Progress 08/01/06 to 07/31/09
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development facilitated and supported rural development research, Extension and teaching efforts, and disseminated the results of research on rural development policy issues to decision makers via publications and the NERCRD web site. Research focused on three key priorities: job creation and entrepreneurship; land use/environmental concerns; and maintaining and improving rural quality of life. Regional experts and educators were convened to improve the knowledge base, and to facilitate information flows and exchanges in the areas of entrepreneurship, land use and local foods, thereby enhancing the land grant system's capacity to effectively engage the pressing problems facing communities and avoiding duplication of effort. Three conferences were held, one on land use, the second on youth entrepreneurship and a third on local foods issues. Proceedings from the conferences were disseminated widely and videos of conference presentations were placed on the Center's web site. In addition to conference proceedings and the NERCRD annual report, NERCRD projects and research results were also distributed via the Network quarterly newsletter. A series of food system planning guides were developed that provide timely information for community organizations, county and municipal planners, and extension educators. Two edited books and four policy briefs were published as a result of the transatlantic land use conference, and a peer-reviewed book on targeting regional and economic development was published in 2009. The NERCRD collaborated with Northeast SARE to fund several sustainable community innovation grants which are facilitating greater connections between agriculture and community development efforts. An introductory core competency training session for extension professionals was hosted by the Center via Adobe Connect technology in November 2007. Two research papers on natural gas issues, specifically related to the Marcellus Shale project in western Pennsylvania and neighboring states, were published and a working group was formed to address natural gas issues that impact local communities. The social capital resources web site was updated to include 2005 data and numerous comments were received from faculty and county planners who were using information from the site in their research. PARTICIPANTS: Research and Extension faculty, Extension educators and other professionals from land grant and other universities in the Northeast US collaborated with the Northeast Center on this project, as did representatives from small business and other organizations, and experts in regional and economic development, local food system development and sustainability of natural resources. Networks of experts from the region and beyond were formed to work on Center conferences and other specific projects. More than 130 land use experts from around the world attended the Transatlantic Land Use Conference in September 2007. Forty professionals from 18 states attended the Youth Entrepreneurship Symposium, while more than 100 research faculty, Extension educators and other representatives from organizations with expertise and interests in local food system development attended the Local Foods Conference in May 2009. Representatives from the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development, the Pennsylvania State University, the Southern Rural Development Center, the United States Department of Agriculture - Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (USDA-CSREES), University of Connecticut, University of Maine, University of Maryland, University of Vermont, the Western Rural Development Center and West Virginia University partnered with the NERCRD to work on the Land Grant Youth Entrepreneurship Symposium. Presenters from Tuskegee University, Penn State University, University of Nebraska, University of Maryland, University of Illinois, University of Maine, North Carolina REAL Enterprises, Washington State University, North Carolina State University, Michigan State University, University of Arkansas, University Southern Mississippi and Iowa State University shared their programs and curricula at the symposium. Partners on the planning committee of the Local Foods Conference represented Penn State, West Virginia University, the University of New Hampshire, Plymouth State University, Cornell University, the University of Vermont, the Northeast States Association for Agricultural Stewardship (NSAAS, Maine), and the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group (NESAWG). Featured speakers and discussants at the conference were from the MN Institute for Sustainable Agriculture, NY State Department of Agriculture and Markets, Michigan State University, Cornell University, Penn State University, the Northeast Sustainable Working Group and Colorado State University. Over 3,000 copies of the NERCRD quarterly newsletter and other Center publications were disseminated to Center stakeholders, including those from regional land grant universities and members of the U.S. Congress. TARGET AUDIENCES: The Transatlantic Land Use Conference targeted experts from the U.S. and other countries to explore the causes and consequences of current land use trends and dynamics related to society, economy and environment and to identify the major drivers of land use and address the questions of what will happen if we keep doing what we are doing now, and what alternative measures can strengthen the sustainable use of natural resources in rural and suburban areas. Youth entrepreneurship educators attended Land Grant YES to develop and expand social capital among the educators in this region and beyond through the formation of a more formal workgroup structure; to frame a breakthrough project in the area of youth entrepreneurship, that can be collaboratively developed by members of this group, and to add value to the youth component of the eXtension Communities of Practice (CoP) project on Entrepreneurs and their Communities. In addition, symposium participants identified high quality youth entrepreneurship curricula/educational resources that could be systematically organized