Knowledge appurtenancy: Universities, regional development, and the knowledge-based economy.

Northern regions in Canada are being left behind in the knowledge-based economy. Long dependent on natural resource extraction, these regions have powered provincial and national economies but are seeing their political and economic influence decline relative to metropolitan centres. Academics, public officials, and commentators suggest that, in order to survive, resource-based regions require government policies that will enable them to participate in an economy that now favours human capital over resource endowments. Appurtenancy is one such policy option. Originally used in the management of water and forest resources, appurtenancy provided the conditions for regional sustainability by formalizing a relationship between a community and its adjacent resources. This thesis illustrates that appurtenancy remains relevant in a knowledge-based economy. The literature on regional development in the knowledge-based economy emphasized the importance of universities in providing regions with human capital and the capacity for economic development. By analyzing the experiences of northern British Columbia and northern Manitoba in creating universities, this thesis shows how the principles and characteristics of appurtenancy are present in formalizing the relationship between these universities and their adjacent regions. The data from the case studies provide evidence of how the universities have a strong relationship with their regions, provide local benefits, and embody a new social contract involving these regions and the state. At its foundation, knowledge appurtenancy is based on regional responsibility and providing the capacity for sustainability in a knowledge-based economy. --P.ii.