Partners - Regional Rural Development Centers

There are four USDA-CSREES regional centers coordinating rural development research and extension (education) programs cooperatively with the land-grant institutions regionally and nationally. The Centers support and strengthen individual state efforts in rural areas by developing networks of university research and extension faculty from a variety of disciplines to address rural issues. To learn more about the mission and activities of the four centers, visit their websites:

Entrepreneurship Activities
In 2005-2006, the four Regional Rural Development Centers held public meetings across the country to develop a learning community and a dialogue centered on rural entrepreneurship. The Centers are also leading a newly funded “eXtension Community of Practice” in support of entrepreneurship education and information systems for rural people and places.

Listening Sessions. The listening sessions encouraged conversation among participants about entrepreneurship development efforts in their regions. Using Appreciative Inquiry, participants were asked to discover what is working well, to dream what it would look like if they could do better, and to design strategies to bridge from where they are now to where it can work even better. A number of sessions also focused on the delivery stage by planning follow-up action in their state. Summaries of the listening sessions can be accessed below. In many places, the listening sessions sparked follow up activity in the regions. For more information about these activities, use the information below to contact the RRDC in your region.

“It’s about people—different people with different ideas… It’s about balance… It’s about communities—ways to keep dollars in the community…”

eXtension Community of Practice. eXtension is an educational partnership of more than 70 universities dedicated to providing objective, research-based information and educational opportunities to individuals – any time, any place, any format and on any Internet-ready device. With leadership from extension educators across the country, the newest component of eXtension will be Entrepreneurs and their Communities. Watch this space for information on this new resource for entrepreneurs and communities, going online in Spring 2007. 

For More Information about the Entrepreneurship Activities of the RRDCs, contact the directors:

Dr. Stephan Goetz, Director, sgoetz@psu.edu
Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development, Pennsylvania State University,
Phone: (814) 863-4656
Dr. Cornelia Butler Flora, Director, cflora@iastate.edu
North Central Regional Center for Rural Development, Iowa State University,
Phone: (515) 294-8321
Dr. Bo Beaulieu, Director, ljb@srdc.msstate.edu
Southern Regional Rural Development Center, Mississippi State University,
Phone: (662) 325-3207
Dr. John Allen, Director, Johna@ext.usu.edu
Western Rural Development Center, Utah State University,
Phone: (435) 797-9732

The RUPRI Center for Rural Entrepreneurship

The RUPRI Center for Rural Entrepreneurship strives to be the focal point for efforts to stimulate and support private and public entrepreneurship development in communities throughout rural America.  By supporting practice-driven research and evaluation and facilitating shared learning among practitioners, researchers and policy makers, the Center works to encourage entrepreneurship development as an effective route to building prosperous, dynamic, and sustainable rural economies. The Center is part of the Rural Policy Research Institute, an organization dedicated to providing unbiased analysis and information on the challenges, needs, and opportunities facing rural America. To learn more about RUPRI, go to www.rupri.org.

 

 

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