Progress 09/01/06 to 08/31/09
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Several outputs were realized as a result of the initial implementation of the SRDC strategic plan. The Research Innovation and Development Grants in Economics (RIDGE) program was strengthened and showcased the work accomplished by several Southern region faculty. The Sustainable Community Innovations Grants program, a collaboration with Southern SARE, funded 8 additional projects that have the potential to have tremendous impact on regional communities. The National E-commerce Extension Initiative funded an additional 5 curricula focusing on community planning for information technology, farm management, food retailing, experiential websites and artisan businesses. A national workshop was held to train Extension educators on the use of these and previously developed curricula. A major initiative of the SRDC continued to be entrepreneurship. The publishing of a major report presenting the key issues gleaned from the regional entrepreneurship listening sessions and continued enhancement of the eXtension Entrepreneurs and Their Communities are major accomplishments. In addition, the venerable Ca$hing in on Business home-based and micro-business curriculum is in the process of being revised by a national team of Extension specialists for inclusion in the Entrepreneurs and Their Communities website and in the eXtension Professional Development Community of Practice. The Rural Community College Initiative came to a conclusion during 2007 with the commissioning of a final evaluation report to be coordinated by Priscilla Salant of the University of Idaho. Significant partnerships have been established between community colleges and land-grant universities that should be sustainable. In working with impoverished or rapidly changing communities, the SRDC has three major initiatives. First is enhancing the efforts with the Delta Revitalization Initiative by placing Extension educators specifically targeted to economic and community development educational efforts in this impoverished region. Second, the SRDC was part of a collaboration that hosted a tour of national leaders, agency heads and the press throughout the Delta region. Finally, the SRDC is facilitating the development of the The New Hispanic South Southern Region Extension Research Activities group PARTICIPANTS: Lionel J. Beaulieu, Professor and Director of the Southern Rural Development Center; Alan Barefield, Extension Professor and Associate Director of the Southern Rural Development Center; Emily Shaw, Program Manager; Kathy Ibendahl/Vicki Vaughn, Business Managers; and Julianna Brown, Editor worked on this project. In addition, faculty from the region's 29 land-grant universities participated in carrying out the goals and objectives of the project. TARGET AUDIENCES: The primary target audiences for the work accomplished in this effort are the faculty and professional staffs of the southern region's 29 land-grant universities. Other audiences of the program include the partners of the southern land-grant university system including faculty and professional staffs of the land-grant university system in other regions of the country, state economic and social development agencies, local community stakeholders, governmental policy makers at all levels, policy analytical organizations, and non-profit and philanthropic organizations. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
28 of 52 participants in the national e-commerce training event responded to an evaluation survey sponsored by the SRDC. All respondents built contacts as a result of the training and 60% have sought help. Almost 2/3 of respondents said that the Electronic Retailing curriculum was the most used. 94 technical assistance events have followed the conference and 47 programs or workshops were implemented by respondents. 1030 people participated in these programs representing 162 communities, businesses and/or organizations. 1 job was created, 3 communities or local governments adopted e-commerce related strategies, 19 websites were created or enhanced, and 5 respondents reported increasing sales. The RIDGE program resulted in accomplishments by Southern social science researchers in such areas as obesity, food assistance, food deserts, and nutrition. The RIDGE program addresses these problems through the accessibility and availability issues that are the result of challenges faced by the region's communities. This research has fallen under the themes of Food Access Quality and Cost; Food Assistance Challenges; Food Assistance Participation; Food Insecurity; Impacts of Food Assistance Policies; and Nutrition and Obesity. The Sustainable Communities Innovation Grants program has provided 6 communities in the current year the opportunity to address common issues that face both rural communities and the agricultural sector. In 2007, issues focused around building local food networks, entrepreneurship, sustainable farming, marketing locally harvested seafood, and sustainable communities. Evaluation of past programs revealed several factors were key to success including community/economic development efforts that benefit the local population; increasing knowledge, building capacity and enhancing connections among on- and off-farm sustainable activities; involving civic engagement activities; enhancing local leadership; influence on local governmental policies; and bringing local governments and community organizations together. The eXtension CoP "Entrepreneurs and Their Communities" continues to be enhanced with educational materials for use by Extension educators across the nation. CoP membership continues to rank high for the largest number of members and educational activities promoted by the CoP team such as webinars provides additional educational opportunities. Another entrepreneurship-based educational piece receiving use is the publication "Voices of the People: Strategies for Expanding Entrepreneurship in the Rural South." This publication has had multiple printings and distributed to a variety of stakeholders in the region and used to influence local governmental policies in many communities. The RCCI program has had several major impacts as it comes to a close. A new community based strategic planning curriculum now in use by several communities across the region was piloted in the RCCI program and several communities affected by the program have developed efforts that include the "three legs" of the RCCI stool (educational access, equitable economic development, and increased civic engagement).
