NRDP-USDA-RD Partnerships
Here are some of the successful partnerships that State Councils have had with the Department of Agriculture, Rural Development. For more information, contact Office of Community Development Desk Officer Ella Ennis.
The Alaska Rural Development Council and the Tanana Chiefs Conference, Inc., co-sponsored the second annual Rural Economic Development Forum, held November 16-17, 1999. The forum was designed to help local residents and organizations in rural Alaska's villages identify ways to develop and improve their economies. ARDC members who attended learned how the interior villages of Alaska are creating development strategies. The forum included a diverse group of participants from throughout the state. They attended workshops covering every aspect of economic development and met other residents of rural villages to discuss and learn how to create development plans, market their communities, and assess their communities' assets. Additionally, they learned of new employment and tourism opportunities and discussed ways to reduce heating costs. Along with ARDC and the Tanana Chiefs Conference, USDA-Rural Development, the First National Bank of Anchorage, the Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce, the Bank of Alaska, and Arco Alaska, Inc., collaborated to present this outstanding workshop. Because attendees were able to immediately implement some of what they learned within their communities, the forum was deemed a success, motivating ARDC and its partners to plan a third Economic Development Forum.
The California Rural Development Council partnered with USDA-Rural
Development (USDA-RD) in planning and convening a Town Hall meeting in October 2000 in Tulare, California to kickoff a new Rural Development Initiative. The Central San Joaquin Valley struggles with high rates of poverty and unemployment, low academic performance, and myriad health care problems. The Town Hall meeting assembled more than 400 participants and partners representing federal agencies, state and local government, schools, lending institutions, the private sector, the religious community, non-profits, foundations, and the public. In addition to taking an active role in planning this meeting, CRDC facilitated a breakout session during the meeting and assembled representatives of state-run rural development programs as meeting resources. As a result of the Town Hall meeting, the Central San Joaquin Valley now has a prioritized list of strategies to guide its economic development. CRDC continues to support the efforts of the Central San Joaquin Valley Empowerment Initiative.
Colorado Rural Development Council's Executive Committee meeting in Wray presented a great networking opportunity. Larry Allen, owner of Allen Grain, proposed developing a dry bean processing and marketing cooperative to Vic Crain, CRDC member and former USDA-Rural Development (USDA-RD) loan specialist. Crain observed that USDA's Rural Business Enterprise grant would be sufficient to fund a feasibility study for the cooperative. CRDC member Trish Lengel of the Yuma County Economic Development Corporation (YCEDC), joined the discussion because a non-profit partner was needed as an intermediary for the grant funds. Through this networking, USDA awarded a $70,000 grant for a feasibility study to be conducted by The 21st Century Alliance. To meet the total project cost of $171,000, Allen and other prospective cooperative members raised cash and in-kind funds. The proposed cooperative will include Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Michigan, and North Dakota.
Idaho Rural Partnership was successful in advocating use of the One Plan model to create a web site to assist prospective and existing business owners who face a daunting array of government regulations and business assistance sources. The Internet makes a virtual one-stop customer-oriented center possible, eliminating the need for current or potential business owners to physically visit an office to fill out forms. This enhances owners' understanding of government regulations that will impact their businesses and guides them to resources that can help them overcome barriers to business growth. On December 15, 2000, Governor Dirk Kempthorne publicly launched the Idaho Small Business Solutions web site. Development of the site required the collaborative, hands-on effort of over 20 organizations. IRP, in addition to catalyzing this effort, identified and secured partners and funding, facilitated the project, and contributed to model design. USDA-Rural Development funded this project with a Rural Business Enterprise Grant (RBEG) grant.
The Indiana Rural Development Council has formed the Indiana Housing Assistance Review Team (IHART), which brings together the Federal Home Loan Bank, HUD, USDA-Rural Development, state housing agencies, and non-profit housing developers. By focusing the resources of all these partners, this group is able to accomplish much more than they would have been able to do working separately. For instance, IHART developed the IHART Housing Assistance Review Form to assist potential applicants seeking assistance for housing projects in their communities.
