BUILDING HEALTHY ENTERPRISING AND SUSTAINABLE RURAL COMMUNITIES

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BUILDING HEALTHY ENTERPRISING AND SUSTAINABLE
RURAL COMMUNITIES -Presentation Notes- Peter
Kenyon Director Bank of IDEAS (Initiatives for
the Development of Enterprising Action and
Strategies) Ph 08 9293 0623 Fax 08 6293
1137 email pk _at_ bankofideas.com.au web www.
bankofideas.com.au  
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The trouble with our times is that the
future isn't what it used to be (Paul Valery)
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• RURAL CHANGE AND UNCERTAINTY
•   
• Demographic changes
• Globalisation of technology and markets
• Volatile world commodity prices
• Changing labour market
• opportunities
• Unreliability in weather patterns

The future aint what it used to be! (anon)
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• Regionalisation and centralisation of services
  growth of sponge regional centres
• Declining educational and health services
• Low income levels
• High family and business costs
• Changes in lifestyle preferences
• Environmental challenges salinity, water,
  environmental attitudes
• Deteriorating infrastructure
• City attitudes

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DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGE
1900 37 lived within what is now defined as the
8 state and territory capital cities 9
lived in large coastal towns (eg, Newcastle,
Geelong, Cairns)   54 scattered through rural
areas
2000 63 live in capitals 16 in coastal
provincial cities   21 in rural areas   71 of
population live in 10 cities  
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JOB LOSS IN RURAL AUSTRALIA
Over last 30 years - Loss of 100,000 farm
jobs   Over last 25 years - Loss of 66,000
railway jobs Loss of 40,000 farms   Over last 5
years - Loss of 10,000 bank jobs, and over
1000 bank branches Loss of 32,000 public
sector jobs
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FARMING AT A GLANCE

• Farmers and their partners work on average 60
• hours a week each.
• Farmers are on average 55 years of age.
• By 2016, 26 per cent of all people living in
  rural
• areas will be aged 65 or over.
• In city areas, 18 per cent will be 65 or over.
• Twenty per cent of farms earn less than 10,000
• a year.
• The average income of a farmer is 27 310, while
• the average wage of all Australians is 38 740.
• There are now 140 700 farms in Australia, a
  decline
• of 40 000 in the past 25 years.
• (ACCORDING TO MARGARET ALSTAN, CENTRE FOR RURAL
  SOCIAL NETWORK)

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We stand at a crossroads, one path leads to
despair and destruction, the other to
annihilation, may we have the wisdom to choose
the right path.   (Woody Allen)
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Seven Pillars Of A Healthy Community   Practices
ongoing dialogue Generates leadership Shapes its
future Embraces diversity Knows itself Connects
people and resources Creates a sense of
community   (Healthy Cities and Communities
Coalition, USA)    
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• SUCCESSFUL COMMUNITIES
• Build on the strengths of local individuals,
  associations and institutions
• Focus on specific actions and measurable results
  to improve community life
• Promote participation by people of all races,
  genders, cultures and age groups
• Ensure local decision making and ownership
• Draw upon the resources of the whole community
• Bridge all sectors to develop healthy children,
  families and communities, and
• Share experience and knowledge to promote
  continuous community learning.
• (ACCORDING TO PRIME MINISTERS YOUTH PATHWAYS
  ACTION PLAN TASKFORCE 2001)

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• CHARACTERISTICS OF HEALTHY, ENTERPRISING AND
• SUSTAINABLE RURAL COMMUNITIES
•  
• Openness to change and alternative thinking
• Sustainable balance
• Participation and social connectedness
• Asset and idea obsession
• Local business employment and
• organisational creativity
• Local ownership and investment
• Leadership renewal
• Passion and we can do mindset

