RECOMMENDATIONS

The Committee recommends to the Ministry of Education that:

1. The ministry affirm the local economic development activities of the public educational institutions and the mandate for community access to these institutions.
   
   
2. The Ministry promote the public educational institutions' non-traditional role (non classroom-based activity) in local communities by changing the finance formula in ways to give recognition to and allow for flexible programming responses to meet specific needs of individuals and groups involved in local economic development,
   
   
3. The Ministry of Education approach other Ministries to outline the concepts and practices detailed in this report with the objectives of:
   
   
   1. seeking interdepartmental recognition for public educational institutions' roles as creative working partners in the current strategy for provincial economic renewal and employment creation; and
   2. creating a funding category for local Economic Development from which public educational institutions might draw funds for innovative collaborative projects that would enhance institutional capacity to serve local economic development objectives.
      
      
4. The Ministry establish a consultative committee whose function would be to:
   
   
   1. prepare specific elements, criteria and categories for incorporation into the finance formula as suggested in these recommendations;
   2. prepare a detailed prospectus for the Local Economic Development Fund as suggested in these recommendations.