Brandon, Manitoba
Call for Papers
Rural + Development + Planning Symposium
February 22, 2012 / Brandon, Manitoba
Call for Papers
The annual conference of Manitoba planners Feb 22-24, 2012 is in Brandon. It will feature
a search for ideas and practices that assist individuals and entire communities to move
beyond surviving to thriving. What does it mean to proactively plan to thrive? A preconference symposium is planned to help ‘set the table’ for the main conference.
You are invited to submit a paper or poster presentation proposal that addresses the ‘sum’
of ‘rural + development + planning’, with a ‘thriving’ agenda in mind. This symposium on
Wednesday, February 22, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. is potentially an opportunity for
some theory-building across multiple disciplines and perspectives.
Participants are called to identify critical interfaces and to engage in dialogue, in
pursuit of insightful integration and significant synthesis. In the calm before the
comparative storm of the main conference, this symposium will provide an ideal time
for reflection on the fundamentals and undercurrents within the conference theme –
Beyond Surviving: Planning to Thrive.
In a roundtable style, the intention of this symposium is informed discussion and debate
around the rich mosaic of multi-disciplinary theories of planning, in communion with new
and emerging theories of rural development. The ‘rural’ that binds us is intended to
encompass northern and remote places as well as the agricultural landscapes that normally
dominate discourse. By the end of the symposium we hope to have shed some light on
leading-edge theory aligned with what might constitute the emerging ‘new normal’; we
will target ‘breakthroughs’.
As with most critical + creative thinking endeavours with an explicit applied orientation
(be it policy or program or plan development), this symposium seeks to gather a mix of
academics, senior civil servants, policy analysts and others, with interests and
responsibilities in the broad nexus of ‘rural + development + planning’. It’s ‘point of entry
text’ (POET) is from the main conference introduction, namely:
Today our communities, economies and environments are experiencing many
significant challenges. These include: too much or too little of an otherwise good thing,
such as water; changes or shifts that are too slow or too fast, impacting demographics
or business trends; too much unpredictability and not enough certainty, in the weather
for example. Our natural response is to settle into survival mode, to get by, to stay alive
- amidst all the change. But what if a focus on just surviving our current challenges
simply ensured more of the same - a status quo that leaves us unprepared for what
might occur next? While we need to survive, we won’t break out of our predicament
without pro-actively planning to thrive, to be creating new possibilities, to anticipate
and take advantage of change.
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Join us in learning how to take the next step. A thriving agenda engages a larger
canvass, involves a bigger picture, and looks at planning differently. Growth and
development are still front and centre, but the focus is no longer simply more intensive
land uses or new property developments. Thriving connotes flourishing - replicating
nature, making prudent financial decisions, valuing health and nurturing well-being.
Planning to thrive involves embracing health and developing well-being, individually
and collectively - in the context of three sub-themes our communities, our economies
and our environments.
Proposed papers or posters should address at least one of the following:



Existing theories and models of ‘rural + development + planning’ that deal primarily
with ‘surviving’
Current gaps in theories such as emphases beyond simply surviving, that probe
realms of thriving
Emerging theories and models aiming for some breakthroughs, some new
paradigms more in line with the times, to inform ‘rural + development + planning’
practices.
Ideally, proposals will engage these themes in a multi-disciplinary and inter-professional
way, to fuel a rich dialogue among participants, that will then inform the main conference.
Post-symposium plans currently call for a monograph of presentations (and dialogues) that
reflect the outcome of a combination of symposium and conference experiences. The
monograph will feature applied theory, assessment of strengths and weaknesses in current
approaches, illustrative case studies, and a ‘planning for thriving’ agenda.
Proposals should be submitted, preferably by January 27, 2012, to the attention of:
Wm. (Bill) Ashton, Ph.D. Director
Rural Development Institute, Brandon University
Lower Concourse, McMaster Hall Complex
270-18th Street
Brandon, MB R7A 6A9
ashtonw@brandonu.ca
Ph: 204-571-8513 FAX: 204-725-0364
www.brandonu.ca/rdi
Authors of selected papers will be required to register for the Symposium ($95) and ideally
for the entire conference as well.
See 2012 conference registration at http://www.manitobaplanningconference.com/
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Rural + Development + Planning Symposium
February 22, 2012 / Brandon, Manitoba
Call for Papers – Submission Form
Primary contact?
Last Name
Organization
Email address
First Name
Phone number
Title of submission?
Abstract? (200-300 words)
Type of submission?
Presentation (20 minutes)
Poster
Equipment needs?
Powerpoint projector
Laptop
Projector for transparencies
Language of presentation? (symposium in English)
English
French (some translation capabilities may be available)
Your match with conference streams?
Existing theories and models
Current gaps in theories
Emerging theories and models
Match your conference sub-streams?
People
Environment
Economy and technology
Your target audience(s)?
Community leaders
Academics
Government
Your subject?
Theory building
Program
Policy
Project
Practices
Non profits
Other_________
Submissions due Friday, January 27, 2012 by email (rdi@brandonu.ca) or fax (204-725-0364). You will
be notified of receipt of your submission by email no later than Friday, February 3, 2012.
Submission Review Committee will confirm acceptance by February 6, 2012.