A deteriorating local economy in many rural areas has led local leaders to search for ways to ease the transformation or reverse the trend. This guidebook provides extension educators and economic development specialists with a starting point in designing workshops for local leaders interested in increasing economic activity in their communities.…

Community clusters allow small towns to combine their efforts to enhance economic development, promote tourism, or share public services. Two successful clusters of communities in Iowa are the Area Community Commonwealth and the North Iowa Rural Area Development. Both clusters participated in Iowa State University's Cooperative Extension Service…

Home to 65 million people, rural America is no longer insulated from national and international events. Once dependent entirely upon agriculture and natural resource industries, today rural America relies upon manufacturing and service industries. Jobs and other income opportunities in rural America must respond to global business cycles and…

Rural economic development requires local consensus and a coordinated effort by community leaders and the public at large. In 12 rural Georgia counties, the University of Georgia is implementing a Rural Revitalization Initiative (RRI) that emphasizes collaboration of public officials and private individuals across disciplines, professions,…

Describes 1999 federal funding to large general-assistance programs affecting small towns and rural areas (including Housing and Urban Development, federal disaster relief, rural extension activities, and Bureau of Indian Affairs assistance programs); increased funding for Empowerment Zones/Enterprise Communities; reauthorization of the Economic…

This booklet contains summaries of workshop presentations at the conference on community development. This conference brought local community officials and leaders together with interested citizens to learn about successful rural community development activities occurring in Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota. Sessions covered four main…

In recent years, service programs targeted for Georgia's rural communities have decreased proportionately in relation to those intended for the state's rapidly expanding population centers. At the same time, erosion of traditional manufacturing industries and an adverse agricultural economy have decreased the ability of rural communities to…

This annual report of the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development (NERCRD) highlights the Center's activities, programs, projects, and publications for fiscal year 1998. NERCRD receives modest funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other funds from private foundations. Funds are used to link rural development efforts of the 15…

This directory provides an easy-to-use listing of development resources for Idaho community leaders, business owners, and rural development practitioners. The main section lists agencies and associations relevant to small business and community development, and includes contact information. Some entries also include a brief description. Similar…

Describes general development assistance available to rural areas through federal programs that fund housing, extension education and research, rural community development, rural business development, resource conservation, and development activities in American Indian reservations and disadvantaged rural areas. (SV)

Cooperative Extension Service personnel from 13 Southern states attended a conference on rural revitalization, focusing on Extension's role in (1) economic development, (2) human capital, and (3) infrastructure; 17 of the 22 papers presented are divided among those categories. Three of the remaining papers provide respectively, an overview of the…

The Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and private foundations, and invests in research and education to help rural communities meet the challenges of today's global society through a multidisciplinary network of university research and extension faculty, policy makers, and rural…

This bibliography contains 135 entries related to rural and community leadership. The entries were derived from the AGRICOLA database produced by the National Agricultural Library and include journal articles, extension bulletins, books, conference papers, and government reports. Entries cover such topics as community development, community…

An attempt was made to analyze the administrative problems of United States technical assistance to community development and agricultural extension programs in the Philippines, Pakistan, Iran, Thailand, and Nigeria, with emphasis on field problems and on the point of view of local administrators, field technicians, and local people. The concept…

Describes cooperative campaign by central Chilean farmers to reduce use of dangerous chemicals. Describes cooperative's rural extension program targeting misuse of pesticides. Describes concern of chemical danger to local and foreign consumers. Cooperative's effort described as balancing short-term economic gains with long-term health and…