NRDP-DOD Partnerships
Here are some of the successful partnerships that State
Councils have had with the Department of Defense. For more information, please
contact Rick Wetherill in the
Office of Community Development, USDA-RD.
The Alaska Rural Development Council has partnered with the Applied Science Laboratory of the University of Alaska-Anchorage and the Alaska Telemedicine Project to use telecommunications as a means of providing health care over vast distances. Because rural Alaska does not have landlines, rural communities must rely on satellite transmissions that require the use of narrow bandwidth telecommunications and information technology. ARDC's connections and credibility within the state's complex rural political arena were instrumental in the state moving forward with the Telemedicine Project. Funded by the National Library of Medicine (NLM), the project has developed, deployed, and evaluated the use of telemedicine for otolaryngology (ENT), dermatology, and emergency medical services to 25 villages in remote western Alaska. Through the Council members' efforts, the Alaskan Congressional Delegation recognized the NLM project as a model for creative "public-private" partnership. Beginning in 1999, dedicated funding from the Departments of Defense, Transportation, Veterans Affairs, and Indian Health Services is being leveraged to replicate this successful model to all of Alaska's 235 rural villages and communities.
In March 2001, seven coastal towns in Downeast Maine hosted a multi-community workshop, organized by the Maine Rural Development Council to engage area residents in strategic planning for their region's future. This was a defining moment for these communities, as they face significant social, environmental, and economic issues, which pose opportunities as well as challenges. These issues include the closure of the Schoodic Naval Base, concerns about the sustainability of current lobster yields, and the escalating costs of coastal land. A variety of public- and private-sector organizations, including the Department of Defense and NRCS, partnered with MeRDC on this effort. Their role focused on building local community capacity for asset-based development with a strategic vision grounded in future possibilities. In organizing this regional coalition for strategic planning, MeRDC and its partners helped participating communities develop local strategies in four issue areas: (1) tourism, recreation, and natural resources; (2) community economic renewal; (3) living and livelihood, transportation, communication, and energy; and (4) education, youth and culture, and workforce development. MeRDC produced and disseminated the workshop proceedings as a public policy education tool and, with its project partners, established a follow-up plan to continue the work begun at this workshop.