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OPENNESS TO CHANGE AND ALTERNATIVE THINKING
Continuing to do the same thing and expecting a
different result  (Einsteins Definition of
Insanity)
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WE CAN EITHER BE VICTIMS OF CHANGE OR WE CAN
PLAN FOR IT, SHAPE IT, AND EMERGE STRONGER FROM
IT. THE CHOICE IS OURS (Sonaran
Institute)   WE NEED TO ACCEPT CHANGE, AND MAKE
IT OUR FRIEND (Robert Theobald) DESTINY IS NOT
A MATTER OF CHANCE IT IS A MATTER OF CHOICE. IT
IS NOT A THING TO BE WAITED FOR IT IS A THING TO
BE ACHIEVED (William Jennings Bryan)
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BIG THINGS HAPPEN WHEN A LOT OF PEOPLE DO
SMALL THINGS DIFFERENTLY   (JOHN THEOBALD)
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YEOVAL COMMUNITY HOSPITAL COOPERATIVE 'First
Multi-Purpose Health Centre in NSW  

• Origins
• Instigated by community (town population 550,
  district
• population 1,500) in 1989 when Government deemed
• hospital non-viable and decided to close it
• Following closure, 250 community members became
• foundation shareholders of a hospital and related
  health and
• aged care service Cooperative.
• 100,000 raised locally

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• Today
•  
• 450 shareholders
• Cooperative has spent 1m and is debt free
• Annual payroll of 1m
• Largest employer in community - 50 staff
• Has achieved a financial surplus every year
• except one
• Source of incredible local pride

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• Current Services
•  
• 7 bed hospital
• Accident and assessment room
• 9 bed nursing home
• 9 bed hostel
• 8 bed special care unit for dementia
• Day-care centre
• Physiotherapy
• Community care packages
• Volunteer ambulances
• Meals on Wheels
• Doctors' Surgery
• X-ray facilities

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It is something the community fought very hard
for. At a time when many small towns are
shrinking and services are being taken away from
them, we took control, brought the hospital and
effectively said that is not going to happen
here. Many people have been in this area all
their lives and we wanted them to be able to grow
old here and have the care and services they
need. So, the hospital really represents the
strength and commitment of the Yeoval community.
It is a statement in itself, as well as an
icon.   (Colin Francis, Chief Executive Officer
Yeoval Community Hospital Co-operative Ltd)
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SUSTAINABLE BALANCE

• Environmental Integrity
• Economic Vitality
• Community Well Being
• Cultural Enhancement
•  

PEOPLE, PLANET, PROSPERITY AND PRESERVATION
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STRONG COMMUNITIES

• have strong leaders
• have strong networks with other communities
• can build on their existing assets and resources
• have a can-do community spirit and are
  optimistic
• about the future
• can grasp the opportunities that come their way
• have a sense of belonging to the community
• among its members
• embrace change and take responsibility
• (Stronger Families, Stronger Communities at
  Department
• of Family and Community Services)