and incorporated into the eXtension Entrepreneurs and Their Communities web site. The Local Foods Conference attracted experts from Extension, research, and other organizations to provide an extensive opportunity for shared-learning and exploration related to the scientific research base on a wide range of local and regional food system development strategies and activities - what works, what does not, and what more we need to know. The Enhancing Local and Regional Food Systems conference provided networking opportunities for researchers, Extension professionals, and others working to enhance local and regional food systems. Discussions at the conference identified emerging research, information, program, and research priorities and developed a set of options for addressing these issues across the region. The series of food system planning guides targeted community organizations, county and municipal planners, and Extension educators. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
The Northeast Regional Center project helped communities and local government officials more effectively solve land use and economic development or entrepreneurship problems by providing research-based, objective information and by facilitating multi-state collaboration across the northeast region. Nearly 94 per cent of the transatlantic land grant conference attendees who responded to a post conference survey stated that the conference exceeded or met their expectations. Participants noted that it was beneficial and informative to meet with land grant experts in other countries, and that the conference broadened their view on land use issues. A participant in the Youth Entrepreneurship Symposium wrote: "This was one of the most amazing conferences I have attended in the past eight years. I found the size of the group (around thirty) and the specialization (youth entrepreneurship) to be extremely beneficial. This was an amazing amount of information to take in over two days." Of the respondents to the follow-up survey on the youth entrepreneurship event, 100 per cent indicated that they developed new contacts as a result of their participation in the symposium and that they have used those contacts to further their work. A national community of practice has been set up as a result of the youth symposium, as well as other regional and national working groups. 89 participants completed the pre- and post- conference surveys for the May 2009 conference, Enhancing Local and Regional Food Systems: Exploring the Research, What Works, and What We Need to Learn. Attendees reported that the conference filled a very large void, that the gathering was very useful and that this conference should be the first in a series of conferences/discussions on the topic of local food system research. Videos of conference presentations were placed on the NERCRD web site, and one of the presentations, What Do We Know and What Do We Need to Know about the Community Impacts of Local and Regional Foods was used by the University of Illinois Extension's local food initiative to educate local elected officials about the meaning and significance of local food. The series of three food system planning guides were distributed widely, including 859 copies of the Guide for Community Organizations, 727 copies of the Guide for County and Municipal Planners, and 383 copies of the Guide for Extension Educators. An article on self-employment, included in the Rural Sociological Society publication, Rural Realities, was used in a successful $1.5 million grant application to the EDA/ARC by the Kentucky Highlands Corporation. University researchers and community development consultants contacted the Center for additional information on datasets created by Center staff that are available on the social capital resources web site. One group in Indiana is using this data set to assess their communities' capacity to respond to natural disasters and emergencies.
Publications
- S.J. Goetz, M. Partridge, and S.C. Deller. 2009. Evaluating Rural Entrepreneurship Policy. 17 pp. Invited paper at the Experts Consultation on Rural Policy. OECD Headquarters. Paris, France. http://nercrd.psu.edu/Publications/rdppapers/rdp46.pdf
- Goetz, S.J. and S.S. Shrestha. 2009. Explaining Self-Employment Success and Failure: Wal-Mart vs. Starbucks or Schumpeter vs. Putnam. Social Science Quarterly. 91. 1:22-38.
- Goetz, S.J., S. Deller, and T. Harris. editors. 2009. Targeted Regional Economic Development. Routledge/Taylor and Francis Group. UK. 410 pp.
- Goetz, S.J. et al. 2009. The Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development Annual Report 2008. 44 pp. http://nercrd.psu.edu/Publications/Reports/AnnualReport2008.pdf
- Jacquet, J. 2009. Energy Boomtowns & Natural Gas: Implications for Marcellus Shale Local Governments & Rural Communities. 67 pp. http://nercrd.psu.edu/Publications/rdppapers/rdp43.pdf
- Jacquet, J. 2009. An Introduction to Natural Gas Development and Workforces. 7 pp. http://nercrd.psu.edu/Publications/rdppapers/rdp44.pdf
- Wu, J. 2008. Land Use Changes: Economic, Social and Environmental Impacts. TALUC Policy Brief No. 1. 12 pp. http://nercrd.psu.edu/TALUC/TALUC1.pdf
- Khanna, M. 2008. Carbon Sequestration. TALUC Policy Brief No. 2. 8 pp. http://nercrd.psu.edu/TALUC/TALUC2.pdf
- Duke, J.M. 2008. Using Research on Farmland Amenity Values to Improve Preservation Policy. TALUC Policy Brief No. 3. 8 pp. http://nercrd.psu.edu/TALUC/TALUC3.pdf
- Lynch, L. 2008. Land-Use Policy - Agriculture and Urbanization. TALUC Policy Brief No. 4. 12 pp. http://nercrd.psu.edu/TALUC/TALUC4.pdf
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Progress 08/01/07 to 07/31/08
