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…

Focusing on small, independent businesses, this primer answers questions relating to starting and operating a new firm and how local development organizations can help in the process. The general pattern of the company forming process (displacement, disposition to act, credibility, and availability of resources) is discussed. Success factors for…

Presenting concepts generally applicable only to small rural regions or to local economies, this publication explains multipliers, shows how they are used in calculating impacts, and provides some criteria for determining whether a given multiplier can be used in a specific situation. Following a discussion of aggregate multipliers, which lump…

Part of the Small Town Strategy series, this publication is designed to help communities decide whether further local economic growth is possible and desirable. The publication provides a discussion outline to be used to study the costs and benefits of growing or not growing. Questions are listed which should be raised by the community when…

An effective way to help develop a strong rural educational program is to establish a business partnership between the rural school and the business community. Once a relationship is set up, the advantages for both the schools and business community could prove beneficial to the entire rural community. By cooperating with the rural schools in…

The systematic, practical ideas presented for improving the quality of life in a community are based on the belief that people, working together, sometimes with and through local government and sometimes through the vigorous efforts of voluntary organizations and associations, can help their communities increasingly become the kinds of places that…

Over the last 2 decades, the loss of population and businesses in many small, inland, and remote Australian rural communities has intensified, largely because of the stress and uncertainty of volatile world commodity markets. This manual presents a range of survival and revival strategies that some communities have used to build resilient…

To help increase leader effectiveness in planning and implementing local action projects, the booklet presents discussion and examples of the nature and characteristics of planned community action leading to community development. The booklet first explains why leaders should be involved with community action and then gives abstracts of seven…