>I've just joined the civic access list at the invitation of Tracey
>Lauriault. Tracy and I met when I was working for the Ontario Social
>Development Council and with the Social Planning Network of Ontario. At
>that time (the late '90s), OSDC and SPNO were reporting on the quality
>of life in communities, using the Quality of Life Index (QLI)
>
http://www.spno.ca/qli.html .
>
>When I moved to Halifax in 2000, I discovered the Newfoundland and
>Labrador Community Accounts, a unique system of making data about
>communities publicly accessible through a website
>www.communityaccounts.ca .
>Alton Hollett and Doug May had developed this model and website as part
>of Newfoundland and Labrador's Strategic Social Plan. I also met Dennis
>Pilkey in Nova Scotia, who was interested in developing a Nova Scotia
>version of Community Accounts. It took three years or more to get the
>site up and running. As of Jan 2005, it became publicly accessible at
>www.ns.gov.ca/finance/communitycounts .
>
>During that time (2002-2005), I began working with rural communities in
>Nova Scotia to use social science research to influence policies that
>affect the health and sustainability of rural communities -
>www.ruralnovascotia.ca .We provided training and student interns to
>help in this work. The results have been amazing!
>
>Dennis, Alton, Doug and I are now working together to extend the
>Community Accounts model to PEI and New Brunswick. Doug and I are also
>involved in the Canadian Index of Well-being, a new project supported by
>the Altkinson Foundation, with Roy Romanow being the lead spokesperson.
>Ron Coleman, from GPI Atlantic, is coordinating this work.
>
>I have just started a new job in January 2006 at Voluntary Planning,
>Nova Scotia's Citizens' Policy Forum
http://www.gov.ns.ca/vp/. As the
>Community Development Project Director, I will be facilitating the
>creation of a vision for the future of Nova Scotia's communities that
>will provide a framework for future development. This is part of a new
>Community Development Policy that was approved in December 2004 and is
>now rolling out over the next 5 years. The thrust of this policy is to
>recognize that communities should be leading their own development with
>government playing a support role. For more on this policy, see
>
http://www.gov.ns.ca/econ/cdpolicy/default.asp.
>
>My challenge over the next two years is to work with people and
>community groups across Nova Scotia to develop their vision for a
>sustainable future and to promote Community Accounts as an important
>tool for communities to use in that development.
>
>That's it for now.
>
>Malcolm Shookner
>January 30, 2006
>
>
>Malcolm Shookner
>Voluntary Planning - Nova Scotia's Citizens' Policy Forum
>Suite 600, Joseph Howe Building
>1690 Hollis Street, Halifax
>Nova Scotia, Canada, B3J 3J9
>Tel: (902) 424-8648
>Cell: (902) 497-0589
>Toll Free 1 866 858-5850
>Fax: (902) 424-0580
>
[hidden email]
>www.gov.ns.ca/vp
>
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