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Over the past year, the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development continued to promote rural development research, extension and teaching in the areas of community development/entrepreneurship, eCommerce, farm clusters/local foods and land use by communicating the results of research on these rural development policy issues to decision makers and other Center stakeholders via NERCRD publications and the web site. The Center organized and sponsored multi-disciplinary and multi-state educational efforts on various rural development issues including youth entrepreneurship and land use. The Land Grant Youth Entrepreneurship Symposium, which brought together experts from across the U.S. to present specific curricula used in various youth programs, was held in June 2008. Videos of the presentations were placed on the NERCRD web site, and a communities of practice group for eXtension, Entrepreneurs and Their Communities, was formed as a result of the symposium. Three webinars on various community development issues were presented by stakeholders in the Northeast region as part of the national eXtension initiative. The Center funded three SARE grants in 2007-2008 as part of the Sustainable Community Innovation Project. Four Policy Briefs and two edited books were published as a result of the Transatlantic Land Use Conference, which was held September 24-26, 2007 in Washington, DC. Planning is underway for a conference on local foods, Enhancing Local and Regional Foods Systems: Exploring the Science, What Works, and What We Need to Learn, to be held at the Hudson Valley Resort, NY, on May 19-20, 2009. PARTICIPANTS: Extension and research professionals with rural development interests from land grant and other universities in the northeast U.S. worked on this project, as well as individuals from small business and other organizations. Two working groups on land use and two on rural entrepreneurship included experts from the northeast region. Additional networks were formed to work on youth entrepreneurship and local foods. Partner organizations on the Youth Entrepreneurship Symposium consisted of the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development, the Pennsylvania State University, the Southern Rural Development Center, the United States Department of Agriculture - Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (USDA-CSREES), University of Connecticut, University of Maine, University of Maryland, University of Vermont, the Western Rural Development Center and West Virginia University. Presentations on youth entrepreneurship curricula were made by representatives from Tuskegee University, Penn State University, University of Nebraska, University of Maryland, University of Illinois, University of Maine, North Carolina REAL Enterprises, Washington State University, North Carolina State University, Michigan State University, University of Arkansas, University Southern Mississippi and Iowa State University. Forty professionals attended the Youth Entrepreneurship Symposium, while more than 130 land use experts attended the Transatlantic Land Use Conference in September 2007. Partners involved in the Local Foods Conference include Cornell University, The Center for Rural Partnerships at Plymouth State University, University of New Hampshire and West Virginia University. The NERCRD Network newsletter was disseminated widely to more than 2000 recipients, and other Center publications, including the 2007 NERCRD Annual Report, were distributed to Center stakeholders, including regional land grant universities and members of the U.S. Congress. TARGET AUDIENCES: Target audiences for the Land Grant Youth Entrepreneurship Symposium included Extension professionals and faculty in the Northeast region and the U.S. who work in the areas of 4-H and other youth development programs. Videos of symposium presentations are available on the NERCRD and eXtension web sites for Extension educators to view and compare the various curricula that are used across the country. The Local Foods Conference will bring together researchers, Extension educators and others to explore the scientific research base relating to local food systems. Center publications, newsletters, and research-based information located on the NERCRD web site targets community decision-makers and local government officials, as well as extension and research professionals. Notifications of educational opportunities and relevant information on rural development issues are distributed widely to stakeholders via strategic mailing lists and listservs. This activity provides critically needed support to the national eXtension initiative. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
The Northeast Center developed regional networks of Extension faculty and educators to address land use and community development/entrepreneurship issues. A Youth Entrepreneurship Symposium was held in June 2008 as a direct result of discussions held by the youth entrepreneurship working group. A national database is being developed that will act as a clearinghouse for a list of available youth entrepreneurship curricula. There is a serious need for this type of information, and the database of information will eliminate duplication of effort and programs. A survey of symposium attendees was very positive, with all respondents stating that they agreed or strongly agreed that they would recommend this event to their colleagues. All of those who completed the survey said that by attending this workshop, their knowledge about Youth Entrepreneurship has increased. An independent review commission has just reported in its preliminary review findings that the Northeast Regional Center is extremely well-functioning and productive and that the Center program includes a wide range of successful initiatives in critical issue areas.
Publications
- Grassmueck, G., S.J. Goetz and M. Shields. 2008. Youth Out-Migration from Pennsylvania: The Roles of Government Fragmentation vs. the Beaten Path Effect, Journal of Regional Analysis and Policy, 38(1):77-88.
- Goetz, S.J. 2008. Self-Employment: The New Rural Reality, in L. Beaulieu, editor, Rural Realities, the Rural Sociological Society. vol. 2. no. 3. 13pp.
- Acs, Z., E. Glaeser, R. Litan, L. Fleming, S. Goetz, W. Kerr, S. Klepper, S. Rosenthal, O. Sorenson, and W. Strange. 2008. Entrepreneurship and Urban Success: Toward a Policy Consensus, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, February 2008. Kansas City, MO. 26pp. http://www.kauffman.org/pdf/state_local_roadmap_022608.pdf
- Shrestha, S.S., S.J. Goetz and A. Rupasingha. 2007. Proprietorship Formations and US Job Growth, Review of Regional Studies. 27(2):146-168.
