The Sustainable Agriculture program at Fleming College is designed for new and beginner farmers seeking an intensive, applied learning experience in sustainable, ecological or natural farming methods. More info here on the program and check out the video below.
[YouTube]
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Fleming College is constructing a $36.6 million, 87,000 square foot trades and technology skills training facility at their Sutherland Campus here in Peterborough. Completion of this Kawartha Trades and Technology Centre (KTTC) is scheduled for April 2014, and it will be in full operation by September 2014. Here's a neat time-lapse showing the progress so far (we look forward to seeing the rest)...
[YouTube; Fleming on Facebook]
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Campaign posterPeterborough Lakefield Community Police Service put out a special release announcing "Don't Be That Guy", a social marketing campaign to raise awareness in Peterborough about the issue of alcohol-facilitated sexual assaults.
Alcohol-facilitated sexual assault is a sexual act perpetrated by an offender with a victim who is profoundly intoxicated to the point of near or actual unconsciousness. In these cases, the victim cannot give consent.
The "Don’t be that Guy" social marketing campaign is aimed at the offender.
Historically, sexual assault campaigns focused on how to prevent being sexually assaulted. The campaign’s message is simple: Don’t sexually assault others.
According to the release, the campaign is intended to target men between the ages of 18 and 24, who frequent the bars and party scene.
This is especially important in Peterborough, where Fleming College and Trent University are located.
The campaign just launched and runs until the
Campaign poster end of September.
Posters (see examples in this post) will be displayed at Trent University, Fleming College and in downtown bars.
Police encourage the reporting of these incidents to police and to get the message across loud and clear that sex without consent is sexual assault.
For more info on this national campaign, go to Sexualassaultvoices.com.
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Photo: Evan HoltThe commonly accepted view of economic development is to concentrate on convincing businesses to relocate to our community. Of course, unless the business is new, or an existing business expanding to this community, our gain would be another community’s loss. In the greater scheme of things, this does little to grow the economy as a whole.
I call this traditional view of local economic development "outside-in" development. This approach has, in varying degrees, been successful. However, in some communities, it is clear that another form of economic development is emerging: "inside-out" development.
"Inside-out" development is characterized by innovations initiated by a community’s existing technologies and talented people being pushed out to external, national and international markets.
Communities that are best positioned for "inside-out" development must have some particular qualities: They must have a strong and proven technological base, and a critical mass of expertise that is creative, innovative, and forward-looking.
Photo: Evan Holt
Fortunately, Peterborough has a strong technological base and a critical mass of expertise both in its business community, and in its public institutions—Trent University, Fleming College, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, and the Peterborough Regional Health Centre. The foundations upon which "inside-out" development can be built are in place.
Photo: Evan Holt
There is, however, one critical aspect of "inside-out" development that is missing—organizational innovation. The nature of the local economy in our time (which is very different than that of the era dominated by GE, Outboard Marine, Westclox, etc.) is that there are many successful organizations busy serving particular niches in the external marketplace. Each one has technologies and expertise that keep it competitive in their field. The focus on their market niche makes it difficult for these organizations to identify new market opportunities. Beyond their own niche, real market opportunities can exist in fields they don’t even consider.
To productively pursue "inside-out" development, we need to consider the economic potential—the community’s economic capacity—through combining the existing technologies and expertise across (rather than just within) organizations. In economic terms, this is achieving economies of scope at the community level. Economies of scope, as opposed to economies of scale, come from using existing inputs (i.e., technologies and expertise) to produce different outputs (i.e., innovative products and services).
The real organizational challenge for "inside-out" development is at the greater community, rather specific organization, level. We need to be able to help existing organizations to better identify opportunities for them to partner with other local organizations to create innovations and enter new, national and international markets.
Those communities that have the foundations necessary to pursue "inside-out" development, and create the community-based institutions necessary to identify and achieve community economies of scope, will be those that will enjoy the rewards of the new era of economic development.
[Contributed by PtboCanada's Tom Phillips Ph. D.]
[Editor's Note: This is Tom's second column for PtboCanada.com. He is Economist & Sustainability Director - Greater Ptbo Innovation Cluster. Click here to read his first column for us on Peterborough's "Creative Class".]
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