Rural Development Links
ATTRA—Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas—is the national sustainable farming information center operated by the private nonprofit National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT). ATTRA provides technical assistance to farmers, Extension agents, market gardeners, agricultural researchers and other ag professionals in all 50 states.
This guide addresses Federal programs for value-added and diversified agriculture and forestry, sustainable land management, and community development. The guide is a publication of the U.S. Department of Agriculture agencies working together for sustainable rural development in collaboration with The Michael Fields Agricultural Institute. Collaborating agencies include Resource Conservation and Development, Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Forest Service, Cooperative State Research, Education & Extension Service, and Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program.
Included on this Web site is material that is specifically useful to those trying to organize communities or build local community co-intelligence capacity. One resource is a toolbox of processes for community work — a list of processes that can increase the capacity of communities to respond intelligently to the changing environment around them, including crises.
A series of three courses called the Community Development Academy is offered
by the University of Missouri Community Development Extension Program. The Community
Development Academy is an intensive, experiential, five-day course (for noncredit
or for three hours undergraduate or graduate credit), which explores ideas and
develops practical skills for effectively involving and empowering local citizens
and leaders in community-based efforts.
Community Resource and Economic Development
The Community Resource and Economic Development web page was initiated by the Cooperative Extension Service to provide dynamic information about programs throughout the Extension System. The intent of these resources is to inspire ideas for developing programs in a new area or with a different approach.
Community and Rural Development Institute
The Community and Rural Development Institute (CaRDI) responds to current and emerging needs in community and rural development. CaRDI collaborates with Cornell University faculty and staff, Cornell Cooperative Extension, and other local and regional institutions to address needs at the local, state and national levels.
Heartland Center for Leadership Development
The Heartland Center for Leadership Development is an independent, nonprofit organization developing local leadership that responds to the challenges of the future. A major focus of the Heartland Center's activities is practical resources and public policies for rural community survival.
National Tourism Education Clearinghouse
The National Tourism Education Clearinghouse is a compilation of national, regional, state and specific topic
resources for tourism educators and is maintained by the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development.
North Central Region Directory of Food Industry
Research and Development Resources
This directory is intended to actively promote economic development throughout the North Central Region by establishing
a simple means by which interested individuals can identify state and federal food-processing-related resources.
Northeast Regional Center for Rural
Development
The NERCRD is one of four regional rural development centers in the nation. They focus specifically on rural issues affecting the 13 states of the Northeast region.
PLC is a committee of the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy (ECOP). This site provides connections to a wide variety of program resources throughout the Extension System.
This server provides online access to public issues education (PIE) materials, publications and resources; creates linkages to information from related policy disciplines; and provides forum/conferencing capabilities to enhance dialogue among all parties interested in public issues, policy options and public issues education.
Resource Guide on Rural Latinos
One link provided by JSRI is a set of connections to scholars with expertise in issues of Latinos in rural communities. One page of the web site is devoted to the JSRI Resource Guide on Rural Latinos, which is a directory and listing of experts and organizations who serve rural Latinos.
Julian Samora Research Institute
The home page of the Julian Samora Research Institute (JSRI) at Michigan State University includes the latest updates, publications and information from the Midwest's premier Latino research center. This site is continually updated to include local events and recent releases of interest, as well as other web links.
Social Capital for Development
This website is the World Bank’s link with external partners, researchers, institutions, governments and others interested in understanding and applying social capital for sustainable social and economic development. It includes a link to Social Capital "Let's Talk"...a moderated e-mail discussion group - or discussion list - dedicated to social capital and development.
Southern Rural Development Center
The SRDC supports research and extension efforts to improve the lives of people living in nonmetropolitan areas of the United States. Located at Mississippi State University, and jointly sponsored by Alcorn State University, the SRDC serves the 29 land-grant institutions of the thirteen Southern states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
This site contains the National Extension Tourism Database, a comprehensive inventory of Extension resource materials related to tourism education. The materials, generally dating from 1985-1998, are from the USDA, Agricultural Experiment Stations and Land Grant universities and include Extension bulletins, research reports, videos, training guides and notebooks, and PowerPoint slide shows. An alternative URL is http://www.msue.msu.edu/msue/imp.
Western Rural Development Center
The WRDC, located at Utah State University, facilitates collaborative socio-economic research and extension through higher education institutions in the 13 states and four territories of the Western region.
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. specializes in natural-resource-based economic development in agriculture, forestry, and water resources; community capacity and economic development, and business development. YWA provides clients with customized analyses and models of successful intervention in rural areas around the United States and abroad. They also provide training programs in community capacity building and how to select and measure appropriate indicators of community progress.
North Central Regional Center for Rural
Development