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 Mr. George Penfold
Selkirk College-Rural Economic Development Research
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A new resource in the Kootenays |
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There’s a new resource in the West Kootenays. A grant of $1.25 million from the province’s Leading Edge Endowment Fund - - matched by local businesses, governments, foundations, credit unions and private individuals (see complete list below) - - has enabled Selkirk College in Castlegar to create a Regional Innovation Chair in Rural Economic Development. It’s the first of nine Regional Innovation Chairs the Leading Edge Endowment Fund plans to support over the next year. Community planner George Penfold has been appointed to fill the Chair at Selkirk College. He’s now launching the ambitious program. “This is an applied research program,” explains Mr. Penfold. “The Chair must respond to the region’s needs. Since I arrived in October 2006, I’ve been exploring this vast region, attending meetings with individuals and groups and seeking input on issues and research needs from economic development officers, chambers of commerce and both regional districts within the Selkirk College service area (Central Kootenay and Kootenay Boundary). I always point out that I’m not doing economic development. My focus is to support them and their initiatives in economic development by conducting research on their behalf and providing information. To create a focus for the research program, we will establish a Community Advisory Committee to help set priorities. We will then have to search out support funding to make that research happen.” Mr. Penfold brings impressive credentials to the task. He grew up on a dairy farm in southwestern Ontario, and thus he has first-hand experience with rural and small urban communities. He earned a civil engineering degree in water resources management and, later, a Masters in geography and agricultural economics, both from the University of Guelph. “My first job was in rural engineering extension for the Ministry of Agriculture in Huron County, Ontario,” he says. “Here the work included helping farmers locate buildings to avoid conflicts with noise, dust and odours. I designed agricultural buildings, ventilation systems, materials handling and storage facilities and farm drainage systems.” He was then hired by Huron County as a rural planner, where he prepared municipal plans and zoning bylaws, and designed public participation programs. Mr. Penfold returned to the University of Guelph in 1981, where he taught graduate and undergraduate courses in the School of Rural Planning and Development. During a two-year leave of absence he served as a Commissioner for the Ontario Commission on Planning and Development Reform, where he set up an extensive public consultation program. After moving to Vancouver Island in 1995, he undertook a variety of projects in community planning and consultation. Among other things, he worked on economic, forestry and agricultural development strategies and action plans for the Regional Districts of Comox Strathcona, North Cowichan and Mount Waddington; did business development planning for Kyuquot First Nation, Mount Waddington, Alberni Clayoquot and several local municipalities; and did organizational development for various governments, agencies and regional non-government organizations. In 1998, he wrote a major discussion paper for the BC Agricultural Land Commission on the changing needs of rural resource communities. This was prompted by the Commission’s 25th anniversary. In it, he identified the challenges facing resource areas (e.g. globalization, distance from markets, labour costs and environmental issues), their advantages (relatively low land costs, lifestyle, etc.) and the opportunities they offer (market niches, diversification, local and regional markets). The paper also lays out the steps required to develop these opportunities. George Penfold will be, indeed, a major “resource” for the people of the West Kootenays. And he will be able to draw upon Selkirk College’s unique Geospatial Research Centre, which specializes in mapping technologies (geographical information systems) that can be brought to bear on a wide variety of environmental, social and economic problems. “I can take questions posed by the community, turn them into research projects and add value through the Centre and the College’s resources,” he explains. “This way I can provide groups with better information, which in turn will help them make better decisions in policy development, community development, research and education.” Matching funds for Selkirk College’s Regional Innovation Chair in Rural Economic Development have been provided by: Kootenay Boundary and Central Kootenay Regional Districts For more information on Selkirk College and its programs, visit http://selkirk.ca/
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