To meet its goal of increasing and assisting entrepreneurial efforts in the state, the Iowa Rural Development Council sponsored a workshop series for existing and potential home-based businesses from January to March 2001. The eight-site series provided content designed to educate potential entrepreneurs on the importance of home-based, technology-driven businesses and help those already operating home-based businesses become more profitable. The series allowed 121 home-based business owners to learn about the Iowa Enterprise Network (IEN), the state's home-based business association, and its resources and benefits. EDA provided a $7,500 grant that helped initiate the IEN, and continues to serve actively on its Advisory Board. In addition to developing promotional materials (printed with the assistance of USDA-RD, another active participant in this project), IRDC organized the meetings, provided administrative assistance, and helped secure sponsorship for the series. SBA provided extensive technical assistance to the Council and IEN and helped identify sites and individuals at each location who would organize the sessions. The Small Business Development Centers in each community hosted the events, recruited panels of area home-based businesses, and provided promotional assistance.
In the summer and fall of 2000, the Iowa Housing Roundtable, in cooperation with Governor Vilsack's office, contracted with Dr. Heather McDonald of the University of Iowa to conduct a statewide housing needs assessment. The Roundtable is a policy-making body convened and staffed by the Iowa Rural Development Council. Active federal representatives on the Roundtable include HUD, USDA-RD, and the Federal Home Loan Bank. Dr. McDonald's study marks the first organized attempt to identify and prioritize Iowa's most critical housing needs. The results helped the Roundtable, key state agencies, the Iowa legislature, and the Governor's office craft housing policies and programs and plan for future funding. The Iowa Finance Authority, Iowa Department of Economic Development, and Fannie Mae Foundation provided funding for Dr. McDonald's work. Roundtable members provided information and met monthly to help guide the study. The Governor's office formed a Citizen's Task Force comprised of developers, representatives of non-profit organizations, and other community leaders to help craft a series of policy recommendations based on the assessment results. The Roundtable continues to partner to address the state's housing needs, including the Governor's Housing Conference held in November 2001 to heighten awareness of housing issues and resources among rural communities.
The Iowa Rural Development Council's housing work group, made up of private and public sector representatives, was a catalyst for the development of the interagency Housing Assistance Review Team (HART) process. HART uses a common pre-application process so that federal and state housing program staff can more easily and effectively coordinate applications and projects. HART partners include: HUD, Federal Home Loan Bank, USDA's Rural Housing program, Iowa Finance Authority, and Iowa Department of Economic Development.
The Iowa Rural Development Council and its partnering organizations established the Mandates Management Initiative as a pilot program in 1998. Patterned after Nebraska's highly successful Mandates Management Program, the initiative is designed to help small communities and rural governments cope with and understand public health and environmental laws, regulations, and issues. The initiative proposes use of a service-provider team of resource agencies to work directly with rural community leaders to identify and prioritize environmental non-compliance projects and necessary improvements. The teams take a holistic approach to community development and assist with housing, workforce development, transportation, and other community and economic development opportunities identified by local leaders. Federal agencies partnering with IRDC on this effort include USDA-Rural Development, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Economic Development Administration, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The Kansas Rural Development Council received the Hammer Award from Vice President Gore's National Performance Review Committee for the Reinvention of Government. KRDC earned this honor by joining forces with USDA-Rural Development, the U.S. Small Business Administration, and the South Central Kansas Economic Development District to create a single loan application form. This form reduces the amount of paperwork for small business owners who simultaneously request financial assistance from state and federal agencies.
The Hancock County Growth Symposium, held in January 2001, was the first countywide forum designed to engage a broad spectrum of town officials, business people, developers, planners, and state agencies to collectively consider how one region of Maine's coast is growing and assess the choices it has in planning its future. The Maine Rural Development Council, joined by partners from the public and private sectors, led participants in debating three major growth issues at the symposium: transportation, business development and retention, and land use and the environment. With the support of the Council and its partners, participants identified and prioritized strategic action steps for implementation by local groups. MeRDC partners, including USDA-RD and the Federal Highway Administration, provided decisive technical assistance roles in mobilizing the communities; clarified and strategically framed local issues; facilitated the needed discussion and debate among community interest groups and with external service and resource providers; and negotiated and facilitated the development of a viable region-wide coalition. Symposium participants, which included over 100 Hancock County residents in leadership positions, clearly articulated a regional vision and successfully identified strategic action steps for all three issue areas. These are now being used by the local entities to help chart "planning for prosperity" initiatives for the region.
Through its outreach to Maine's five tribal communities, the Maine Rural Development Council identified issues of concern to these communities and was able to recommend appropriate action projects. Tribal communities identified the need for an interagency housing team that would visit each tribe to determine their needs and more effective use of resources. As a result of these discussions, an interagency team, led by USDA-Rural Development and HUD, has held regular "Housing Circle" meetings on reservations. The Maine HUD office nominated MRDC for a 1999 agency award for this project.
