"Small Schools, Education, and the Importance of Community" focuses on three successful approaches for using the school as a catalyst for community development and revitalization, particularly in rural areas. The strategies also work well in suburban and urban areas. The three approaches described include: leadership by K-12 teachers,…

Many communities are rethinking their ideas of mutual support, social economy, and community economic development and are using "Time Dollars" strategies to build on their existing support networks and create a strong and valued social economy. This book provides an introduction to the social capital strategy of Time Dollars and presents…

This "Civic Index" is intended to help communities evaluate and improve their civic infrastructures, as well as look at the issues and find approaches to dealing with them. The 10 components of the Civic Index serve as a description of the types of skills and processes that must be present for a community to deal effectively with its unique…

Many communities are unaware of the power they have and are therefore unfamiliar with how to use it. This document, by the Regeneration Project in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, is directed toward helping community leaders identify and develop opportunities that will help them expand their businesses, employment, and tax base, and improve their overall…

Community colleges across the United States have initiated programs that are making an impact on the productivity of rural America and its residents. Profiles of 20 community and technical college initiatives in rural economic development are contained in this report intended for use by community and technical college administrators. The programs…

Over the last 2 decades, the loss of population and businesses in many small, inland, and remote Australian rural communities has intensified, largely because of the stress and uncertainty of volatile world commodity markets. This manual presents a range of survival and revival strategies that some communities have used to build resilient…

Part of the Small Town Strategy series, this publication is designed to help communities decide whether further local economic growth is possible and desirable. The publication provides a discussion outline to be used to study the costs and benefits of growing or not growing. Questions are listed which should be raised by the community when…

This discussion guide is designed to help people examine the state of work in their community, explore changes, and strategize about what they can do to forge creative solutions and improve the community's worklife. It is especially appropriate for use in a study circle setting. The discussion materials are arranged into four sessions: (1) the…

Asset mapping is an effective tool for understanding the wealth of talent and resources that exists in each community--even those with small populations or suffering from poverty and economic distress. The long-term development of a community rests on its ability to uncover and build on the strengths and assets of its people, institutions, and…

This document identifies steps in organizing and conducting a community survey and provides materials for assembling a well-focused survey form. Planning and conducting a successful survey involves the organization of a planning group, selection of relevant topics and information to be collected on each topic, preparation of a survey form,…

Part of an effort to increase the capacity of local citizens to address critical issues facing their communities, this paper reports on a project to develop and test a replicable process for organizing community forums at community colleges. Following introductory remarks, the first section discusses the role of the community college in community…

Designed to assist individuals who need to bring information to citizen groups or decision makers concerned with community economic development, this manual uses a question-answer format to cover topics that might occur to someone just starting to build an understanding of community economic analysis. Among topics covered are: strategies for…

This manual describes an educational program for helping rural, small community leaders, decision-makers, and residents analyze their communities, think about alternatives, and plan economic development action strategies. The program is an effort to help communities explore short- and long-term development strategies, gain a vision of their…

A strong local economy which allows residents of a community to work and shop near their homes is perhaps the best safeguard against the threats of urban sprawl, economic stagnation, physical deterioration and loss of unique identity facing many small towns. Utilizing a six-phase process advocated by the University of Wisconsin-Extension,…

Economic growth and development have many implications that need to be considered so that informed decisions regarding the community can be made. Although expansion of an existing establishment or a newly located plant or business are the primary means by which communities seek economic growth, growth can also occur when the new industry is…