Recipient Organization
MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIV
(N/A)
MISSISSIPPI STATE,MS 39762
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The Southern Rural Development Center (SRDC) will continue to focus on three priorities that impact the resilience of rural communities in the southern region, as identified by the SRDC Technical and Operational Advisory Committee (TOAC) and approved by the Board of Directors, with representation from 1862, 1890, and 1994 Land-Grant partners. Broad structural efforts will provide support to all priority areas. These include the 1890 Fellow initiative, 1862/1890 collaborations, and integratation of research and Extension. The SRDC will Develop Pathways to Resilient Communities by: (a) supporting the SERA-47 Local and Regional Foods initiative, (b) enhancing heirs' property outreach and education through research-informed training, (c) working with the National Digital Education Extension Team and 1890 partners to help address the digital divide and build digital skills, (d) expanding dialogues on race and ethnicity through Coming Together for Racial Understanding, and (e) supporting integrated research and Extenion activities to foster healthy communities across the life course. Concerning priority two, Build Strategic Partnerships, the SRDC will be: (a) engaging with the Delta Scholars undergraduate leadership initiative to infuse research and Extension opportunities for a new generation of leaders, (b) supporting the Southern Region Program Leadership Network, and (c) coordinating the Southern Region Community Resource Development Indicators report. For the final priority, Mobilize Resources around Emerging Issues and Opportunities, SRDC will assist with: (a) expanding and implementing curricula to enhance grant writing skills and capacities for underserved communities, (b) advancing opportunities for engaging with recreational economy interests, and (c) expanding involvement in climate initatives regionally and nationally to address economic vulnerability and resilience using a community development lens.
Animal Health Component
75%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
75%
Developmental
25%
Goals / Objectives
One of the nation's four Regional Rural Development Centers (RRDCs), the Southern Rural Development Center (SRDC) will focus on three priorities under this proposed plan of work to strengthen the capacity of the Land-Grant University (LGU) System to address critical issues affecting the wellbeing of communities in the region. These are to: (1) Develop Pathways to Resilient Communities, (2) Build Strategic Partnerships, and (3) Mobilize Resources around Emerging Issues and Opportunities. Each state the SRDC serves has the presence of both 1862 and 1890 Land-Grant Universities (LGU). Oklahoma also has a 1994 Tribal Land-Grant, and there are two territories in the region - Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands - with Land-Grant Institutions. This institutional diversity provides opportunities for addressing long-standing challenges related to inclusion, equity, and access. To inform and guide efforts, the SRDC's Technical and Operational Advisory Committee (TOAC) and Board of Directors both have representation among the regional 1862 and 1890 Extension and research organizations (see: SRDC Policies and Procedures attachment). Furthermore, the SRDC helps guide the Southern Region Program Leadership Network (SRPLN), which facilitates a cross-institutional and cross-state network composed of 1890 and 1862 professionals (see: SRPLN Network Structure attachment). Coupled with regularly seeking input from these and other stakeholders, SRDC's efforts in this plan of work intersect with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Strategic Plan for 2022-2026, the Science and Research Strategy for 2023-2026, and the priority for stakeholder engagement under the request for applications for the RRDCs. Broad structural efforts will provide support to all priority areas. These include the 1890 Fellow initiative, 1862/1890 collaborations, and integratation of research and Extension. For priority area one, the SRDC will Develop Pathways to Resilient Communities by: (a) supporting the SERA-47 Local and Regional Foods initiative, (b) enhancing heirs' property outreach and education through research-informed training, (c) working with the National Digital Education Extension Team and 1890 partners to help address the digital divide and build digital skills, (d) expanding dialogues on race and ethnicity through Coming Together for Racial Understanding, and (e) supporting integrated research and Extenion activities to foster healthy communities across the life course, especially concerning community development aspects of health and wellbeing. Concerning priority two, Build Strategic Partnerships, the SRDC will be: (a) engaging with the Delta Scholars undergraduate leadership initiative to infuse research and Extension opportunities for the next generation of leaders, (b) supporting the Southern Region Program Leadership Network, and (c) coordinating the Southern Region Community Resource Development Indicators report. For priority three, Mobilize Resources around Emerging Issues and Opportunities, SRDC will assist with: (a) expanding and implementing curricula to enhance grant writing skills and capacities for underserved communities, (b) advancing opportunities for engaging with recreational economy interests - including partnership efforts through the MOU between the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Forest Service, and Rural Development, and (c) expanding involvement in climate initatives regionally and nationally to address economic vulnerability and resilience using a community development lens.
