The Canadian Rural Research Network:

One year in review

Alessandro Alasia
Network coordinator

CRRN Annual Meeting

May 5th 2010, 1:30pm -3:30pm EST

Hosted by the Rural Development Network (RDN)

May 5, 2010 CRRN Annual Meeting 2010 1

 Outline

• Achievements

• An emerging research network model?

• Key questions for discussion

May 5, 2010 CRRN Annual Meeting 2010 2

 CRRN development

• June 2009, CRRF supports a proposal to revitalize the network (as

Canadian Rural Research Network) with a renewed mandate and
networking model

– June 2009, the CRRN blog is launched

– August 2009, first bi-monthly email update is sent out
– September/December 2009, a management committee is
established
– December 2009, first online meeting of the management
committee
– January/February 2010, presence on social media (Facebook,
Twitter, YouTube)
– March 2010, first presentation of the CRRN at the BCRRHRN
Scientific Exchange
– May 5th, first annual meeting of the CRRN partners

May 5, 2010 CRRN Annual Meeting 2010 3

 CRRN vision

• A vibrant, free and comprehensive on-line

community of rural research stakeholders
that facilitates links, exchanges, partnerships
and information sharing among all parties
interested in rural research by means of new
and innovative networking approaches

May 5, 2010 CRRN Annual Meeting 2010 4

 Achievements
• Over 30 provincial and national organizations
with an interest in rural research meet around a
virtual table

• A volunteer management group spread across

Canada maintains the network

• A large number of feedback from a community

of users

May 5, 2010 CRRN Annual Meeting 2010 5

 Achievements
• Established a simple-to-use platform to compile
and disseminate rural research information
– Stats on usage over the past year:
• Slightly more than 7,000 unique visitors
• About 18,200 page loads
• Recently, between 20 and 30 visitors per day
• email distribution list of about 3,500 contacts (largely in the
public (fed/prov/municipal) and non-profit sector)

• Presence on major social media (Facebook,

Twitter, YouTube) and RSS feeds
May 5, 2010 CRRN Annual Meeting 2010 6
 … and more work is needed on:
• Simple procedures to get all partners more
involved with CRRN activities
– E.g. “Posting guidelines” draft

• Simple rules for the operation of the network

may be developed as the network grows and
expands

• Promote the use of and participation to CRRN

social media (Facebook, Twitter, RuralTube… a
wiki?)

May 5, 2010 CRRN Annual Meeting 2010 7

 An emerging research network model?

• Three ideas (with some simplifications) that can shape

an emerging research network model which brings
together supply and demand of rural research:

– The Wickinomics (of research information sharing)

• (Tapscott and Williams 2006)

– The Socialnomics (of research information sharing)

• (Qualman 2009)

– The world (of rural research) is flat

• (Friedman 2005)

May 5, 2010 CRRN Annual Meeting 2010 8

 Wikinomics, Socialnomics and research networks
• Shift in Internet applications (Web 2.0): from a publishing environment to a
participative environment

• People are getting more relevant, timely and free content from their
peers via social media (Qualman 2009)

• Cost of (online) collaboration has plunged

• A new mode of production emerges: peer production

– A way of producing goods/services that relies on self-organizing, egalitarian
communities of individuals who come together voluntarily to produce a shared
outcome (Tapscott and Williams 2006)

• Peer production works for production of: (1) “information” outputs; (2) small
increment contributions are possible; (3) low cost of re-assembly parts

• Peer production can outperform traditional production models because

people self-select for tasks

May 5, 2010 CRRN Annual Meeting 2010 9

 The (rural research) world is flat

• Several technological forces have converged and

generated a global, Web-enabled playing field that
allows for multiple forms of collaboration regardless of
distance and (soon) language (Friedman 2005)

• “Globalization 3.0” is about individuals and small groups

globalizing (so, today, what is the difference between the CRRN
and an International Rural Research Network?)

• A flat rural research world is open for exploration.

Our research community should be at the cutting edge of
this exploration (because we know why and how
distance still matters!)

May 5, 2010 CRRN Annual Meeting 2010 10

 Some key questions for discussion

• How can we improve the current system?

(ideas and possible implementations)

• How can we facilitate, encourage and

reward collaboration and participation?

• How can we get the most value out of the

CRRN?

May 5, 2010 CRRN Annual Meeting 2010 11