WHAT DO WE DO
Learn
The Institute builds on proven experience transforming local economies into engines of national prosperity. Through in-person and virtual learning, we elevate place-based approaches from isolated success stories to a coherent strategy. With our partners, we’re creating a new field where practice and theory continuously inform one another.
Community + Business Hub
Our Community + Business Hub (Orange Lodge) is a learning space in our community of practice, Fogo Island. Rooted in our experience in regenerative tourism and social business, it offers programming that supports rural entrepreneurship, promotes economic literacy, and fosters the social connections essential for coming together to strengthen local economies.
Learn More“We need to invest in [communities] because they are nation-building assets. These investments deliver social, economic, spiritual, and environmental returns.”
- Matthew Mendelsohn
Resources
The resources below are just the beginning — we’re actively building out the Institute and will be adding more tools, insights, and resources from communities across the country.
Place Study: Memorial University
Memorial University's PLACE Framework case study thoroughly examines Shorefast's place-based approach in action, offering concrete evidence of how our model is transforming Fogo Island's economic landscape while providing a practical blueprint that other regions are now adapting to their own distinctive contexts
Watch the video
Watch the video
Community Economies Pilot Report
The Pilot was a year-long pan-Canadian initiative that Shorefast launched in July 2021 to answer the question “How do we strengthen community economies?"
A Policy Agenda for Place
Much of Canada’s public policy discussion is implicitly or explicitly focused on place, but policy makers do not always think about communities when designing programs and policies. Matthew Mendelsohn of Social Capital Partners makes the case for integrating community as a unit of analysis and design and lays out a policy agenda to strengthen community economies
Learn more or get involved – Contact us
Do you have questions about The Shorefast Institute for Place-Based Economies or Economic Nutrition? Enter your details below and we can reach out to provide further information.