CIEL's tools to further Community and Economic Development in Canada."
- Hélène Deslauriers
Director General, Réseau des SADC in Quebec (Alliance of 63 SADCs)
Canadian Representative on the Organization for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD) Forum on Partnerships
“Process was dynamic & engaged the community”
- Rami Rothkop
Harrop Procter Community Forest Co-op, BC
Australia Turns to Canadian Organization for Small Town Economic Revitalization Solutions
Nelson, BC - How do you revitalize a small town economy? In the state of Victoria, Australia, they’re turning to a small Canadian organization for help. The Centre for Innovative & Entrepreneurial Leadership (CIEL – www.theCIEL.com) based out of Nelson, BC is “Australianising” their Business Vitality Initiative (BVI) to fit the needs of five communities across the drought-stricken state of Victoria. The BVI helps a community measure its business friendliness relative to other communities, as a way of building a strong entrepreneurial attitude and economy.
“Communities everywhere are having to adapt by becoming more entrepreneurial and stimulating entrepreneurial thinking in schools, local government and amongst citizens. The prolonged drought and a rapidly changing world economy are driving the changes in Australia,” said Mike Stolte, CIEL’s Executive Director.
Stolte was invited to Australia last year to share the organization’s tools and lessons from Canadian communities. Despite a world of difference – when he left Nelson there was three metres of snow at the local ski hill while some of the Australian communities he was presenting in had experienced drought conditions in 15 of the last 17 years – the Canadian examples resonated with the Australians.
Three trips later, CIEL is training Australians to use the tools while CIEL will use their analytical expertise to write reports.
“We looked at many international tools and processes before picking the BVI. We saw that CIEL’s tools were very robust,” said Maxine Morrison, Small Town Adviser for the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV - http://www.mav.asn.au). “We’ve had huge interest around the state in both CIEL’s Business and Community Vitality Initiatives (another assessment tool that links assessment with action)”, added Morrison. “If the pilots are successful, we’re hoping to do more.”
CIEL also has contracts to train and utilize the BVI and other tools in Ontario and Manitoba, with interest from at least five other provinces, the US and New Zealand. Over the last two years, CIEL was contracted by the federal government’s Rural Secretariat to build and deliver a community leadership program. Another CIEL tool, the Communities Matrix – a free conceptual framework that helps communities assess their stage of readiness - has been requested by Morocco, Brazil, France, South Africa, Ukraine, Australia, and other countries.
Stolte, also the President of the Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation (CRRF – www.crrf.ca), will be returning to Melbourne for the fourth time this week to complete the training and to work with the town of Yarram, Victoria.
CIEL is a not-for-profit centre of excellence that was formed in 2005.
For more information or photographs please contact:
Mike Stolte
Executive Director, Centre for Innovative and Entrepreneurial Leadership (CIEL)
Nelson, BC CANADA
www.theCIEL.com
1-250-352-9192 x 222
1-888-352-9192 x 222
mstolte@theCIEL.com
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CIEL is seeking a joint sponsor for a Community Entrepreneurship Award Program; if you are interested, please contact the CIEL office.
