In today's contentious and divided political environment, what should colleges and universities do to meet the roles and responsibilities of higher education to foster the campus community we want? This guide presents three options for deliberation about difficult problems regarding free speech and inclusion--for which there are no perfect…

"Small Schools, Education, and the Importance of Community" focuses on three successful approaches for using the school as a catalyst for community development and revitalization, particularly in rural areas. The strategies also work well in suburban and urban areas. The three approaches described include: leadership by K-12 teachers,…

Digital inclusion is the ability of individuals and groups to access and use information and communication technologies. Not all members of a community benefit equally, and some communities have been left out altogether. This paper is a guide for fostering digital inclusion throughout the United States so that everyone can take advantage of…

Economic development efforts in small towns should focus on the birth, expansion, and retention of small enterprises. A consistent and rational policy towards new growth and an enthusiastic development team composed of individuals with knowledge of or access to others with knowledge of industrial sites, financing, utilities, labor, transportation,…

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.…

Rural America is growing again; and, the change in growth and migration patterns means new opportunities for small towns to expand their economic bases and to improve community facilities and services. Part of the Small Town Strategy series, this publication characterizes one small southwestern town that is typical of many others and outlines a…

A mini-conference on rural schools and community development brought together experts in rural community, rural education, and economic development to brainstorm ideas for collaborative projects and produce a helpful conceptual design for use both by rural communities and their schools. This document offers a synthesis and overview of the experts'…

Presenting a base of general information that local business people and government officials involved with downtown revitalization should be familiar with in order to understand the range of options available and factors that will influence the outcomes of any revitalization program, the paper summarizes current theories, trends, studies, and…

One of a series, this handbook is designed to assist individuals involved in area development to gain knowledge and understanding of the public and private sources of funds for support of various area development activities. National, regional, and local private sector sources of development capital are examined to give an overview of business…

This booklet is one in a series of publications designed to support the efforts of community sustainability advocates. It describes five activities through which community members can work together to apply sustainability principles to community development initiatives. Guidelines are provided for organizing and conducting a 6-hour workshop for…

The paper addresses the importance of developing a rural community's commercial sector for economic development by providing some analytical tools. Procedures are outlined to estimate commercial sector activity in a community, to estimate commercial sector activity for various counties within a state (Nevada is used as an example), and to develop…

Part of an effort to increase the capacity of local citizens to address critical issues facing their communities, this paper reports on a project to develop and test a replicable process for organizing community forums at community colleges. Following introductory remarks, the first section discusses the role of the community college in community…

This document presents guidelines for creating a master plan for community parks and recreation programs. The master plan is a written document used by community decision makers to provide a consistent 5 to 10 year parks and recreation plan. Chapters provide information on: (1) definition and general description of master plans; (2) goals and…

This book focuses on strategies for educating professionals, local officials, activists, and the general public on ways to promote effective sustainability at all levels including local, regional, national, and international. This book highlights common threads, examples of strategies that work, and guidelines for developing projects in…

This document describes REAL Enterprises, an economic education consortium working to assist young people to research, plan, set up, own, and operate economically viable small businesses in Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The program was developed with the following goals: (1) to help rural schools become effective business incubators…