The Center for Rural Development strives to establish productive and prosperous communities. Each community must first be safe and secure in order to achieve this goal. The Center recognizes that the nation’s rural and tribal emergency responders face unique challenges when compared to their urban counterparts. Training is critical for our nation’s first responders in order to address those challenges properly. The Center is leading initiatives that provide training to law enforcement, fire professionals, and emergency responders across the nation through the Rural Domestic Preparedness Consortium (RDPC).  This Consortium provides consistent training and resources to rural first responders and is funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The Center for Rural Development manages the RDPC. In that role, The Center provides grant administration and general oversight of the Consortium. The Center is responsible for course development and access, marketing, website hosting and administration, delivery coordination, data collection, reporting, and additional technologies. The technologies include a large network of interactive television (ITV), videoconferencing, and learning management systems necessary to manage large student populations and deliver courses to rural and tribal responders across the nation.

The Center for Rural Development through the Rural Domestic Preparedness Consortium (RDPC) takes steps to ensure that the training offered directly reflects the needs of rural and tribal emergency responders. Therefore, the Consortium is encompassed of academic partners that possess extensive experience in developing and delivering homeland security curriculum to the rural emergency response community. The RDPC is composed of the following academic partners and affiliates: Eastern Kentucky University, North West Arkansas Community College, The University of Findlay, North Carolina Central University, The University of California-Davis, and The University of Tennessee. The courses are provided at no cost and they are offered both in-person and online.

For more information about the Rural Domestic Preparedness Consortium (RDPC), please contact The Center for Rural Development at 606-677-6000 or visit www.ruraltraining.org.