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CHARACTERISTICS OF A HEALTHY COMMUNITY Healthy
Unhealthy Optimism, hope and 'we are in this
together Cynicism "We can do it 'Nothing
works' Value intangibles like vision and
values Emphasis only on tangibles Consensus
building Polarisation Collaboration Confro
ntation Focus on the future Debate the
past Interdependence Parochialism Broad
community participation Few do
everything Leadership renewal Same old
faces Think and act in long term Short term
thinking Listening Attacking Reconciliation
Hold grudges Win-win solutions Win-lose
solutions Politics of substance Politics of
personality Diversity and involvement Exclusion
Challenge ideas Challenge people Problem
solvers Blockers and blamers View challenges
as opportunities See themselves as
victims    
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PARTICIPATION AND SOCIAL CONNECTEDNESS
MOST AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITIES CAN OFTEN BE
COMPARED TO AN AUSTRALIAN RULES FOOTBALL MATCH
WHERE 30,000 PEOPLE WHO NEED THE EXERCISE, TURN
UP TO WATCH 36 PLAYERS WHO DONT. ( Peter Kenyon
)   AS A RULE OF THUMB, INVOLVE EVERYONE IN
EVERY THING. ( Tom Peters )
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When spider webs unite they can tie up a
lion (Ethiopian proverb)
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BEGINNING IN 1970, ITALIANS ESTABLISHED A
NATIONWIDE SET OF POTENTIALLY POWERFUL REGIONAL
GOVERNMENTS. THEY WERE VIRTUALLY IDENTICAL IN
FORM, BUT THE SOCIAL,ECONOMIC, POLITICAL, AND
CULTURAL CONTEXTS IN WHICH THEY WERE IMPLANTED
DIFFERED DRAMATICALLY RANGING FROM THE
PRE-INDUSTRIAL TO THE POST-INDUSTRIAL AND FROM
THE INERTLY FEUDAL TO THE FRENETICALLY MODERN.
SOME OF THE NEW GOVERNMENTS PROVED TO BE DISMAL
FAILURES INEFFICIENT AND CORRUPT. OTHERS HAVE
BEEN REMARKABLY SUCCESSFUL (ROBERT PUTNAM
MAKING DEMOCRACY WORK CIVIC TRADITION IN MODERN
ITALY)
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PUTNAMS CHALLENGE BEST REGION WORST
REGION
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CONTRARY TO OUR EXPECTATIONS, WE WERE UNABLE TO
EXPLAIN THE DIFFERENCES ON THE BASIS OF SUCH
OBVIOUS FACTORS AS PARTY POLITICS, AFFLUENCE OR
POPULATION MOVEMENTSTHE HISTORICAL RECORD
STRONGLY SUGGESTS THAT THE SUCCESSFUL
COMMUNITIES BECOME RICH BECAUSE THEY WERE
CIVIC, NOT THE OTHER WAY ROUND. THE SOCIAL
CAPITAL EMBODIED IN NORMS AND NETWORKS OF CIVIC
ENGAGEMENT SEEMS TO BE A PRECONDITION FOR
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AS WELL AS FOR EFFECTIVE
GOVERNMENT. CIVICS MATTERS (ROBERT PUTNAM
MAKING DEMOCRACY WORK CIVIC TRADITION IN MODERN
ITALY)
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SOCIAL CAPITAL
'the fabric that holds the community
together (Robert Putnam)
Features of social organization like networks,
the quality and intensity of civic involvement,
the level of trust and norms that exist between
individuals and/or groups within a community,
and which facilitate coordination and
cooperation for mutual benefit.
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• CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
• SOCIAL CONNECTEDNESS
• INCLUSIVENESS
• COOPERATION
• MUTUALISM
• TRUST
• RECIPROCITY
• COLLECTIVE WELL BEING
• VALUING OF INDIVIDUAL GIFTS
• TOLERATION OF DIVERSITY

The norms and networks of civil society that
lubricate cooperative action among both citizens
and their institutions (Robert Putnam)
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WE ARE COMMITTED TO STRENGTHENING THE
FOUNDATIONS OF AUSTRALIAS CIVIC CULTURE. WE
BELIEVE THAT SOCIAL CAPITAL AND THE BUILDING OF
NETWORKS OF TRUST AND UNDERSTANDING IN NATIONAL
AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES ARE VITAL IF THESE
COMMUNITIES ARE TO RESPOND TO THE CHALLENGES OF
CHANGE. (Prime Minister John Howard, Address to
the World Economic Forum, 1998)
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MUCH HARD EVIDENCE HAS ACCUMULATED THAT CIVIC
ENGAGEMENT AND SOCIAL CONNECTEDNESS ARE
PRACTICAL PRECONDITIONS FOR BETTER SCHOOLS,
SAFER STREETS AND EVEN HEALTHIER AND LONGER
LIVES(Robert Putnam)
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• THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT FACTORS AFFECTING SAFETY
• PEOPLE KNOWING EACH OTHER
• PEOPLE ACTING TOGETHER
• (According to Jody Kretzmann)

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DECLINE IN SOCIAL PARTICIPATION BETWEEN 1970
1997 IN USA (According to Robert Putnam)

•  
• Attendance at public meetings dropped from 22 to
  12
• Participation in committee meetings dropped
• from 17 to 8
• Decline of 60 in dinner parties having friends
  over for
• dinner dropped from 14 times a year to 8 times
• Having a picnic went from 5 a year to 2 a year
•  

