Changing Paradigms: A Research Initiative

The Changing Paradigms research initiative, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), addresses two key research streams:

(1) The Global-Local Nexus of Agriculture and;

(2) The Socio-Cultural Context in Farm Health and Safety Research

The Changing Paradigms initiative conducted a year-long series of consultations with members of the agricultural community in Atlantic Canada, called the "Foundation Sessions." Preliminary findings from this work are discussed in the following publication:

Deborah Stiles and Greg Cameron. 2009. Changing paradigms? Rural communities, agriculture, and corporate and civic models of development in Atlantic Canada. Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy Vol. 3 No. 4. 341-354.

A Policy Working Group is taking shape as an outcome of the "Foundation Sessions" which will look more closely at the policy documents and the themes identified through the project, including:

producer-consumer disconnect
regulatory roadblocks
cost of production paradox
succession policies
import-export dilemmas
resource sector “modernization”

Click here to view a slideshow on the Changing Paradigms research initiative.