1. Methodology
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Vitality is a collective aspiration as well as the product of individual activity. The study of the English-speaking community of the Eastern Townships was based on a participatory approach, which allowed community leaders and stakeholders to influence the design and the implementation of the study. As in the previous community study on three Francophone communities outside of Quebec,8 the community’s active participation in the study was relied on heavily to describe the target sectors. In addition, a provincial steering committee composed of eight community leaders from the three regions, representatives from the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages and the Qu’anglo Communications consulting team was created.
An orientation session with the steering committee was held to present an overview of the project, invite general input from each of the communities and determine the process (i.e., timing, manner) that would be used to hold the consultations with the task forces in each of their communities. During this orientation session, the steering committee selected four sectors (among many) that best reflect the priorities of their respective communities, and these sectors became the focus of consultation in each community. The steering committee was also asked to assist in creating a task force for each of the communities, more specifically by developing selection criteria and by identifying potential candidates.
This study provided each of the three English-speaking communities with the opportunity to select its own four priority sectors.
The process and resulting logic model is therefore adapted to the particular circumstances of each community. In the Eastern Townships, the members of the steering committee chose the following sectors of activity:
| Sectors selected for study – Eastern Townships |
|---|
| Youth – create the conditions that allow young people to remain in or return to the Eastern Townships region to pursue their career and family aspirations |
| Health and social services – provide essential health care and social services in the English language, and contribute to the overall well-being of the community by promoting and supporting a healthy lifestyle |
| Arts and culture – express the community’s identity and contribute to employment and economic development for English speakers in the region |
| Economic development – generate employment opportunities and economic wealth, which provide the foundation for engaged individuals, self-sufficient families and sustainable communities |
The community task force for the Eastern Townships was composed of 17 participants who were active community members or experts in a certain sector. These individuals were selected for their ability to describe the development activities, short- and long-term results, best practices and needs of their community.
The community task force session was held at the community centre in Knowlton, Quebec, on June 6, 2007, and took the form of a workshop facilitated by the consulting team. This consisted of a general discussion to introduce the concept of vitality, followed by a structured discussion examining the main elements of vitality and vitality indicators and how they apply to the various target sectors. The community task force session was followed by a validation session, which was held at the United Church in Cowansville, Quebec on September 6, 2007, and was supplemented by e-mail and telephone contributions in response to the session findings.
Notes
8 Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages, Vitality Indicators for Official Language Communities 1: Francophones in Urban Settings, Ottawa, 2007.
