What Is the Communities Talking Project?
Communities Talking is a community-driven initiative that helps rural, remote coastal communities gather and use local information to make better decisions about the socio-economic needs of their communities. The Project will blend traditional research with Indigenous-led storytelling and local lived experiences, to map a clear path towards achieving rural island economic health and well-being.
Developed by the Rural Islands Economic Partnership (RIEP) it’s being piloted on Cortes, Gabriola, and Quadra islands and funded by the Ministry of Jobs and Economic Growth. The goals of the Communities Talking Project is to provide communities with the evidenced-based data and insights they need to plan effectively, build local resilience, and shape their own socio-economic futures.
Why Is ‘Communities Talking’ Needed?
Rural islands, remote coastal and coastal Indigenous communities are often underrepresented in traditional economic data collection. This means that important decisions about economic development, workforce needs, housing, transportation, and community well-being are frequently made without access to timely local data or a clear understanding of local community priorities.
Without a coordinated approach to gathering and sharing community-level information, local leaders lack the evidence they need to make informed decisions, track progress, and advocate for solutions that reflect their unique realities. Communities Talking was created to address this gap by providing a coordinated, community-driven approach to gathering and sharing local data, insights, and economic success indicators
To meet this need, the Communities Talking Pilot Project will produce a unified community online economic dashboard which will:
- Improve local economic decision making
- Identify new revenue opportunities
- Support new or emerging economic sectors,
- Foster local job creation and attract economic investment
The long-term goal is to replicate this initiative so it's available for wider use across BC’s 18 islands—and remote coastal regions that are collectively home to thousands of small businesses and more than 40,000 residents.
The Innovation Behind Communities Talking
Communities Talking will be powered by the Community Voice Network (CVN), an innovative collaborative information and values-based network integrated into the Project. Operating similarly to an interactive discussion forum, Communities Talking will offer an easy-to-use online economic dashboard that gives everyone—from on-island locals to off-island interest holders—a clear picture of each island’s community economic realities.
Through the Community Voice Network island businesses and community interest-holders will be able to move from being passive subjects of census data to active, to real-time co-authors of their own economic story.
Key Features of The Community Voice Network:
- Local "Lived" Data— capturing experiential, granular narrative community information;
- Inclusive Data— offering economic insights that supports the opportunity for First Nations Economic Development organizations and Indigenous community members to be accurately represented;
- Cross-Island Benchmarking— connecting communities so they can learn from each other's insights, experiences and findings;
- Real-Time Mapping— following live economic activity alongside historical data and Census milestones. .
How Will Communities Talking Help BC's Rural Islands?
The benefits of Communities Talking is expected to be three-fold:
- Bridging Knowledge Systems: It will explore how rural coastal and Indigenous communities currently measure economic well-being. By weaving Indigenous, relationally focused economic conversations with Western data collection, the pilot demonstrates how a clearer economic picture can strengthen socio-economic resiliency.
- Actionable Toolkits: It will produce community-specific economic dashboards designed to uncover revenue opportunities, support local jobs, and guide regional leadership.
- Inter-Community Engagement: It will energize vital collaboration and storytelling across island networks throughout the lifecycle of the Project.
How Will Data Be Obtained?
The Project Team will work closely with local businesses, community-building organizations and the First Nations who have traditional and unceded lands on these islands to determine common core economic datasets that will support accurate island-to-island benchmarking. From there, unique, community-specific measures and indicators will be incorporated to address each island’s distinct interests, goals, and challenges.
How Will Data Sovereignty Be Protected?
Communities Talking is rooted in the principles of data sovereignty—ensuring that communities exercise full jurisdiction, ownership, and governance over their own information. Rather than simply collecting data, the Project team will support communities in assembling baseline economic indicators from StatsCan, BC Stats, and local Vital Signs reports.
By weaving these institutional datasets with lived experiences, the Project Team is co-designing a community economic dashboard that tracks the metrics most vital to Cortes, Gabriola, and Quadra islands, establishing a self-determined lens for each community's economic well-being.
Through continuous, iterative feedback with island interest holders and Rightsholders, the Communities Talking collaborative approach actively ensures Indigenous and local data sovereignty. This will guarantee that while a shared framework is built, the distinct protocols, data rights, and self-determined perspectives that make each island community unique are fully preserved and protected.
How Can The Island Pilot Communities Participate?
During the Summer and Fall of 2026, Communities Talking island liaisons will reach out to actively engage with businesses, community-building organizations, and local First Nations whose unceded traditional territories encompass these islands. The goal of these local engagement activities is to introduce the Project – the opportunities and benefits; as well as to invite input and feedback to ensure that as the Project evolves it will accurately reflect the realities of the island's economic ecosystem.
About Us
The Communities Talking Pilot Project is an initiative of the Rural Islands Economic Partnership (RIEP), a grassroots organization that connects rural island and Indigenous communities across British Columbia to support economic resilience, collaboration, and community well-being.
The RIEP Board of Directors, with the support of a volunteer working group, hired staff including a Project Manager, three island liaisons and an Indigenous community advisor. Communities Talking is funded by the Ministry of Jobs and Economic Growth through the Rural Economic Diversification & Infrastructure Program (REDIP). The grant is matched in part through sponsorships and grants secured by RIEP.
The Communities Talking Pilot Project began in 2025 upon receipt of the REDIP grant funds, and is due to be completed by March 31, 2027.
For more information about Communities Talking contact:
Evan Thibault
Project Manager, Communities Talking
evan@ruralislandspartnership.ca
