At the Lunenburg Queens Regional Development Agency (LQRDA), we follow the ideology known as Community Economic Development. Community Economic Development, or CED, is a strategic approach used in smaller communities to develop a sustainable economy. The approach is used because traditional economic development tactics favour large, prosperous, well-known communities, and are not generally effective for rural-based communities our size.

A pilot project, based upon the popular Business Retention and Expansion program (BRE), has been initiated for the non-profit sector. Read more about Community Group Retention and Expansion (CGRE).

Essentially, CED is about building a community by empowering its members, increasing local self-reliance, so that informed decisions can be made. These decisions might be about investments, land use, environmental concerns, new amenities needed - and the list goes on. CED is about long-term, "generational" thinking that focuses on sustainability - and it is the whole community, not one or two organizations or individuals, that makes CED happen - and that benefit.

As our communities struggle for continuity, they realise that they must nourish what is traditional and cherished, but they must also be cognisant of changing conditions and look to new opportunities that allow them to move forward.

The LQRDA works alongside our citizens and our other economic partners to build community capacity. Our goal is to improve the local economy through enhanced business and community sectors that are knowledgeable, capable, and receptive - allowing our communities to remain competitive and nourished, and bringing us stability for the present, while preparing us for the future.

Community and Sustainable Economic Development

An area becomes inviting to its citizens and to newcomers when it can offer the appropriate amenities and support services. Strong, healthy communities do not happen by chance, they are the result of imagination, forward-thinking, and a great deal of hard work coming together to transform a community in ways that once seemed impossible.

In CED, it is the community members themselves that drive the effort to ensure the community environment meets the needs of its residents and visitors. The LQRDA helps with community-driven projects by offering advice and pointing groups in the right direction. A feasible program is one that has the whole community - economic developers and residents - behind it and supporting it from start to finish.