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BY FAR THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR IN THE RATINGS
OF SUCCESS WAS
How people feel about their community
(The Success Factors Managing Change in
Regional and Rural Australia Rural Womens
Advisory Council)
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Volunteering has consistently been identified in
the study as a critical factor of the future
success of rural and regional communities. It
has been the single most important factor in
people feeling good about their communities, and
hence working for their communitys greater
success (Regional Womens Advisory Council
The Success Factors Managing Change in Regional
and Rural Australia)
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Yet the rate of volunteering is declining at a
time when it is most needed. Older volunteers
are burning out and younger people are being
discouraged from participating by the prevalence
of barriers that make them feel negative about
their communities (Regional Womens Advisory
Council The Success Factors Managing Change
in Regional and Rural Australia)
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UNIQUE CONTRIBUTION BY YOUNG WOMEN AND MEN  

•  
• Fresh perspectives
• Great collaborators
• Make the dollar stretch
• Passionate about issues, eg,
• environment / sustainability
• Impatience
• Best know what other young people
• think and want

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PARADIGM CHANGE REGARDING YOUNG MEN AND
WOMEN   Problem Problem Solver Client
Change Maker Recipient
Co-Participant At risk
population Leadership asset to be dealt
with to be cultivated Tomorrows Part of
todays Leaders Leadership team Adult
in the making A citizen today
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ASSET AND IDEA OBSESSIVE
 YOUVE GOT TO BE HUNGRY FOR IDEAS, TO MAKE
THINGS HAPPEN AND TO SEE YOUR VISIONS MADE INTO
REALITY  (Anita Roddick)
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Communities have deficiencies and needs
Communities and its citizens Have capacities
and assets
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WHAT WE FOCUS ON BECOMES OUR REALITY. IF WE
FOCUS ON WHAT IS WRONG OR WHAT IS MISSING, WE
TEND TO SEE EVERYTHING THROUGH THAT FILTER OR
FRAME. (anon)
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FOCUSES ON ASSETS AND CAPACITIES, NOT WEAKNESSES
AND DEFICIENCIES
'EVERY LIVING PERSON HAS SOME GIFT OR CAPACITY OF
VALUE TO OTHERS. A STRONG COMMUNITY IS A PLACE
THAT RECOGNISES THESE GIFTS AND ENSURES THEY ARE
GIVEN. A WEAK COMMUNITY IS A PLACE WHERE LOTS
OF PEOPLE CAN'T OR DON'T GIVE THEIR GIFTS' (John
McKnight And Jody Kretzmann)
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ABCD ASSET BASED COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Every single person has capacities, abilities
and gifts. Living a good life depends on
whether those capacities can be used, abilities
expressed and gifts given (John McKnight and
Jody Kretzmann)
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WE CAN ASK QUESTIONS IN TWO WAYS   1. What is
wrong with our community? What problems can we
fix? What are the needs of our community? What
is broken? OR   2. What are the strengths and
assets of our community? Share a time when you
felt our community was at its best? What do
you value most about our community? What is the
essence of our community that makes it unique
and strong?              
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TRADITIONAL COMMUNITY ABCD DEVELOPMENT   Top
down, outside in Inside out Weaknesses Stre
ngths Deficiencies, needs Assets,
opportunities   Disabilities Abilities,
capacities   Silo provision Collaboration,
Relationships, networking   Consumers of
services Producers of services   Dependence on
outside Importance of Professionals commu
nity initiative And relationships
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IN EVERY COMMUNITY SOMETHING WORKS.   CHANGE
CAN BE ACHIEVED BY IDENTIFYING WHAT WORKS AND
FOCUSING ON DOING MORE OF WHAT WORKS.
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ASSET AND RESOURCE MAPPING

• A systematic process for identifying and
  detailing resources (individual skills and
  organisational resources) and strengths in a
  community.
• Focuses on identifying and using the assets and
  strengths in the community rather than
  emphasizing the problems and deficits.
• Inherently optimistic and rests on the assumption
  that everyone has a gift to give.
• Mapped assets are connected and mobilised for
  action.

