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In recent decades, many rural territories have been dealing with obstacles to their development. The nation state model, which was based on centrality and polarity and tended to hierarchize territories based on their economic or political value, is less able today to address many of the problems faced by these rural territories. Productive as well as social and cultural peculiarities of different territories are increasingly perceived as an asset rather than a constraint. Furthermore, novel socioeconomic arrangements are put into place with the aim of ensuring development that benefits local populations. Our case studies analysis reveals the emergence of a new model of socio-territorial development based on collective local action (to solve local problems, namely population decline and a generalized devitalization) through greater citizen participation, a dense and interconnected civil society and third sector, the valorization of built and symbolic heritage, and the capacity to reflect collectively and create a shared vision for the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article takes the form of a dialogue between a researcher (Marco Alberio, holder of the Canada Research Chair in Social Innovation and Territorial Development) and two practitioners (Ophélie Couspeyre, Development Officer, Table nationale des corporations de développement communautaire, and Érick Plourde, Executive Director, Corporation de développement communautaire de Lévis). Taking up several points that emerged during a joint event that took place in October 2020, this dialogue aims to discuss the practice of autonomous community action (especially through the voices of the protagonists themselves) in a social, economic and political context that is changing rapidly--and not just because of the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Work integration social enterprises (WISE), born in the 1980s, are actors in the social-economy field whose mission is the socio-professional integration of various groups (youth and women, notably). In this article, we present the challenges of performance management for such organizations, which have to realize a sort of hybridization, as they have to simultaneously ensure production and productivity while fulfilling their social mission, which consists of training and professional integration. The research for this article was based on interviews with the managers and workers of nine social enterprises in Québec. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]