In February 2001, the Massachusetts Rural Development Council co-hosted the Rural/Urban Institute in Auburn, Massachusetts. The City of Worcester and the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development joined the Council as co-hosts of this event. Providing generous support were Verizon, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, and Nebraska's Heartland Center for Leadership Development, a nationally recognized expert in rural community development. This event focused on issues common to urban and rural communities and ways to pursue policy and service delivery changes in both communities. The more than 60 attendees included representatives from numerous local, state, federal, and community service agencies. USDA-RD and HHS were particularly well represented. The morning session began with an address by Congressman McGovern, who stressed the importance of the issues addressed at this event and how they relate to issues Congress faces. Working sessions covered a range of topics, including housing affordability and availability; oral health issues, such as accessibility to oral health care practitioners; business and entrepreneurial opportunities and obstacles; and juvenile justice issues. As a result of this productive one-day event, working committees will be formed to address adjusting policy and funding streams on the state and national levels and to improve the lives of both rural and urban populations.
The Massachusetts Rural Development Council co-hosted its 2nd Annual Rural Health Summit, "Enhancing Opportunities for Massachusetts Rural Communities," in August 2001 in Auburn, Massachusetts. The summit allowed over 120 attendees to learn more about telehealth, the focus of this year's event. Under a contract for service by the Office of Rural Health, MRDC collaborated with several partners in co-hosting and organizing this highly successful event. Partners included the Massachusetts Department of Health and Human Services, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, State Office of Rural Health, Massachusetts Hospital Association, Massachusetts Rural Health Network of the New England Rural Health Network, USDA-Rural Development, and Verizon Communications. Although considered a technology and health state, many areas of Massachusetts need to learn about the possibilities available through tapping telemedicine and telehealth opportunities. The summit provided this information, while also educating professionals and caregivers about the potential pitfalls that can complicate use of newer technologies. Attendees also were able to hear firsthand of telehealth/telemedicine success stories from other New England states.
Over several years, the Rural Partners of Michigan worked with the Gogebic Range Water Authority to design a regional municipal water system. Some of the municipalities of Gogebic County needed to replace their drinking water systems and others were ordered to replace their contaminated systems by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. In addition, many communities were forced to put their economic expansion efforts on hold because of their inability to supply additional water. A regional system would reduce the overall cost of replacing individual community water systems. RPM helped secure over $6 million from USDA to fund a regional water system, which will benefit more than 2,500 rural Michigan residents in four neighboring communities.
The Rural Partners of Michigan, with the Michigan Association of Regions and the Michigan Association of RC&Ds, hosted the 2001 Partnership Conference, "Building Sustainable Communities," in March 2001 in Battle Creek. Thirty-two sponsoring organizations, including USDA-RD and USDA-Farm Service Agency, partnered with RDCM and its co-hosts for this event, which drew over 260 participants. The conference kicked off with an afternoon workshop dedicated to grant writing and helping local community organizations tap into funding opportunities; the Council of Michigan Foundations coordinated and sponsored this workshop. The conference then focused on many of the issues important in building thriving, sustainable communities. Workshop sessions included Community Visioning and Capacity Building, Strategies for Brownfield Redevelopment, Facilitating Business and Community Development, Transportation and Infrastructure Planning, Agriculture Development, Facilitating Coordinated Planning and Cooperation Between Communities, Master Planning and Zoning -- Surviving the Legal Challenges, Community, Natural Resources Inventory, and Natural Resource Protection and Innovative Designs for Development.
Duluth, Minnesota was host to the Joint International Summit on Community and Rural Development in July 2001. Over 1,200 community and rural leaders from Minnesota, 47 states, and 15 countries gathered to discuss development activities to strengthen their communities. Minnesota Rural Partners led and coordinated this event, which combined MRP's Minnesota Rural Summit, the annual meeting of the International Community Development Society, and the annual leadership conference of the National Rural Development Partnership (NRDP). The summit offered over 60 concurrent sessions, 7 mobile workshops, 9 professional development sessions, 80 learning stations, presentations by Governor Jesse Ventura, a poverty panel of national experts, and a policy discussion that included representation from the European Union, the State of Minnesota, and the National Association of Counties. HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson concluded the summit with the announcement of HHS's major Rural Initiative, which is evaluating the rural aspects of every program within HHS. The Minnesota Department of Trade and Economic Development, the University of Minnesota, and the Northwest Area Foundation -- the summit's major sponsors -- provided financial and programmatic support and representation from state, education, and foundation communities. USDA-RD, EDA, and HUD employees were heavily involved in the conception, planning and implementation of the summit. Each of these agencies also provided money to reduce registration fees and provide scholarships for some participants.
