New Hampshire College Community Economic Development Program applied thesis final report

Abstract

The following is an applied thesis in Community Economic Development. Its contents are written using a reflective approach.

The Project relates to a rural community in central Nova Scotia, Canada, called the Wentworth Valley Region and what implications the re-routing of the Trans Canada Highway which currently runs through the Valley will have on it from a Community Economic Development perspective.

Having entered the field of Community Economic Development immediately after completing a Bachelor of Commerce Degree, I was of the opinion that I had a solid orientation to the whole area of CED and was possibly in an advantaged position over others who had entered the field from other professions and disciplines which may have restricted or limited their CED perspectives. Looking back on the way this project evolved and considering what I have learned along the way while studying a variety of CED subjects, it is hard to believe how significantly my own understanding and perspective toward Community Economic Development has changed.

The Logical Framework Project Design and the Project Contract which are included in sections to follow, profile my initial approach which I came to realize was not representative of the underlying values upon which a true Community Economic Development effort should be based. It reflected a much more "traditional" approach to economic development and contained little emphasis on the Community part of the process and the social responsibility which must be inherent to it.

Consequently, as was the case for most of my classmates, the End of Project Status turned out much differently than I had initially anticipated. Since the impending changes to the highway will not be completed until approximately 1996 and the influences it will cause to the local area will occur over an even longer period of time, the true CED process which will occur is only just beginning. (Author abstract)