Economic Development Now

The U.S. Department of Agriculture last month launched an initiative aimed at boosting economic development in rural and underserved communities through a combination of summits and workshops.

The Centers of Community Prosperity will host training summits and capacity-building workshops to help communities engage in a bottom up, locally-driven process to address challenges in their region and foster wealth creation, the agency announced. The effort will convene stakeholders including local, state, federal, and tribal partners, land-grant universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, tribal colleges and universities, historically black colleges and universities, veterans, and youth organizations.

The initiative builds on the agency’s past experience connecting more than 1,000 institutional and community partners with USDA, VA, HUD, and other federal agencies. These trainings have resulted in grants and leadership endowments to address community challenges by conducting veteran outreach, improving regional food systems, and combating substance abuse.

The new effort follows USDA’s Rural Economic Development Innovation (REDI) initiative. In June officials selected 47 rural communities and regions to receive planning assistance from one of four partner organizations. The initiative provides free technical assistance for up to two years to help rural towns and regions create and implement economic development plans that include evidence-based assessments, quantifiable goals, plans to improve the local and regional economy, and metrics to track progress.