Minnesota Rural Partners collaborated with the Minnesota Food Association to create the New Immigrant Agricultural Project, a program to help new immigrants hone their farming skills and move toward self-sufficiency. MRP is leading this project, with financial assistance from the Otto Bremer Foundation and several USDA agencies, including the Farm Service Agency, the Risk Management Agency, Rural Development, and Cooperative Extension. The project seeks to educate participants in the production of organic, new niche, value-added products that are not in competition with Minnesota farmers' current farm products.
In 2001, the Mississippi Rural Development Council and the USDA-Rural Development Office co-sponsored a series of Community Development Meetings throughout Mississippi as a part of the USDA-RD State Director's new initiative. This series of Roundtable Discussions is designed to provide an array of tools and resources specifically designed to assist rural communities, and offer a forum within the communities at times and locations suitable for rural outreach rather than at statewide "one-location venues." The USDA-RD collaborates with leading federal, state, local, and non-profit rural advocacy groups to acts as a resource for the meetings. The MSRDC is facilitating the Roundtable discussions by allocating meeting space for each session, identifying potential presenters and participants through work with the Community Development Coordinator, and surveying each community to gather pertinent information for the development of meeting agendas with topics relevant to each locality. The MSRDC also provides considerable background information to USDA-RD and participating agencies, organizations, and communities about past economic development efforts and outcomes.
In many small Mississippi communities, high leadership turnover results in duplication or abandonment of existing strategies. Moreover, plans often are not tracked to study progress and past successes are seldom publicized. To address these concerns, the Mississippi State Rural Development Council is working with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, the Mississippi Planning and Development District, USDA-Rural Development, and the Tennessee Valley Authority to implement the Community Development Project. This program will better encourage strategic planning work in rural communities, track progress, and promote continuity.
Initiated in June 2000, the Missouri Rural Opportunities Council's Rural Financing Guide will provide rural communities with access to information on possible sources of financing for local projects. The first part of this two part project is designed to provide simplified navigation to a central database in the Missouri Department of Economic Development web site and quick access to a customer service representative who could help callers begin the search process. For the second part of the project, MoROC will mail a hard copy of database information to every Missouri community, including information that communities will need prior to and while initiating the search process. This form was added because of the large percentage of rural communities without access to the Internet or expertise in its use. In leading this project, MoROC was joined by a wide array of public and private partners, including USDA-Rural Development and many state agencies. Each entity contributed sources of financing provided by their agencies and information on financing by other agencies they partner with on occasion. MoROC organized the project meetings, brought the partners together, and coordinated the information and services to be provided with the State of Missouri Department of Economic Development.
As part of its Rural Resources Jump Team program, the North Carolina Rural Development Council works with targeted rural communities to identify local needs and find resources to meet those needs. Over the past two years, the Council has helped more than 20 communities in some of the state's most impoverished areas. The NCRDC assigns a committee of resource professionals to each Jump Team site. These committees are responsible for finding technical, financial, human, and other resources to address the identified issues. Building on the support NCRDC has received from USDA-Rural Development, its major federal partner in carrying out these activities, the Council has entered into a similar partnership with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The NCRDC has approved a Memorandum of Understanding that will allow HUD to recommend communities for Jump Team status and give them priority in related HUD funding programs. This partnership will allow the Council to more effectively address the state's extreme housing conditions, one of the most critical issues challenging rural North Carolina.
The North Dakota Rural Development Council, with the support of the North Dakota Department of Economic Development and Finance and USDA-Rural Development, updated and distributed 600 copies of a comprehensive Resource Inventory/Directory. This publication provides contact information for over 1,500 public resource entities and support service providers engaged in community and economic development in North Dakota.
The Resource Inventory/Directory was distributed to every county and development office in the state and is also available online. Among the recipients most likely to benefit from this information are the 34 entities engaged in the local Community Strategic Planning (CSP) effort developed by NDRDC and its partners. In fact, since distribution of this product, large numbers of proactive CSP partnerships have been developed or enhanced.
