At this week's ASPECT members' meeting, we discussed possible knowledge mobilization efforts for the ASPECT Refocusing the Urban Lens for Rural and Remote Employment Services

 report. Although it represents months of community-based research, not all funders have time to read the full 46 pages. We need to help them understand the inequities succinctly and easily. The following are strategies we think may be able to help:

TikTok-Style Videos

Seeing is believing, and we are asking rural and remote service providers to record short TikTok-style videos for us to use in our social media campaign. We are looking for clips that follow the themes and topics of our report.

• Story related to distance: costs, logistics, available services, training, and transportation
• Story related to recruitment & retention of staff, clients, and community partners
• Story related to connectivity: broadband infrastructure, digital access, digital literacy
• Story related to contract challenges: funding suggestions, unique considerations, client type

Written Stories
We ask you to describe your experiences or those of your clients here. Consider one or more of the following prompts:
 

• How big is your service area, and what are some of the considerations you must make to deliver services in that area?
• How many hours do you spend coordinating out-of-town activities for you or your client to access services?
• What services are missing in yourarea (or difficult to access) that are easily available in urban areas?
• What is a problem faced in your community in providing wrap-around services? And how do you overcome it?
• What solutions do you use to help clients or deliver services that are outside the internet or cell service?
• Tell us about a client you helped that had to overcome significant obstacles to access service. For example, from our discussion groups, we heard that a service provider paid$125 for a taxi ride for a client to attend a job interview. Another placed a client at a homeless shelter because there were no accommodations available in the area they were sent to for training or assessments. 

Upload Photos
Upload a photo that shows your experiences delivering employment services in rural and remote regions. In this post, you will see some submitted by Workforce Development Consulting Services of Northern BC. If you are taking photos of clients, please ensure you have their permission to share. We have created an easy way to collect your stories and experiences

Please go to https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/rural-remote. We aim to inform and bring the data and recommendations within our Rural and Remote report to life.