An Update of Activities:August 2001

Strategic Plan FY2001

Strategic PlanningProcess Actively engaged the Southern Region Rural

Development Consortium Sampled 150 persons from the consortium Did e-mail or telephone surveys Participants provided input on six key questions Results were closely studied by the SRDC TAC

in the Fall of 2000 TAC provided input on the Center’s five new

goals Goals approved by the Board January 2001

Revising Our Mission Statement

Current Mission• The SRDC serves as a proactive

leader and primary facilitator of rural development research, education and policy dialogue that will improve the socioeconomic conditions of the Southern region.

• The SRDC fosters innovative and creative approaches to sustainable rural development and serves as a key player in building collaborative networks that reach across agencies, institutions and communities.

New Mission• The Southern Rural Development

Center seeks to strengthen the capacity of the region’s 29 land-grant institutions to address critical contemporary rural development issues impacting the well-being of people and communities in the rural South. It does so by: stimulating the formation of multi-state

research teams coordinating the development of

educational materials organizing and delivering research and

educational workshops/conferences preparing science-based reports building partnerships

New SRDC Goals

Strengthen the engagement of rural people and organizations in the civic life of their communities

Promote sound rural economic and workforce development strategies that improve job quality and the competitiveness of workers in the rural South

Assist in developing strategies for addressing the challenges associated with the expansion of urban and surburban localities into rural areas

New SRDC Goals

Expand efforts to improve health care access in the rural South, and explore strategies for reducing the prevalence of food insecurity and hunger

Explore the prevalence of a “digital divide” among various populations and communities in the South

Some Current Activities

Educational Curricula and Resources

Southern Perspectives Newsletter CD Institute Take Charge Training Curriculum Ca$hing in on Business Opportunities Community Choices Public Issues Education Economic Development Curricula Resources Public Conflict Resolution: Turning Lemons into

Lemonade E-commerce curriculum resources E-commerce reports

Training Activities COMPLETED

Sustainable Development Conference Southern Region Health Institute Mid-South Delta Consortium Building Tomorrow’s Workforce Examining the Rural/Urban Interface

• 3 reports being finalized Southern Region CD Institute

UPCOMING Southern and Delta Regional Rural Conference (Sept.) E-Commerce: Impacting the way we do business (Oct.) Southern Region Health Institute (Oct.)

• Video on the community’s health care system Southern Institute for Rural Development (Nov.) State of the South Forums (MS) National Community Economic and Resources Development Conference

(Feb. 2001)

Applied Research Activities

Workforce Investment Areas: GIS Map and Data

SSARE/SRDC Sustainable Community Innovations Grant Program

Rural Schools Initiative Latino Population in the South New policy series:

• “Food Assistance Needs of the South’s Vulnerable Populations”

Millennium Series . . .“The Rural South: Preparing for the Challenges of the 21st Century” 21 issues published to date

Has been one of our most popular series

At least 4,000 electronic requests for various issues of the series were made in the Year 2000

Being integrated into classroom teaching, being used by CSREES with Congressional staffers, and by selected state and regional organizations

Website Enhancements (Monthly Statistics, June 2000 - July 2001)

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

Sabbatical Leave and Senior Fellows Program

Requested proposals from faculty wishing to undertake a sabbatical working with the SRDC• Host institution provides salary• SRDC provides up to $20,000 to support activity

relevant to the priorities of the Center Funded a Senior fellows program

• Sought innovative proposals designed to build on the five new SRDC goals. Funds of up to $6,000 for a one-year period were being made available

• Expect to fund 4 projects

SRDC Funding FY 2000

Base Funding

Extramural Funding

$342,692$255,880

Extramural Funding Since January 2001

Approximately $267,000

Submitted Fund for Rural America Application for nearly $600,000

Other resources being sought (such as the Ford Foundation)