Google is Not a Synonym for Research

While I get that “Google is not a synonym for research”, I’m definitely not a research wonk either.

So, while I blame my being right-brained for my tendency to be driven by intuition rather than facts, I have also learned that the balance between spidey senses and hard data is a critical one.

That being said, I think every Canadian should be worried about the lack of emphasis our federal government appears to be placing on research and hard data, as well as their seeming propensity for ignoring it once they have it.

This month the federal government… More Posted on 04-29-13

Why We Need More Co-ops, Credit Unions, and Worker-Owned Businesses

I guess it’s because I’ve always rooted for the underdog, but right or wrong, I have always been drawn to the quality of life side of the community ledger rather that the economic side.

Regardless, I’ve accepted the reality that the majority of people believe money and jobs are more important than community building so I’m always trying to expand my knowledge and understanding of economic development.

So, to make a long story short, I’ve somehow ended up being part of a crowdsourcing team that is helping to develop a new course at Graceland University in Iowa called Leadership… More Posted on 04-22-13

Stepping Up and Stepping In To Challenges

It wasn’t an easy workshop to design and one that in some ways I had been dreading.

Even though I don’t wear a cape or Wonder Woman bracelets, the client was anticipating I would be able to address a long list of needs identified in their stakeholder survey.

In a mere two hours, they were looking to me to provide participants with solutions and tools to help engage more citizens and to address a declining volunteer base.

And, have some fun while they were doing it.

Additionally, participants attending the workshop were already stretched pretty thin, bearing out the Statistics… More Posted on 04-15-13