Publications
- Brown, J. Grant Connections Newsletter. February 2007. Volume 9, Number 1. Southern Rural Development Center. http://srdc.msstate.edu
- Brown, J. Grant Connections Newsletter. April 2007. Volume 9, Number 2. Southern Rural Development Center. http://srdc.msstate.edu
- Brown, J. Grant Connections Newsletter. June 2007. Volume 9, Number 3. Southern Rural Development Center. http://srdc.msstate.edu
- Brown, J. Grant Connections Newsletter. August 2007. Volume 9, Number 4. Southern Rural Development Center. http://srdc.msstate.edu
- Brown, J. Grant Connections Newsletter. October 2007. Volume 9, Number 5. Southern Rural Development Center. http://srdc.msstate.edu
- Brown, J. Grant Connections Newsletter. December 2007. Volume 9, Number 6. Southern Rural Development Center. http://srdc.msstate.edu
- Brown, J. e-News Newsletter. May 2007. Number 17. Southern Rural Development Center. http://srdc.msstate.edu/ecommerce
- Brown, J. e-News Newsletter. July 2007. Number 18. Southern Rural Development Center. http://srdc.msstate.edu/ecommerce
- Brown, J. e-News Newsletter. September 2007. Number 19. Southern Rural Development Center. http://srdc.msstate.edu/ecommerce
- Brown, J. e-News Newsletter. November 2007. Number 20. Southern Rural Development Center. http://srdc.msstate.edu/ecommerce
- Brown, J. e-News Newsletter. January 2007. Number 15. Southern Rural Development Center. http://srdc.msstate.edu/ecommerce
- Brown, J. e-News Newsletter. March 2007. Number 16. Southern Rural Development Center. http://srdc.msstate.edu/ecommerce
- Beaulieu, L.J and R. Gallardo. Southern Region Information Toolkit website. 2007. Southern Rural Development Center. http://srit.srdc.msstate.edu
- Brown, J. SRDC Success Story (Florida): Citrus County Program Succeeds in Giving Businesses a Stronger Voice. Southern Rural Development Center. 2007. http://srdc.msstate.edu
- Brown, J. SRDC Success Story (Kentucky/Tennessee): Two States Join Forces to Build Promising Futures for Rural Communities. Southern Rural Development Center. 2007. http://srdc.msstate.edu
- Brown, J. SRDC Success Story (Louisiana): Community Development Training Sparks Great Potential in Louisiana Agents. Southern Rural Development Center. 2007. http://srdc.msstate.edu
- Brown, J. SRDC Success Story (Texas): Groups Collaborate to Provide Valuable Resources for Rural Texas Communities. Southern Rural Development Center. 2007. http://srdc.msstate.edu
- Beaulieu, L.J. and A. Barefield. Changing Needs in Changing Times: 2007 SRDC Annual Report. Southern Rural Development Center. 2007. http://srdc.msstate.edu
- Brown, J. Around the South Newsletter. January 2007. Volume 3, Number 1. Southern Rural Development Center. http://srdc.msstate.edu
- Brown, J. Around the South Newsletter. February 2007. Volume 3, Number 1. Southern Rural Development Center. http://srdc.msstate.edu
- Brown, J. Around the South Newsletter. March 2007. Volume 3, Number 2. Southern Rural Development Center. http://srdc.msstate.edu
- Brown, J. Around the South Newsletter. April 2007. Volume 3, Number 3. Southern Rural Development Center. http://srdc.msstate.edu
- Brown, J. Around the South Newsletter. May 2007. Volume 3, Number 4. Southern Rural Development Center. http://srdc.msstate.edu
- Beaulieu, L.J. Strengthening Our Nation's Food Assistance Programs. Southern Rural Development Center. 2007. http://srdc.msstate.edu
- Beaulieu, L.J., A. Barefield, and B. Wright. Voices of the People: Strategies for Expanding Entrepreneurship in the Rural South. Southern Rural Development Center. 2007. http://srdc.msstate.edu
- Brown, J. Around the South Newsletter. June 2007. Volume 3, Number 5. Southern Rural Development Center. http://srdc.msstate.edu
- Beaulieu, L.J. Blueprint for the Rural South. Southern Rural Development Center. 2007. http://srdc.msstate.edu
- Kolbo, J.R., A.J. Khoury, W. Bounds, and J. Lee. Overweight and Obesity in the South: Prevalence and Related Health Care Costs Among Population Groups. Southern Rural Development Center. 2007. http://srdc.msstate.edu
- Brown, J. Around the South Newsletter. July 2007. Volume 3, Number 6. Southern Rural Development Center. http://srdc.msstate.edu
- Barnes, A. Around the South Newsletter. August 2007. Volume 3, Number 7. Southern Rural Development Center. http://srdc.msstate.edu
- Barnes, A. Around the South Newsletter. September 2007. Volume 3, Number 8. Southern Rural Development Center. http://srdc.msstate.edu
- Barnes, A. Around the South Newsletter. October 2007. Volume 3, Number 9. Southern Rural Development Center. http://srdc.msstate.edu
- Barnes, A. Around the South Newsletter. November 2007. Volume 3, Number 10. Southern Rural Development Center. http://srdc.msstate.edu
- Barnes, A. Around the South Newsletter. December 2007. Volume 3, Number 12. Southern Rural Development Center. http://srdc.msstate.edu
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Progress 09/01/06 to 08/31/07
Outputs
