NRDP-ARC Partnerships
Here are some of the successful partnerships that State Councils have had
with the Army Corps of Engineers. For more information, contact
Rick Wetherill in the Office of
Community Development
The Mississippi State Rural Development Council hosted Regional Roundtable Discussions throughout Mississippi in 2000 that attracted local, state, and federal outreach groups interested in addressing issues of concern to the state's rural communities, including representatives from the Appalachian Regional Commission. MSRDC surveyed rural communities to determine their interest in the topic selection, identified speakers and partners, coordinated the time and location of meetings, and scheduled facilities. Tailored to address the concerns of the region where they were held, the roundtables allowed rural community leaders and citizens to network with government officials, talk with resource providers, and provide information about rural concerns and recommendations to address those concerns. Participants incorporated the information gathered through the roundtables into strategic plans. Several cities and counties formed alliances and networks to review best practices from other regions and become part of statewide community and economic development efforts.
North Carolina's Rural Development Council built a partnership to map rural water and sewer systems. Using Geographic Information System (GIS) technology, the Appalachian counties of North Carolina were the initial counties mapped to gather accurate, easily accessible information about water and sewer facilities. This database will enable new or expanding businesses to prepare more accurate funding applications and take a lot of the guesswork out of where water and sewer lines exist in a given area. It will also provide local governments with reliable, first-hand information for determining system needs and cost estimates to bring each system up to current standards and serve their areas for the next 20 years. Partners, in addition to the Council, include the NC Department of Commerce, the Appalachian Regional Commission and the NC Rural Economic Development Center and others.
West Virginia Rural Development Council's Teletechnology for Community Development Project has been completed. The project was jointly managed by the WVRDC and the WVU Technology Education Department. Partners included: the WV Public Service Commission, the WV Development Office, WVU Extension Service, Bell Atlantic, and USDA Rural Development. ARC was both a partner and provided a grant for the project. This effort builds on the WVRDC's 1996-97 work with Barbour, Taylor, Jackson and Pleasants Counties. A training component was developed, and additional multi-session forums were held in the winter of 1998-99 to increase public awareness, share information, and plan for the use of telecommunication infrastructure to aid in rural development. This effort provides rural and distressed areas of WV with opportunities to explore and use the information infrastructure. WVRDC published and distributed "Telecommunications Resource Guides for Local Development." A website has been developed for users to access the information that is in the workbook.
In June 1999, the West Virginia Rural Development Council, with cooperation from USDA Rural Development, HUD, the WV Development Office, WVU Extension Service and the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Council, convened the "EZ/EC Community Listening Forum". The Forum brought together 75 participants from applicant communities and federal and state government agencies to: a) share community experiences (e.g., successes, barriers) with the EZ/EC planning process, b) determine future plans, training and technical assistance needs of the communities in implementing their programs, and c) share resource and other technical assistance information. Interactive sessions were also held on workforce development, physical infrastructure, business development, and social and cultural infrastructure. A report on the Forum was prepared and distributed to all participating agencies and community leaders summarizing key issues, community technical assistance needs, and recommendations for state, federal and private sector organizations that work with rural communities. This forum was funded by the ARC.The Community Collaborative, Inc., which the WVRDC helped organize and actively supports, designed and delivered a two-day EZ/EC Community Leadership and Board Development Workshop in November 1999 in Charleston, WV for 12 EZ/EC and Champion communities in the Appalachian Region with funding from the Appalachian Regional Commission.
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