For years University of Northern British Columbia Geography Professor Dr. Greg Halseth has tracked how rural and small-town communities have navigated a turbulent global economy and ongoing social changes. As the Canada Research Chair in Rural and Small Town Studies, Halseth has documented the value of rural communities, demonstrated their resilience and helped them plot a path forward.

With the support of a new Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Insight Grant, Halseth is embarking on another phase of his research by focusing on the critical role of local government in responding to the forces re-shaping resource-dependent communities and economies.

The funding, worth nearly $150,000, will support the research project and multiple graduate students over the next four years.

“We expect to identify general trends in how local governments are dealing with dramatic economic change, as well as various best practices and cautionary approaches to local government-driven solutions be they through policies or direct investments,” Halseth says.

The project, titled Entrepreneurialism and rural/small-town local government, will build upon Halseth’s network of rural research contacts across the country, including partner researchers and study sites in Alberta, Ontario, and Newfoundland.

With its longstanding partnerships communities across the region, Halseth says UNBC is well-positioned to lead the research project.

“This research builds upon the close relationship that UNBC has with its northern B.C. communities, and the extensive background research conducted in those communities over the past 25 years, both of which equip the research team with a very good understanding of rural and small-town community change,” he says.