In June 2001, the Ohio Rural Development Partnership, in partnership with the Ohio Departments of Agriculture and Development, hosted the Successful Business Financing Conference. The conference provided small business assistance professionals with the latest information on public financing programs. The conference also successfully brought bankers, accountants, finance professionals, agriculture specialists, and small business people together to share ideas and discuss issues facing rural economic development. The Ohio Departments of Agriculture and Development sponsored the program, which was supported by a number of associations that drew attendees from their memberships. Representatives from HUD, SBA, and USDA-RD participated in the planning of this conference and a roundtable, where they described the resources that are available from their respective agencies.
A large poultry processor recently moved into Heavener, OK, enlarging its economic base. However, most of the plant employees are commuting from other towns and cities in the area, thereby depriving the town of the economic resources provided by local workers. In addition, new (primarily Hispanic) residents have difficulty in obtaining adequate housing at fair prices in the area. The Oklahoma Rural Development Council's, utilizing its previous experience with assembling qualified resource teams, was a key advisor to the Oklahoma Department of Commerce concerning important agencies to include on the newly formed team. ORDC extended invitations to attend the April 2001, bringing representatives from both HUD and USDA-RD. Both the local government and major property developer of Heavener were able to learn about the various federal, state and non-profit programs available to encourage, promote and develop home ownership in rural communities. The event brought agency staff and knowledge directly to the community, thereby reducing the learning curve. Since the event has occurred, progress has been made toward the groundbreaking on a multi-unit housing development that will include single family and multi-family properties.
To help support existing businesses and develop new enterprises, the Oregon Rural Development Council hosted an Enterprise Facilitation meeting in 2000. Enterprise Facilitation gives communities a focused approach to fund a board of 20-25 people, whose sole purpose is to introduce one person (the enterprise facilitator) to three friends every month. These introductions often generate viable business ideas and create linkages critical to the pursuit of these ideas. As one of the featured speakers at the meeting, the city manager of Baker City shared the Enterprise Facilitation proposal to ORDC members and representatives of the U.S. Economic Development Administration, USDA-Rural Development, and the Oregon Economic Community Development Department. Since this meeting, all three sources have provided funding and technical assistance to establish Enterprise Facilitation boards in two eastern Oregon communities. As of June 2001, 13 new companies have been founded, creating 51 new jobs, and an additional 10 companies are poised to open.
To help agricultural producers find the resources they need to effectively execute value-added agriculture projects, the South Dakota Rural Development Council facilitated the organization of a group of service providers that support such projects, including USDA-Rural Development. The group created a listserv, which allows members to be aware of project developments and to become involved in projects at a time when their services will be most valuable. Realizing that conflicting business plan/feasibility plan formats were in circulation, the group also produced a uniform format to guide all value-added agricultural projects. Lenders who finance such projects have approved this format, which bears the logos of all group members and is available in hard copy and on the Internet. The group is now documenting and sharing South Dakota's success stories of value-added agriculture projects. Another group initiative is to ensure the compatibility of federal and state definitions for financing programs. Initial efforts have involved a congressional delegation, USDA, and SBA.
In 1999, the Texas Rural Development Council partnered with HUD and USDA-Rural Development (USDA-RD) to include their Texas-based employees in TRDC's community assessment team efforts. TRDC invited HUD and USDA-RD employees to serve on rural resource teams to increase awareness of both agencies' programs in rural Texas. As team members, these federal employees have participated in detailed community assessment efforts that incorporate local demographic and factual information with citizen interviews that gauge their perceptions of their communities. Their participation has provided them an opportunity to gain first-hand experience in community development issues and housing challenges and allowed them to form personal relationships with local citizens in rural communities.
