Business incubators can help fledgling firms get off the ground by providing business services and rental space, at below-market costs, for a business's first few years. The payoff for the community is more jobs. Concentrated until recently in urban areas, incubators are now succeeding in rural areas too. (JHZ)

Only recently has the need to link rural education programs for workers and economic planning been recognized. This interest in linkages has resulted in a variety of intermediary mechanisms for collaboration. Included among the elements or activities necessary for linking education and economic development are the following: a solid base of…