Strategic Community Economic Development and Small Business : Cooperation for Sustainability

Abstract: This thesis aims to increase the knowledge and capacity of Canadian communities and their small businesses in order to enable their transition towards sustainability. This was accomplished through interviews with Canadian Community Economic Development (CED) experts, and surveys from Small Business (SB) operators in Canmore, Alberta, Canada. We suggest the potential roles for CED proponents and SB operators include: (1) Shared development of community vision; (2) Local business networks for sustainability; (3) Community capacity building through dialogue.