rural communities impacting policy (rcip) Community-based development groups contributing to public and environmental health and sustainability frequently find their work is directly affected by public policy. Laws, regulations, and division of responsibility within and among levels of government can enable or limit the ability of communities to improve their situation. RCIP was a partnership between the Coastal Communities Network and The Atlantic Health Promotion Research Centre at Dalhousie University, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, to systematically support rural communities in Nova Scotia to learn how to do and to support research that can effectively impact public policy. Although the project is technically over, Coastal Communities Network and AHPRC are very much operational-including CCN's ongoing maintenance of the RCIP website www.ruralnovascotia.ca. The main activities of RCIP were: • Community Training: Offering workshops about policy change and how to make it happen. • Student Training and Rural Research: Summer interns are placed with community groups working on research and policy change strategies. • Rural Policy, Research, Data and Training Forums: these forums demonstrate putting “ideas into action” in support of community groups working toward policy change. • Rural Report – “Painting the Landscape of Rural Nova Scotia”: A wealth of information about rural life – population trends, economy, education, environment, and health. • RCIP Website and Rural Tackle Box: Practical tools and information to help carry out research and develop policy change strategies. One of the main (of many) benefits of connecting with those involved in the RCIP project is that it will connect your group with strategic approaches to help rural organizations collectively impact public policy in Nova Scotia. Each summer 2002-2005, RCIP worked with a range of organizations to identify policy areas of greatest concern, and supported Dalhousie student Interns to do research on topics chosen for their expected value in impacting those policies. Each year, communities have been able to use the results of these research projects to make their projects more relevant to the concerns of the many organizations and communities that are now part of the RCIP network. Your group can directly contribute to and benefit from the research results of the RCIP project. Please contact: Coastal Communities Network - Attention: Ishbel Munro Box 402, New Glasgow, NS B2H 5E5 Phone (902) 485-4754, Fax (902) 752-9844 email here ccn website Rural Communities Impacting Policy Project Suite 209, City Centre Atlantic 1535 Dresden Row Halifax, NS B3J 3T1 Phone: (902) 494-1590, Fax: (902) 494-3594 email here rcip website

rcip website rural tackle box tools & resources ns rural report stats & information 2005 projects coastal zone management community development rural health other projects food & agriculture fisheries licensing wharves & harbours

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