The SRDC spent the year evaluating and refocusing efforts to provide educational programs and expertise to help the Southern land-grant universities face the community and economic development issues of the region. The first step in this process involved listening to the people of the rural areas of the South. With assistance from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the SRDC was able to lay the foundation of a strategic plan that will serve to guide the center's activities for the next several years. These activities included hosting roundtables in 14 states to ascertain the most significant rural development issues of the region; utilizing internet technology to survey land-grant university research and Extension faculty to collect their thoughts regarding the rural development priorities of the South; hosting a regional rural development roundtable to compile and analyze the data collected from the preceding activities and develop key points for development of the center's
strategic plan; and led the Center Technical Operations and Advisory Committee to identify the critical issues to be addressed by the center's staff and partners. Other activities sponsored by the SRDC along these lines included hosting listening sessions targeted to entrepreneurs, technical assistance providers, and community leaders to identify issues to be included in the center's rural entrepreneurship initiative; sponsoring a survey of the leaders of the nation's USDA Rural Development state offices and Extension administrations to determine cooperative arrangements between these organizations; hosting 11 listening and 3 feedback sessions in cooperation with the Citizens Health Care Working Group to ascertain the critical issues of providing healthcare access and coverage to the issues of the rural South. The SRDC also invested heavily in research and Extension activities to identify and address rural development issues in the region and nation. These included a partnership with
Southern SARE to implement sustainable community development practices associated with sustainable agriculture; and funding social science researchers to explore the food assistance needs of the South's vulnerable populations. A major focus of the center's programs focused on the Mississippi River Delta region. Particular activities included providing evaluation research for two Walton Family Foundation funded programs; coordinating the Delta Rural Revitalization project funded by CSREES; developing the Southern Region Information Toolkit to provide meaningful data and analysis of the area to stakeholders; partnering with the National Rural Funders Collaborative to outline emerging challenges facing the region; and providing information from the Consolidated Federal Funds report to demonstrate the flow of federal funds into the region. Other major efforts of the SRDC included continuation of the Rural Community College Initiative, establishing a partnership with the Rural Community
College Alliance, and reinvigorating the Southern Research and Extension Activities Project 19. This SERA is focused on addressing the issues associated with the health issues of the rural South.
Impacts
The SRDC strategic plan will guide its activities over the next several years. Focus areas include equitable economic development, increasing the civic engagement of residents, and researching the issues of the persistent poverty areas of the rural South. This focused effort is expected to provide more systematic methods and curricula to land-grant university faculty and partners that will allow an addressing of the needs of their states and communities. The Mississippi Delta region projects, programs, and partnerships will provide assistance to stakeholders and policy makers to address needs of this poverty region. This effort will result in models for the development of other poverty stricken regions. Entrepreneurship listening session impacts include the development of systematic approaches to address the needs of small business development and entrepreneurship, including a partnership with the National Center for Rural Entrepreneurship and the formation of a team
to develop curricula for the eXtension national initiative. A partnership with the Citizens Healthcare Working Group resulted in a report to President Bush that will be presented to Congress for consideration of legislation dealing with healthcare access/coverage issues. The Rural Community College Initiative has redefined the way that community colleges view their roles. Increased access to educational programs, engaging residents in civic processes of the community, and integrating the colleges into the community's economic development programs are already being realized impacts.
Publications
- Blanchard, T. and T.L. Lyson. Food Availability and Food Deserts in the Nonmetropolitan South. Food Assistance Needs of the Souths Vulnerable Populations. Number 12, April 2006.
- Murphy, T., L.J. Beaulieu, A. Duran, and A. Barefield. Working Differently with the Delta. National Rural Funders Collaborative. November 2005.
- Glasmeier, A., L. Wood, and K. Fuellhart. Measuring Economic Distress: A Comparison of Designations and Measures. Measuring Rural Diversity Policy Series. Volume 3, Issue No. 2, April 2006.
- Ratcliffe, M.R. Creating Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas. Measuring Rural Diversity Policy Series. Volume 3, Issue No. 1, March 2006.
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