Regional Development Associations in Newfoundland and Labrador

Book excerpt: In the mid to late 1960s, a grassroots rural development movement emerged in Newfoundland and Labrador in response to the economic and social crisis many areas were experiencing. Ad hoc groups arose across the province and quickly developed into structured organizations known as Regional Development Associations (RDAs). By 1969, these associations had formed an umbrella organization and were receiving funding from the provincial government on an experimental basis to cover administrative expenses. Within a few years, RDAs were formally recognized as the primary agents for Newfoundland's rural development program and were funded accordingly through a series of successive federal-provincial agreements. RDAs continued in this role until 1995 when the provincial government shifted to a new program for regional development and ceased core funding to the fifty-nine associations and their umbrella organization, the Newfoundland and Labrador Rural Development Council (NLRDC). This paper looks at the events and process that led to government's decision and, in so doing, examines the RDA movement from infancy to present day status. It concludes that RDAs dependence on government funding created a credibility crisis in the movement that ultimately led government to eliminate its support.