Rural Community Development

Many rural communities across Canada face significant precarity due to the boom-and-bust cycles of resource economies (e.g., oil and gas) as well as rural outmigration. Economic instability in rural regions is associated with a range of negative outcomes on physical, mental, and community wellbeing.

CUP aims to support rural resiliency by applying our community-engaged research model to the economic determinants of health. Our approach focuses on trust-building, mutual understanding, and co-creating solutions with rural partners. Using an interdisciplinary, systems-wide approach, we aim to create foundational knowledge about how to intervene in the “wicked problems” facing rural Canada, such as income inequality, employment precarity, and disproportionately low access to education.

Our work is grounded in Community Wealth Building and a Rural Wealth Creation (RWC) framework, which focuses on creating economic resilience by keeping wealth in the community and maintaining local control of assets. In addition to producing academic and grey literature, CUP researchers are working closely with partners to evaluate, sustain, and apply approaches to RWC.

Current Projects

CUP-Drayton Valley Partnership

2019 - Present

CUP Research team

Maria Mayan, Jessica Hermary, Providence Sindihebura, Carol Bomfim, Melodi Lepage, Geraldine Cahill

 

CUP has a long-standing partnership with the Town of Drayton Valley, Alberta, focused on building economic resiliency in a resource-dependent community. The economic vitality of Drayton Valley has relied on oil and gas for some 70 years, making it susceptible to the “boom” and “bust” economic cycle associated with the industry. 

In an effort to help mitigate the negative effects of this cycle through education, the town launched a novel tuition assistance program called the Tuition Assistance Bursary or TAB (previously called Zero Fee Tuition). CUP’s partnership with the Town evolved from an initial evaluation of the TAB program into a broader partnership that seeks to address education, social issues, and economic policy. We engage with residents spanning many sectors, including politicians, Town administration, social services, and business owners.

Through this partnership, we are developing and testing approaches to economic resiliency that can be replicated in other resource-dependent Canadian communities.

Major components of the project include:

Tuition Assistance Bursary (TAB) Program

CUP is evaluating Drayton Valley’s tuition support program, the first of its kind in Canada, which aims to reduce barriers to education for residents. Our evaluation has supported a replicable model that has drawn interest from surrounding communities (e.g., Brazeau County).

Rural Wealth Creation (RWC) Plan

CUP is contributing to the development of a RWC plan for Drayton Valley, a place-based economic development approach that focuses on maintaining local control of assets (e.g., local procurement, worker cooperatives). We helped form a Rural Wealth Creation Collaborative to oversee RWC strategies in the region.

Rural Resilience

CUP researchers are also working with partners to explore education, employment pathways, newcomer experiences, youth unemployment, mental health, early learning and child care, and sustainable job ecosystems.

Toolkit

CUP researchers have created a “toolkit” to support other municipalities and communities interested in an education-driven approach to improving their communities:

Community reports

Dr. Maria Mayan and Dr. Jeff Round have produced a report on economic benefits of Drayton Valley's TAB program:

TAB program briefs

CUP has also produced two publicly accessible briefs on the TAB program:

CUP researchers have published numerous academic papers based on our work in Drayton Valley

  • Ormandy, M., Ferdinands, A., & Mayan, M. Exploring Youths’ Experiences of Attending a Rural Outreach School in Alberta. Summer 2025. Canadian Journal of Education, 48(2), 752–778, https://doi.org/10.53967/cje-rce.6941
  • Ferdinands A., Ormandy M., & Mayan M. July 2025. Rural Health Care Aide training experiences in a Canadian tuition assistance program: A qualitative study. BMC Nursing, 24, Article 914, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-025-03582-z
  • Hodge, L., Ormandy, M., Ferdinands, A., Cahill, G., & Mayan, M. August 2025. How do oil and gas workers cope with a changing economy? Economic vulnerability among rural Canadians in the oil and gas sector. Energy Research & Social Science, 126, 104146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2025.104146
  • Ferdinands, A., Olsen S., Ormandy M., & Mayan, M. August 2025. A qualitative study of how young women in a rural Canadian community plan their futures. Health Promotion International, 40(4), https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daaf095 
  • Ferdinands, A., Ormandy, M., & Mayan, M. June 2024. A Mixed Methods Exploration of Students’ Experiences of Taking Part in a Tuition Assistance Program in Rural Alberta, Canada. Theory & Practice in Rural Education, 14(1), 126–155, https://doi.org/10.3776/tpre.2024.v14n1p127-155
  • Ferdinands, A., Ormandy, M., & Mayan, M. March 2024. Identifying and responding to the challenges of sustaining a tuition support program in a rural setting. Journal of Rural and Community Development, 19(1), 28–48, https://journals.brandonu.ca/jrcd/article/view/2332
  • Ormandy, M., Ferdinands, A., Nesdoly, A., & Mayan, M. December 2023. A Pilot Study of Drayton Valley’s Zero-Fee Tuition Program. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 48(3), 181–186, https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2023.2295485

Learn more about our partnership with the Town of Drayton Valley