Illuminating New Economic Possibilities

Illuminating New Economic Possibilities is a project funded by VIU’s Health and Human Services scholarship fund, seed grant. The project is designed to strengthen the voice / perspective of the business community in the dialogue about our region’s social and economic future and well-being.

The project sprang from earlier work, specifically the Let the Sparks Fly interview series published bimonthly throughout 2014-15 by Powell River Living magazine. An analysis of the articles resulted in this summary of themes.

Summary of Let the Sparks Fly Interviews – Final

The summary became one of several documents reviewed by Powell River Chamber of Commerce members and Let the sparks Fly interviewees who volunteered to participate in a learning circle on November 24, 2015. The learning circle participants responded to the question:

Understanding that the economy is created by a constellation of small actions taken by multiple players, what is it that we are already doing to construct an economy that enhances well-being in the region? What more could we be doing?

The transcript from the learning circle was analyzed and the following report developed. The report shares 5 participant perspectives and then gives 4 examples of how these perspectives could be applied.  Illuminating New Economic Possibilities Report – Final

This report was presented to Powell River Municipal Council on March 1, 2016. You can hear a similar version of that presentation her. Presentation to PR Municipal Council

The report was presented to Sliammon Council on March 17, 2016 and to the PR Regional District on April 14, 2016.

A summative article was published in the June 2016, Powell River Living Magazine. You can find the article on page 10 at this link. A New Economy for Powell River: What We Learned