Welcome to the EconomicDevelopment.org newsletter! As we wrap up another year, we'd like to thank you all for being a part of the EconomicDevelopment.org community. We hope you have a safe and happy holiday season.

Feel free to drop us a line at connect@economicdevelopment.org with any questions or comments you might have about EconomicDevelopment.org. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Google+ and Pinterest.

Wishing you all the best in 2014!

- The EconomicDevelopment.org Team

By Tarryn Landman

For this edition of our Featured Contributor series, I had a chance to hear from Steven Thorne. Steven is one of our most popular contributors, with the top three posts on our list of  top 10 posts of EconomicDevelopment.org’s first year. Here’s what he had to say about his work in place-based cultural tourism.

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By Michelle Madden

Did you know the University of Waterloo has a Local Economic Development master’s program?

Maybe not. Even though it is the only graduate program dedicated solely to local economic development in Canada—and celebrating its 25th anniversary this Fall—many people in the economic development field aren’t familiar with it. This unique program lives in the shadow of UW’s professional Economic Development Program, which you probably do know about because it trains hundreds of professionals every year.  In contrast, the LED program only admits 15-20 students in the same time period.

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By Lou Zacharilla

The Intelligent Community Forum has named the world’s Smart21 Intelligent Communities for 2014. Only 126 communities over the last 16 years have gained this designation. The 21 communities for 2014 are now the semi-finalists in the Intelligent Community Forum’s annual awards program that will lead to the selection of the Intelligent Community of the Year in June of 2014 at the annual Intelligent Community Forum Summit in New York City.

You can watch the video here.

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By Greg Baeker

As 2013 draws to a close, it seems appropriate to reflect on the highs and lows of the past year. In July, the world lost one of its most original thinkers in cultural policy and cultural planning with the passing of Colin Mercer. I was honored to have called Colin a friend and a mentor for almost 20 years. He kindly contributed two chapters to my book Rediscovering the Wealth of Places: A Municipal Cultural Planning Handbook for Canadian Communities.

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By Tarryn Landman

Over the past few months, the discussion of women in the workforce has taken centre stage with articles like “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All” and the release of Sheryl Sandberg’s book Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. Sandberg raises some compelling arguments about the importance of equality in the workplace (and at home) at a time when the gender gap, in pay and leadership ambition, is making headlines. While the “lean in” premise certainly has flaws (there are a few) and critics, there are some important takeaways for those in economic, workforce and community development roles.

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