Innovation requires a strong foundation. For rural municipalities, treating community wellbeing as an empirical, investable asset is becoming a crucial tool for economic development. Moderated by the IRPP, this panel brings together researchers and local elected officials -including Yorkton City Councillor and researcher Dr. Stephanie Ortynsky – to discuss the realities of integrating “wellbeing frameworks” into city planning. Discover how …
Stephanie Ortynsky is an Associate Researcher with the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA) and a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Regina, where she also completed her PhD in Public Policy (University of Saskatchewan). She previously was the Richard M. Bird Post‑Doctoral Fellow at the Institute of Municipal Finance and Governance …
Passionate about empowering rural communities, organizations, and companies to transform their visionary ideas into tangible outcomes. With a background in strategic marketing and community economic development, I specialize in creating tailored growth strategies that drive results and foster sustainable development. Over the years, I have successfully collaborated with diverse organizations, helping them navigate the complexities of market dynamics while effectively …
This presentation by Alan Nixon traces the story of Estevan as a community built on energy—and continually reshaped by innovation. Starting with the early development of the region’s oil industry, Nixon explores how resource extraction, alongside coal mining and power generation, laid the economic and cultural foundation of the city. Estevan’s growth was never just about energy production—it was about …
Alan Nixon is the owner, operator, and managing designer of Revelation Engineering. He has been working to bring his vision of locally based Engineering Service to SE Sask for 13 years. Utilizing his knowledge of settling theory acquired through his work in the oil field, he developed the operational theory behind the Legacy Clarification Reactor (LCR); an innovative approach to …
In this session, Dr. Farhad Moghimehfar and Sarah Sinclair unpacks the innovation behind the Mountain Biking BC Insights Platform—a purpose-built digital system that transforms fragmented recreation data into a coordinated, decision-ready intelligence layer for rural communities. This isn’t just a website. It’s an integrated data infrastructure that combines rider surveys, GPS/mobile tracking, and regional analytics into a unified platform—allowing communities …
Dr. Farhad Moghimehfar is the BC Regional Innovation Chair in Tourism and Sustainable Rural Development at Vancouver Island University. His work focuses on advancing rural innovation through data-driven research, tourism development, and economic diversification strategies. He holds a PhD in nature-based tourism from the University of Alberta and brings extensive expertise in research design, data analytics, and community-based planning. His …
Alastair MacFadden, M.A., B.Sc. – Assistant Deputy Minister, Saskatchewan Region, Prairies Economic Development Canada Alastair MacFadden is an Assistant Deputy Minister at Prairies Economic Development Canada, the federal agency that ensures businesses and workers are equipped for a durable inclusive and diversified economy. Previously, he was Director of Executive Education, interim Director of the University of Saskatchewan campus, and Executive-in-Residence …
Councillor – City of Humboldt Born and raised in Saskatchewan, Sarah pursued a career in neuroscience before discovering her passion for higher education. She worked at the University of Winnipeg and later at the University of Prince Edward Island, where she co-founded Young Voters, a non-partisan organization dedicated to increasing political literacy and youth engagement. In her time on Prince …
This session showcases the Solar Data Dashboard project as a hands-on research environment, where students in the Computer Science Training through Projects program built a real-time solar data system for public display. Through a partnership with Turning Sun Solar, this initiative demonstrates how innovative collaboration can develop both talent and infrastructure. Students will present on their learning outcomes, offering a …