- Brasier, K.J., S.J. Goetz, L.A. Smith, M. Ames, J. Green, T. Kelsey, A. Rangarajan and W. Whitmer. 2007. How Clusters of Agricultural Firms Affect Local Community Sustainability, Journal of the Community Development Society. 38(3):8-22.
- Goetz, S.J. and A. Rupasingha. 2007. Determinants and Implications of Growth in Non-Farm Proprietorship Densities: 1990-2000, Journal of Small Business Economics, published on-line Sept. 2007. http://www.springerlink.com/content/n0758p8637n46x15/fulltext.pdf
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Progress 08/01/06 to 07/31/07
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development continues to conduct, promote and extend through outreach both applied and peer-reviewed studies of agricultural development, employment creation and entrepreneurship, and land use/environment concerns, and communicates the results of research on rural development policy issues to decision makers and stakeholders via publications and the NERCRD web site. The Center continues to organize and sponsor multi-disciplinary and multi-state educational efforts in the areas of community development impact assessment, entrepreneurship, balanced land use and vibrant and sustainable communities. The Center fulfills its other multiple networking responsibilities through strategic partnerships, conference participation and by identifying leading edge programs that can be shared across the northeast region so as to reduce duplication of effort. The Northeast Center is forming teams of experts to develop grant proposals that address
critical emerging issues. A second subcontract has been processed to fund three Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) community proposals. These grants will facilitate greater connections between agriculture and community development efforts. A Transatlantic Land Use Conference, which seeks to explore the causes and consequences of current land use trends and dynamics related to society, economy and environment, was held September 24-26, 2007. An introductory core competency training session for extension professionals will be hosted by the Center via Breeze technology in November 2007. Other sessions, including a possible face to face training meeting, are planned for the future.
PARTICIPANTS: Experts on land use and rural entrepreneurship in the northeast US were contacts as well as members of two land use working groups: Housing and Land Use and Local Value of Ag, and two entrepreneurship working groups: Community Support for Entrepreneurship and Youth Entrepreneurship. Land use experts in the US and Europe were on the Transatlantic Land Use Conference (TALUC) planning committee; partner organizations on TALUC: Agricultural Economics Research Institute (LEI), Wageningen University and Research Centre, The Netherlands; Association for European Life Sciences Universities (ICA); Farm Foundation; Land Policy Institute; Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, The Netherlands; National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC); National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education; Richard B. Russell Foundation/University of Georgia (Athens); Southern Rural Development Center; Swank Program in Rural-Urban Policy; The North
Central Regional Center for Rural Development; Western Rural Development Center; Marge Kilkelly, Director, Northeast States Association For Agricultural Stewardship (NSAAS), an affiliate of The Council of State Governments' Eastern Regional Conference. Training and professional development provided by the project includes Core Competencies/Foundations of Practice for Extension professionals training; Conference on the Science and Education of Land Use: A transatlantic, multidisciplinary and comparative approach; Report on the Rural Entrepreneurship Listening Sessions that were held in the northeast US; Presentation to the Community Development Society, Appleton, Wisconsin on Targeting Regional Economic Development: An Outline of a National Extension Educational Program (TRED) materials; and the 2007 conference of the National Association of Community Development Extension Professionals, attended by more than 300 people (US).
TARGET AUDIENCES: One target audience is Extension professionals and faculty in the northeast US: Core Competencies/Foundations of Practice. Another is stakeholders, including local government officials, in the region with community development, employment, land use and/or environmental interests/concerns and responsibilities. The results of science based research was widely distributed via Center publications (including the newsletter, sent to 3000+ recipients) and the NERCRD web site, as well as the electronic listserv.
Impacts
The economic and social vitality of many rural communities in the Northeast is being threatened by numerous external forces, all of which are beyond the immediate control of the communities affected. The Center convenes experts and educators in the region with the specific goals of improving flows and exchanges of information, enhancing the capacity of the land grant system to engage effectively the pressing problems facing communities while eliminating duplication of effort and programs. Research results are disseminated by the Center so that communities and decision makers can make more effective policy decisions.
Publications
- Goetz, S.J., Deller, S. and Harris, T. 2007. Targeting Regional Economic Development: An Outline of a National Extension Educational Program, The Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development, Rural Development Paper No. 38, 19 pp. http://www.nercrd.psu.edu/Publications/rdppapers/rdp38.pdf
- Goetz, S.J. and Whitmer, W. 2007. Regional Listening Sessions on Rural Entrepreneurship: Lessons from the Northeast, The Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development, Rural Development Paper No. 37, 16 pp. http://www.nercrd.psu.edu/Publications/rdppapers/rdp37.pdf
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