Selected concepts and theoretical orientations were identified and applied to the Guelph Rural Development Outreach Project, formed in 1976 to give leadership in the evolvement of a more comprehensive and integrated approach to rural development in Ontario. Huron County (a traditional rural agricultural area), Halton Region (an area characterized by substantial urban encroachment because of its proximity to Metropolitan Toronto), and Moose Factory Island (an area of isolated small communities and limited agricultural production, dominated by forest and mineral extraction industries) served as pilot areas for demonstration and experimentation of concepts, particularly the concept of integrated rural development. The adoption-diffusion process, involving the phases of awareness, interest, evaluation/acceptance, trial, and adoption, proved particularly important in introducing agricultural extension programs. Directive and non-directive leadership approaches, ranging from dominance to consultation, partnership to dialogue, were utilized. A stated guideline was to follow a grassroots approach. Evolutionary, structural, and institutional approaches were adopted respectively in Huron County, Halton Region, and Moose Factory Island. Needs assessment, whether involving formal community and service agency surveys and group workshops as in Huron or innovative videotape presentations and audience responses as in Halton, was considered essential to the community development process. (NEC)