Since the late 1990s, neighbourhood renewal corporations, or NRCs, have been working to strengthen Manitoba communities. NRCs take a holistic, community-led approach on
neighbourhood renewal, incorporating community economic development principles wherever possible and allowing the community to drive planning and programming.
CCEDNet-Manitoba was asked by the newer NRCs to facilitate a knowledge transfer between new and old NRCs. Through interviews with both the newer NRCs on their challenges and the older NRCs on their strengths, 15 profiles have been developed. These profiles detail programs, processes, history, tips, and lessons learned on some of the most effective NRC practices.
Download the Profiles:
You can download the 15 reports compiled into one pdf by clicking here.
Or you can follow the links below, as where you will find the profiles categorized under various community themes:
Diverse Communities
Many of the NRC communities have a wide range of cultures, all living close together. This profile will look at the BNRC’s Cultural Awareness Network working to prevent discrimination, share cultural experience, and promote acceptance.
>> BNRC: Brandon Cultural Awareness Network
Engaged Communities
Community engagement is one of the most important parts of NRC work. However, it can be difficult to build trust, community leadership, and buy-in. These profiles will look at different ways to get people involved in a community based mandate for the long haul.
>> Scan: Board Structures
>> NECRC: Community Plan vs Organizational Plan
>> SNA: It’s All About Relationships
Growing Communities
There is a consistently high level of interest in community gardening and food security in many communities, and for good reason. As each unique profile will show, gardening meets a number of goals including shaping the local economy, and can easily be a universally positive experience despite different groups with different objectives getting involved.
>> WBCO: Gardening for Food Security
>> DMSMCA: Orioles Garden
>> SNA: Green Planning
Housed Communities
While housing is a key component of community renewal and CED, getting beyond fix-up grants and into creating new, affordable, and accessible housing is a daunting task. This profile will scan a range of different housing projects from the Massey Building in Brandon to SNA’s history of in-fill building to hopefully spark some creative solutions to housing shortages.
>> Scan: A Range of Housing Options
Partnering Communities
These will explore the benefits and keys to doing partnerships effectively, a crucial part of CED. BNRC and TNRC have taken different approaches, but have similar advice such as: be consistent, be helpful, emphasize common goals, and build trust.
>> BNRC: Partnerships
>> TNRC: Getting Out There
Safe Communities
How safe people feel in their communities can be a good indicator of positive community economic development, but feeling insecure can also be a matter of perspective and misinformation. These profiles will look at ways to understand safety better, and ways to deal with actual safety concerns.
>> WBCO: Safety Plan
>> NECRC: Community Ambassadors
>> SNA: Community Connecting
Working Communities
How to create jobs and support people in obtaining quality employment is a constant question for most community development organizations. These profiles explore a couple different ideas for how NRCs can create jobs for community people.
>> NECRC: Building Maintenance Program
There is also a compiled document of all the above reports.
We have also been working on a project that creates and assembles profiles of CED organizations in Manitoba. There are about 40 profiles available as of now, with plans to expand the number of profiles up to 50.
Visit our CED in Manitoba Profiles Project page.
