June 30, 2006 Source: Brandon University:
http://www.brandonu.ca/news/article.asp?A_ID=1057 Brandon University hosting International Comparative Rural Policy Studies Summer School BRANDON, MB – From June 24 to July 15, Brandon University’s Department of Rural Development and Rural Development Institute are hosting the International Comparative Rural Policy Studies (ICRPS) Summer School 2006. The ICRPS program is a new advanced program aimed at enhancing policy formulation and analysis in the rural context. The program was developed by the Rural Policy Consortium, comprising nine universities in Canada, Europe and the USA, and is the first of its kind that enables students to examine and compare the role of rural policy in different cultural, political and administrative contexts in Europe and North America, as well as in the South. Designed for students and mid-career professionals seeking a Certificate, Graduate Diploma, M.Sc. or Ph.D. studies, the ICRPS program provides an area of emphasis by introducing the skills required to analyze and compare policies at the international, national, state, regional and local levels. It will also provide the opportunity to study the nature and implications of new forms of governance in rural contexts. Program components include two summer school sessions, a policy research project, and the opportunity to participate in online courses. This year, 25 students and 10 faculty members have come to BU from all over North America and Europe for a program of study that reflects the unique characteristics of travel and life on the Canadian Prairies, thus enhancing policy discussion and debate by enabling students to gain perspective on the comparative nature of the ICRPS program. "The key is the comparative," says Brandon University Department of Rural Development Professor Dr. Doug Ramsey. "We seek not only to teach and learn about our own places, but rather to learn what works and doesn’t in others." Students and faculty will spend the first two thirds of the program (from June 24 to July 8) at Brandon University. The objectives of this part of the program will include an emphasis on methods of analyzing and comparing public policy in Canadian, European and American contexts. Local examples from within the city of Brandon and from the surrounding countryside will be drawn upon to illustrate how policies and programs are layered, reflecting the relationships and linkages between local, provincial and federal powers in Canada. This will act as a catalyst for debating the similarities and differences evident in policy analysis internationally. Examining policy issues confronted in both the public and private spheres will provide an excellent opportunity to better assess the impact of policies at all levels, and by all players. Research facilities will also be made available to the students, as the first two weeks of the program will include a World Trade Organization simulation exercise, requiring students to draw on a variety of resources in preparation. Canadian, European and American experts will facilitate the exercise and discussions around it. The portion of the program taking place on the Brandon University campus will also feature an open day during which rural stakeholders, leaders and policy makers will be welcome to sit in on lectures and discussions. In addition, a series of evening lectures featuring speakers from a variety of disciplines and professional domains will add depth to the research and enrich the classroom time for students, and will also be open to the public. For more information on these public lectures, including topics, times and location, please go to:
http://www.brandonu.ca/news/article.asp?A_ID=1050 "The public lectures offer the larger community the chance to learn more about the issues affecting all of us, including global trade, watershed management, and regional development policy," says Ramsey. On July 8, the program will become mobile for one week when students move to a field classroom in Duck Mountain Provincial Park, where the final block of the program will take place. Distance and transportation are of critical importance to rural Canadians, and on this trip guests from abroad will experience how policy programs and citizens are affected by these factors. The buses transporting students and faculty from Brandon University to Duck Mountain Provincial Park will be equipped for the delivery of lectures while the students travel. This change of venue part way through the program will ultimately encourage a greater understanding of the regional complexity of generating and implementing policy in the Canadian context. The ICRPS 2006 Summer School program will end in Winnipeg, Manitoba on July 15. The Brandon University Department of Rural Development (DRD) was created in 1999. It provides undergraduate and graduate programs in Rural Development. Masters students have come from China, the United States, Nigeria, South Africa and from across Canada. Most recently, the Department was given approval to offer a four-year Major and Minor in Rural and Community Studies. Graduate programs include a Master’s degree and a Graduate Diploma. Brandon University's Rural Development Institute (RDI) is a centre for excellence in rural development helping strengthen rural and northern communities through research and information on issues unique to rural areas. For more than 100 years Brandon University has been a cornerstone of the City of Brandon and southwestern Manitoba. Throughout this time, Brandon University has maintained its foundation as a rurally based university with strong national and international links. The University established the Rural Development Institute in 1989 as an academic research center and a leading source of information on issues affecting rural communities in Western Canada and elsewhere. RDI functions as a not-for-profit research and development organization designed to promote, facilitate, coordinate, initiate and conduct multi-disciplinary academic and applied research on rural issues. The Institute provides an interface between academic research efforts and the community by acting as a conduit of rural research information and by facilitating community involvement in rural development. RDI projects are characterized by cooperative and collaborative efforts of multi-stakeholders. The Institute has diverse research affiliations, and multiple community and government linkages related to its rural development mandate. RDI disseminates information to a variety of constituents and stakeholders and makes research information and results widely available to the public either in printed form or by means of public lectures, seminars, workshops and conferences. For more information, or to arrange interviews, please contact: Dr. Doug Ramsey
Rural Development
Brandon University
Phone: (204) 571-8514
Email: ramsey@brandonu.ca Kelly Stifora
Communications Officer
Brandon University
Phone: (204) 727-9762
Email: communications@brandonu.ca - 30 -
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