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LOCAL BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT AND ORGANISATIONAL
CREATIVITY
TO BE A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS, ONE NEEDS TO BE
BOLD, DIFFERENT, and FIRST.   (Anita Roddick)
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LOCAL OWNERSHIP AND INVESTMENT
Success is an inside job (Ralph M Ford)  If
opportunity doesnt knock build a door  (Milton
Berle)
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LEADERSHIP RENEWAL
Given the task of rejuvenating a region and the
choice of 50 million, or 2 million and 20
committed local leaders, we would choose the
smaller amount of money and the committed
leaders   (McKinsey and Company (1994) Lead
Local Compete Global Unlocking the Growth of
Australias Regions)
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• 'LEADERSHIP IS FUNDAMENTALLY ABOUT
• CREATING
• FOCUSSING
• DIRECTING
• MAINTAINING ENERGY
• (GIBSON AND ASSOCIATES)

I have no doubt that in the final analysis, the
ability of rural communities and their industries
and businesses to survive, grow and develop, will
depend upon their willingness and skill to
identify, attract, develop, renew and retain
leadership (Peter Kenyon)
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PASSION AND CAN DO MINDSET
When facing a difficult task, act as if it is
impossible to fail. When going after Moby Dick,
bring along the tartare sauce (author
unknown)
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"A POSITIVE ATTITUDE IS THE OUTWARD
MANIFESTATION OF A MIND THAT DWELLS PRIMARILY ON
POSITIVE MATTERS.IT IS A MINDSET TIPPED IN FAVOUR
OF CREATIVE ACTIVITY RATHER THAN BOREDOM JOY
OVER SADNESS HOPE OVER FUTILITY A POSITIVE
ATTITUDE IS THAT STATE OF MIND WHICH CAN BE
MAINTAINED THROUGH CONSCIOUS EFFORT". (Elwood
Chapman Attitude "Your Most Precious Possession")
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'I THINK NEGATIVE PEOPLE SHOULD BE TAXED. THEY
REQUIRE AN INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF ENERGY.
THEY'RE LIKE CORGIS NIBBLING AT YOUR ANKLES
AND I'M SURE THEY EXIST TO SHOW US THE
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HEAVEN AND HELL'(Vicki Buck,
Ex-mayor Christchurch City Council)
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'NOWADAYS TOWNS ARE REALLY NOT SO DIFFERENT FROM
BUSINESSES, THEY NEED TO KEEP RECREATING
THEMSELVES. NOT SO MANY YEARS AGO COUNTRY TOWNS
WERE SUBJECT TO GENERAL TRENDS. THEY WOULD ALL
DO WELL OR ALL DO BADLY. THE PICTURE IS NOW
VERY UNEVEN. THE SUCCESSFUL TOWNS ARE LIKELY TO
BE DRIVEN BY PEOPLE WHO ARE PASSIONATE AND
CREATIVE, WHO SEE AN OPPORTUNITY AND GO FOR IT.
YOU NEED COMMUNITIES WITH A BIT OF GET UP AND
GO SPIRIT. SOME HAVE IT, SOME DON'T. (Roy
Powell, Centre for Agricultural and Regional
Economics)
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A man found an eagles egg and placed it under a
brooding hen. The eaglet hatched with the
chickens and grew to be like them. He clucked
and cackled, scratched the earth for worms,
flapped his wings and managed to fly a few feet
in the air.   Years passed. One day the eagle,
now grown old saw a magnificent bird above him
in the sky it glided in a graceful majesty
against the powerful wind, with scarcely a
movement of its golden wings.   Spellbound the
eagle asked Whos that?   Thats the king of
the birds, the eagle, said his neighbour. He
belongs to the sky. We belong to earth were
chickens.   So the eagle lived and died a
chicken for thats what he thought he was.
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THE FUTURE IS NOT A PLACE TO WHICH WE ARE
GOING, IT IS A PLACE WE ARE CREATING. THE PATHS
TO THE FUTURE ARE NOT FOUND, BUT MADE AND THE
ACTIVITY OF MAKING THEM CHANGES BOTH THE MAKER
AND THE DESTINATION. (John Schaar)
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contactPETER KENYON Ph 08 9433 2222 Fax 08
9433 2999 PO Box 90, Palmyra, WA,
6957   email pk_at_bankofideas.com.au website www.
bankofideas.com.au