Cross Plains, Texas, is testimony to the impact that Texas Rural Development Council's rural resource teams have on participating communities. As the result of a recommendation in a TRDC Resource Report, the city formed the Cross Plains Housing Initiative, Inc., in 1999. The initiative was awarded a $150,000 loan, at 1-percent interest, from USDA-Rural Development (USDA-RD) and a $50,000 grant for housing repairs for the elderly. The initiative also partnered with West Texas Utilities to develop a "Christmas in October" program to improve the appearance of single-family homes in the community. Fifteen applications for improvements were submitted, and work began in October 1999. The program has been so successful that it has been widely replicated by State Rural Development Councils, with recent USDA-RD participation in Indiana, Iowa, Idaho, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
Each year the Vermont Council for Rural Development organizes and hosts a rural policy summit to bring together federal, state, local, non-profit and private partners to analyze an issue of current rural importance and devise specific action steps to address the challenges it presents. VCRD planned, produced, facilitated, and reported the Rural Summit in June 2001. This year's summit addressed the statewide housing crisis by asking four questions of participants and guiding them through a process in four working groups to produce 28 Action Steps. State, federal and other leaders committed to these steps as long-term work plans, and VCRD worked with the Governor's office on an Executive Order toward the immediate implementation of those steps that require the Governor's attention. There is no other time that the Governor's cabinet works in groups with federal, non-profit, and private leaders in this way to coordinate rural development policy. The current issue–housing–is a gubernatorial priority and a critical issue in every corner of the state. VDRD enjoyed support from the Governor's Office, the Agency of Transportation (which also paid the costs for the Summit), the Housing and Conservation Board, the Cabinet, USDA Rural Development, HUD, and private organizations. The annual Summit is an important contribution to the development of public policies that will build and maintain low-income housing, simplify inter-governmental regulation, and clarify cross-agency organization.
The Vermont Council on Rural Development brought together key partners at its 1999 Rural Summit to improve funding coordination between Vermont and USDA-Rural Development (USDA-RD). Past inefficient coordination culminated with USDA-RD in Vermont returning over $2 million of water and sewer loan money to Washington, D.C., because it had not been allocated to projects. The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, which is responsible for allocating HUD and EPA water and sewer money, and USDA-RD now have entered into serious dialogue to better coordinate their respective funding programs.
With fuel prices up over 50 percent in 2000, and a cold winter on the way, the Vermont Council of Rural Development sponsored a heating assistance workshop in November 2000 for technical assistance providers and advocates for low-income residents. The workshop was designed to ensure that everyone involved in fuel assistance, weatherization, and other related programs was aware of each other's resources and could collaborate to provide the best possible seamless integration of services. USDA-RD, HUD, and numerous state entities were all active participants in this process. VCRD facilitated the workshop, providing opportunities for participants to network, share descriptions of their services, and address common barriers to success. The Council took the information it gathered from the workshop and from contributions provided by other service providers and wrote The Vermont Heat and Energy Resource Guide. VCRD produced more than 2,000 copies of the guide and distributed them to advocates and practitioners throughout the state.
In June 2001, the West Virginia Rural Development Council and USDA's OCD co-sponsored a series of Empowerment Zone and Enterprise Communities (EZ/EC) Informational Workshops in Charleston, West Virginia. The seminars drew 55 participants from five states. The seminar series is an extension of a nationwide initiative by USDA to inform rural community leaders about the Round 3 application process for EZ/EC funding. At USDA's request, the WVRDC agreed to co-sponsor the events. The Council assisted in the design of the workshops, provided all administrative and logistical support for the conference, and issued invitations to interested parties in all participating states. WVRDC's Executive Director facilitated and led several workshop sessions. Representatives from the USDA state and national offices also led workshops on specific topics, with technical information provided by the West Virginia Development Office. The WVRDC used the session to plan a follow-up workshop on tax incentives for EZ/EC communities. The seminar also provided an excellent opportunity for community leaders from West Virginia, Tennessee, Ohio, Kentucky, and North Carolina to network and exchange ideas about community and economic development in their respective states. By promoting open communications between rural advocates, WVRDC hopes to bring new ideas to West Virginia's rural communities.
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 share community experiences (e.g., successes, barriers) with the EZ/EC planning process, determine future plans, training and technical assistance needs of the communities in implementing their programs, and 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 Appalachian Regional Commission.
Wisconsin Rural Partners deployed its first Community Resource Team to Markesan in October 2000. The Community Resource Team program is a partnership effort to provide high-expertise, low-cost assistance to rural communities wanting to improve their socioeconomic status. Following a successful application to WRP for a Community Resource Team, a WRP task group recruits eight individuals, with various backgrounds and expertise in community development issues, to spend an intensive week in that community, interviewing and studying its people, systems, and processes. The team begins with an orientation on Monday and by Thursday evening is scheduled to present its findings to the community. A published report containing the findings is also produced. The community is responsible for arranging meetings and functions with all sectors of the community and coordinating the logistics, providing all lodging, meals, transportation, meeting space, and access to business equipment for the team. WRP and major sponsoring partners provide materials, team training, and administrative assistance. USDA-Rural Development (USDA-RD), as a major program partner, produces and distributes the team's final report.