Project Methods
Approaches and strategies for each of these priority areas are listed below. The priority areas and associated programmatic topics and methods were identified, deliberated, and proposed by the SRDC Technical and Operational Advisory Committee and approved by the Board of Directors. Input was also sought from the Association of 1890 Research Directors, Southern Association of Experiment Station Directors (1862), Association of 1890 Extension Administrators, and the Association of Southern Region Extension Directors (1862). Updates and accomplishments from this plan of work will be provided to these organizations through both regularly scheduled meetings as well as through their respective TOAC and Board representatives.Develop Pathways to Resilient CommunitiesLocal and Regional Food Systems, Southern Extension and Research Activity (SERA) 47Facilitate work on the 5-year planSupport annual meetingMonitor future opportunities for related issuesExplore opportunities for new tracks including nutrition securityHeirs' PropertySupport the SERA 49 Heirs' Property Working GroupCoordinate research on the heirs' property, wealth gaps, and solutionsComplete train-the-trainer workshop agreement in cooperation with the Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers Policy CenterDigital Access and LiteracyFacilitate work of the National Digital Education Extension Team and the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy (ECOP) Program Action TeamCollaborate with 1890 system to build capacity to aid underserved communities in digital literacy and skillsEstablish metrics for impacts of digital access on quality of lifeComing Together for Racial UnderstandingSupport the 32 states that have trained Coming Together state teamsBuild capacity for dialogues through additional trainingEvaluate impacts and lessons learnedEngage with NIFA on co-learningSupporting Healthy Communities Across the Life Course (Interdisciplinary Network on Rural Population Health and Aging)Build capacity around community development aspect of healthProvide mentorship for early career scholarsPursue collaborative publication optionsBuild capacity for research and Extension collaborationBuild Strategic PartnersDelta Scholars/Delta DirectionsSupport leadership initiative for undergraduatesAssist with Summer Institute held in the South and follow-up Boston ConferenceSouthern Region Program Leadership Network (SR-PLN)Support the work and efforts of the Program Leadership CommitteesEngage in the planning and implementation of the annual meetingSouthern Region Community Resource Development (CRD) Indicators - Facilitate gathering and reporting of southern region CRD indicators released in summerMobilize Resources around Emerging Issues and OpportunitiesGrant Writing SkillsPursue opportunities to integrate resources into identified programsDocument lessons learned from earlier pilot effortsRecreation Economy:Engage the National Extension Tourism network and other entitiesExplore opportunities to use CREATE BRIDGES and other resourcesEconomic Climate ResilienceParticipate in the National Extension Climate InitiativeExplore collaborative opportunities with 1890sIdentify southern indicators of vulnerabilityEnsure the community development perspective is considered Efforts to use demographic, social, and economic data to inform substantive programmatic work will be vital to connecting research and Extension efforts, engaging with rural community stakeholders, and building capacity to address timely issues in the region. This will include continued advancement of the Southern Region (SR)-STAT survey, building from the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development's work and in collaboration with other Regional Rural Development Centers. The SRDC will also continue to utilize existing publicly accessible data from the US Census Bureau, US Department of Agriculture, and US Health and Human Services, and to work with the Rural Population Research Network to make sense of population conditions and trends. SRDC efforts will help to decrease the barriers for applied researchers to study regional changes and conduct comparative research, and this will increase regional collaboration for both research and Extension in the Southern Region in a manner to address multiple topics on the plan of work. These endeavors will also enhance collaboration between 1862 and 1890 LGUs, thereby increasing accessibility for internal and external stakeholders.