Service Provision and Rural Sustainability Infrastructure and Innovation

Access to quality services and community infrastructure are vital parts of supporting sustainable and resilient rural and small town places. Renewing outdated infrastructure and supporting the delivery of services in rural communities present significant challenges from the constrained fiscal and policy realities of the 21st century. Drawing upon contributors from five Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, this book describes innovative service delivery and community infrastructure models that are appropriate to the contemporary rural and resource-dependent regions of developed economies. The examples show that an entrepreneurial approach to service delivery and infrastructure provision by local organizations and governments is needed. Critical economic and community development supports are crucial to assist creative and innovative sets of solutions that work for small communities. Chapters in this book argue that community development foundations for resilient rural and small town communities and regions must be co-constructed and co-delivered in partnership by both local and senior government actors, in terms of both policy and committed resources. Thisvolume will be extremely valuable for students, scholars, and community development practitioners exploring policy-making, government initiatives, and community service provision in rural and small town places.

Part I: Introduction 1. Introduction Greg Halseth, Sean Markey, Laura Ryser Part II: Shaping New Service Arrangements through Government Policies 2. The Needy Rural – Does Living in a Rural Area Mean that You Are in Need? Erin Sherry and Sally Shortall 3. Service Tasmania: Australia’s First Whole-of-Government Initiative Greg Blackburn 4. Shared Services in Australian Local Government: The Case of the Common Service Model Brian Dollery Part III: New Service Arrangements 5. Rural Health Service Delivery Challenges in an Era of Neoliberalism in New Zealand Etienne Nel and Sean Connelly 6. Partnering for Health Care Sustainability in Smaller Urban Centres: Why and How a Health Authority Chose to ‘Go Upstream’ Neil Hanlon et al 7. Residential Models of Dementia Care in Rural Australian Communities Rachel Winterton et al 8. Philanthropic Organizations to the Rescue? Alternative Funding Solutions for Rural Sustainability Ryan Gibson and Joshua Barrett Part IV: New Infrastructure Arrangements 9. Innovations for Sustaining Rural Drinking Water Services Sarah Minnes, Sarah-Patricia Breen, Kelly Vodden 10. Remotely Connected? A Comparative Analysis of the Development of Rural Broadband Infrastructure and Initiatives Wayne Kelly and Michael Hynes 11. Pursuing Alternative Infrastructure Arrangements to Strengthen Rural Service Provision in BC, Canada Laura Ryser, Greg Halseth, and Sean Markey Part V: Moving Forward 12. Emerging issues for new rural service and infrastructure models Greg Halseth, Laura Ryser, Sean Markey

Greg Halseth is the Canada Research Chair in Rural and Small Town Studies in the Geography Program at University of Northern British Columbia, Canada. Sean Markey is a professorwith theSchool of Resource and Environmental Management at Simon Fraser University, Canada. Laura Ryser is the research manager of Rural and Small Town Studies in the Geography Program at University of Northern British Columbia, Canada.