Rural Cluster Development Project
Impacts Entire Province
RADF Investment: $848,600
Other Investment: $868,220
Total Investment: $1,716,820
Project Period: February 2011–March 2013
Economic Development
Education
Project Description
Delivered by Community Futures Alberta, the Rural Cluster Development Project will facilitate the development of rural business clusters by building capacity within Alberta's rural economic practitioners and community leaders. Three clusters have been identified for the purposes of this project: Brooks Metal Manufacturing (County of Newall and City of Brooks), Chinook Country Regional Cluster Development and Tourism Strategy Project (City of Lethbridge), and CARMA (Red Deer).
This project will build economic capacity by defining and sharing the process for developing rural business clusters and facilitate the development of the three selected clusters.
Expected Outcomes and Benefits
All projects go through a selection process to ensure they will improve the quality of life for Albertans. This project meets this objective through the following outcomes and benefits:
- Increase the knowledge and capacity in rural Alberta to support and develop rural business clusters through networking and educational opportunities, including a cluster tool kit
- Create clusters by guiding three potential cluster sites (for two years) through the full cluster development process ( the three pilots were, Brooks Metal Manufacturing, Chinook Country Regional Cluster Developmetn and Tourism Strategy Project and Central Alberta Manufacturing Association)
- Develop online cluster course