“It takes A Village”: An Examination of Intra-local Collaborative Economic Development Practices in Ontario, Canada, during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Sutton, Jesse; Lambert, Kavanagh; Arku, Godwin

doi:10.7202/1094688ar

Cited by 9 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…How practitioners influenced their cities' resilience, however, differed depending on the dimension of resilience examined (preparation, vulnerability, resistance, response, and recoverability). Practitioners play a direct and active role in the (un)intentional preparation of their cities for shocks, as they are professionally tasked with ensuring the economic and social well‐being of their economies in stable and turbulent times (e.g., Arku, 2015; Leigh & Blakely, 2017; Sutton, Lambert, et al., 2022). Our empirical findings highlight that practitioners also directly influence economies' responses to and recoverability from plant closures by implementing short‐ and long‐term adaptive strategies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Practitioners' ability to retool the economy: The role of agency in local economic resilience to plant closures in Ontario

Sutton,

Arku,

Sadler

et al. 2024

Growth and Change

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Economic resilience focuses on how localities react and respond to shocks. A recent conceptual advancement, known as the agency perspective and rooted in evolutionary thinking, highlights that economic actors (e.g., practitioners, firms, and institutions) play an essential role in localities' resilience. However, empirical investigations into the role of economic actors have been scarce. To address this shortcoming, in this study we conducted in‐depth interviews with 22 practitioners (economic development officials) from various cities in Ontario, Canada. Through an evolutionary lens, we examine practitioners' perceptions of and responses to endogenous shocks—notably, major industrial plant closures over the past 20 years. We find that practitioners influence localities' resilience through each dimension of the resilience process. Most notably, they support their localities' adaption through various short‐ and long‐term adaptive strategies. Also, we find that economic actors have different capacities and resources at their disposal to respond to shocks depending on the size of their city and its geographical location. Regarding the latter, we reiterate a commonly noted north‐south divide in the province. In addition, we find that economic actors are constrained by multi‐scalar policies, and thus operate in the confines of existing power and political structures.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Practitioners' ability to retool the economy: The role of agency in local economic resilience to plant closures in Ontario

Sutton,

Arku,

Sadler

et al. 2024

Growth and Change

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“…Like other advanced economies, such as those in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, Ontario has been experiencing economic restructuring over the past half‐century, resulting in numerous plant closures. Plant closures in Ontario have profoundly affected the Canadian economy as Ontario is the country's industrial heartland and economic hub (Arku et al., 2020; Sutton, Lambert, & Arku, 2022; Taabazuing et al., 2015). Historically, plant closures have long plagued Canada's economy.…”

Section: Research Area and Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Media narratives of industrial plant closures in Ontario, Canada, from 2000 to 2019

Sutton,

Arku

2024

Area

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Since the 1970s, a defining feature of advanced economies has been industrial plant closures, stemming from the broader process of economic restructuring. Plant closures have been extensively covered by the media due to their adverse effects on localities. However, no media analysis of closures has been conducted in the plant closure literature. In addition to providing a wealth of information, such an analysis can provide insight into media narratives of closures. Media profoundly affects economies by disseminating narratives that influence society, institutions, and politics. To bridge the plant closure and media literature, this paper conducts a media analysis of closures in Ontario, Canada, from 2000 to 2019. Like other advanced economies, the province has experienced many plant closures over the past several decades. The paper found that the overarching narrative presented by the media was that ‘no one is responsible’ for plant closures and therefore ‘no one can or should act’. Also, it was found that differences in media narratives of closures were primarily due to the political slant of news outlets, not city size or scale of news outlets or whether news outlets were independently owned or part of a media conglomerate. Lastly, the paper found that the dissemination of media coverage on plant closures throughout the province was primarily based on the number of job losses, resulting in media coverage of smaller closures remaining localised, while media coverage of larger closures spreading throughout the province.

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“…To date, Ontario has experienced four waves of the pandemic in which cases have sky‐rocketed due to the emergence of several new variants, such as the Brazilian, U.K. and Omicron variants. Also, the province's economy has been severely impacted by provincial lockdowns, experiencing a total of three provincial‐wide lockdowns and one partial provincial‐wide lockdown (Figure 1) (Nielsen, 2021; Sutton et al, 2022).…”

Section: The Covid‐19 Pandemic and Ontariomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Ontario provincial government has attempted to foster regional collaboration between municipalities over the past several decades. However, despite local practitioners’ acknowledgement of the benefits of collaborative approaches to economic development, such as improved regional competitiveness, the economic development landscape in the province still remains highly competitive (Arku, 2014, 2015; Sutton et al, 2022; Wolfson & Frisken, 2000). Crises, like the 2019 coronavirus pandemic (hereafter COVID‐19 pandemic), have the potential to alter economic development strategies resulting in a paradigm shift in hegemonic practices to more unorthodox approaches, such as regional collaboration (Bradford, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A shift towards collaboration: Examining practitioner's economic development practices in Ontario during the COVID‐19 pandemic

2023

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Regional collaboration has been suggested as a more effective way to promote economic development than competitive approaches. In Ontario, despite attempts by the provincial government to encourage regional collaboration, research finds that municipalities are still engaging in inter-territorial competition. In this article, we conducted interviews with thirty-seven practitioners to determine if economic development practices in Ontario have shifted towards more collaborative approaches during the COVID-19 pandemic.The article finds that regional collaboration, as an economic development practice, has intensified in the province during the recent pandemic. Practitioners noted three reasons for engaging in regional collaboration: pool resources, reduce duplication, and complete regionally task-oriented goals. SommaireOn a laissé entendre que la collaboration régionale est un moyen plus efficace de promouvoir le développement économique que les approches concurrentielles. En Ontario, malgré les tentatives du gouvernement provincial

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“It takes A Village”: An Examination of Intra-local Collaborative Economic Development Practices in Ontario, Canada, during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Cited by 9 publications

References 31 publications

Practitioners' ability to retool the economy: The role of agency in local economic resilience to plant closures in Ontario

Practitioners' ability to retool the economy: The role of agency in local economic resilience to plant closures in Ontario

Media narratives of industrial plant closures in Ontario, Canada, from 2000 to 2019

A shift towards collaboration: Examining practitioner's economic development practices in Ontario during the COVID‐19 pandemic

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