Looking critically at community economic development : the case of Isle Madame

This thesis is a study of Community Economic Development (CED), specifically the CED used by the Development lsle Madame Association lnc.(DIMA) in lsle Madame to improve the economic and social conditions of their community after a major economic crisis.ln this thesis, CED is defined as a diverse and varying program of activities that are planned and executed by a specific geographic locality of people or a specific group of people sharing similar interests to improve living and working conditions in their locality.Typically, CED is economic, but it can also be social, cultural, or environmental.Also important are the community development organizations (CDOs), like DIMA, who do CED.ln short, no matter what kinds of CED are being practised, the CED process must include localcommunication, participation, determination, ownership, and control.The study results show that the DIMA CED projects with a greater inclusion of these community factors fared out much better than those projects that did not.The thesis reviews the literature that supports these results, such as the Antigonish Movement during the 1920s and the 1930s in Atlantic Canada, and its legacy of community empowerment, adult education, activism and cooperation, which are still relevant today.Also, the thesis reviews the liberal and the progressive traditions of CED, and explores how CED can be an important alternative to the present capitalist-based political economy.Other topics include the role of the government in CED, as well as recommendations for DIMA's future CED work and for further studies in CED practice and theory. vll CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION: A Rural Community in CrisisCommunity development began to truly take hold in eastern Nova Scotia in the 1920s, as groups of people from Antigonish to Sydney started taking control over their communities' economic, social, and cultural destinies (Lotz and Welton 1997).This is referred to today as the Antigonish Movement, and it was based on the concepts of "education" and "self-help" in the building of stronger communities.Today, this kind of work continues, but it has assumed a different namecommunity economic development (CED).And in eastern Nova Scotia, an ever-increasing number of communities are using this method to become more self-sustaining and more resilient to the economic and socialdisparities affecting the region in general, especially small rural communities that have relied for centuries on a single industry.Scholars and practitioners of CED have yet to conceptualize an agreed-upon definition (Perry n.d.).As a result CED is defined differently, and CED is also practiced differently.Nonetheless, CED is the term of choice to describe a wide array of activities.For example, one Nova Scotian government website, CED online, defines it as, "a process where people living in a community work together to create a diversified and sustainable localeconomy" (http://ced.gov.ns.ca).This definition implies that CED work is economic work.Like CED online, the Ottawa CED Network focuses on an "economic" definition of CED.However, "community" is defined as both a group of people sharing a geographic locality and a group of people sharing the same interests.Other important details in this definition are that CED generally occurs "within" the community, "by" the community, and that issues such as "control," "democracy," and "ownership" are important to CED processes.The website defines CED as:The processes whereby members of a community, either geographical or community of interest, are involved in activities that will benefit it economically.Community Economic Development (CED) generally begins at the grass roots level, and includes notions of control, democracy and community ownership.CED usually uses inclusive practices and procedures, to enhance community through action, knowledge and participation.( http ://wr¡¡w.ced-d ec-ott.n et ).Yet another website, Centre for Community Enterprise, describes CED as an economic or business initiative.This particular definition focuses specifically on the individuals practising CED, which lead to the development of CED organizations (CDOs), and how the CED process is carried out, namely, as a means of wealth accumulation.By using economic business strategies, a CDO can improve not just commerce, but educational, health, and environmental conditions as well: CED is the process by which local people build organizations and partnerships that interconnect profitable business with other interests and values -for example, skills and education, health, housing, and the environment.ln CED a lot more people get involved, describing how the community should change.A lot more organizations look for ways to make their actions and investments reinforce the wishes and intentions of the whole community.Business becomes a means to accumulate wealth and to make the local way of life more creative, inclusive, and sustainable -now and 20 or 30 years from now.(http://www.cedworks.com)Whereas these first three definitions focus on CED as "economic," other definitions acknowledge CED as an economic and/or a social process as well.For example, the Canadian Community Economic Development Network defines CED as both economic and social development.Also important in this particular defìnition is that CED can be an alternative to conventionalapproaches to economic development, and that CED can be a means of improvement for people in disadvantaged communities.This definition gives CED a place in the larger political economy: CED can be defined as action by people locally to create economic opportunities and enhance social conditions in their communities on a sustainable and inclusive basis, particularly with those who are most disadvantaged.CED is a community-based and community-directed process that explicitly combines social and economic development and fosters the economic, social, ecological and cultural well being of communities.CED has emerged as an alternative to conventional approaches to economic development.lt is founded on the belief that problems facing communities - unemployment, poverty, job loss, environmental degradation and loss of community controlneed to be addressed in a holistic and participatory way.( http://www.cced net-rcdec.ca ) Yet another definition of CED by UNPAC focuses on economic aspects from both a "local" and a "political economy" approach.There is a need to understand the larger economic structures that affect communities.The definition includes eleven principles originally developed by members of the Neechi Foods Cooperative in Winnipeg, Manitoba between 1991-1993.These principals are (1) use of localgoods and services, (2) production of goods and services for local use, (3) local reinvestment of profits, (4) long-term employment of local residents, (5) local skills development, (6) local decision-making and ownership, (7) healthy citizens, (B) positive physical environment, (9) neighbourhood stability, (1 0) human dignity, and ( 1 1 ) support for other CED projects (http://unpac.caleconomv/ced.html).Their CED definition is as follows: A process or strategy that is used to analyse economic systems and their impact on a community.CED looks at how money moves through a neighbourhood or a community and what impact that movement of money has on the people within the community.lt also looks at what is needed within the communíty.The key concept of CED is using local resources to meet locaf needs while at the same time creating healthy and economically viable communities.CED is about working with communities to develop positive and sustainable processes, not imposing a system from outside the community.CED looks at all aspects of the economy, not just commercial, and is a powerful tool in working towards happy, healthy communities.( http ://u n pac.caleconomv/ced.htm I )Based on these first five definitions, it is clear that no universal definition of CED exists.Local academic, Stewart E. Perry, addresses the depth and complexity associated with defining CED.He attempts to símplify the complex subject by defining the separate components of "community economic development" (Perry n.d.).Like the ottawa cED Network, he acknowledges two types of "community" -(1) a group of people who come together to share specific common interests, and (2) a group of people who share a well-defined geographic locality (Perry n.d.).He notes that CED can occur in both kinds of "community," although communities of common interest are more limited with regard to the beneficiaries of these development activities.Perry then goes on to define economic development as a "deliberate effort" for the economic improvement of a specific geographic locality, which he notes can be as large as a nation state, or as small as a city neighborhood (Perry n.d.).With economic development, Perry notes that the benefits, beneficiaries, and ownership can differfrom case to case, as will the economic improvements themselves.He also notes that it may be difficult to measure the degree for which deliberate economic efforts yield community improvements, if any improvements are made at all (perry n.d.).ln defining CED, Perry notes it is a process that ínvolves a "comprehensive" and "wide-ranging" program of activities, both economic and social, meant to improve a community as a place to live and work.He states that is can include literally any activity that might be interpreted locallyas "community improvement" (perry n.d.).He provides such examples of CED work as promoting folk opera, drug abuse services, increased police protection, and housing rehabilitation (Perry n.d.).Perry goes on to differentiate CED and its various features from other forms of economic and business development.rPerry states that CED almost always involves some kind of business development activity, like economic development, but it also creates more powerful community tools, such as: new businesses, improved local facilitíes, changes made to

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