Leaders of programs serving rural America need to act strategically to ensure the long-term success of their initiatives. This strategy brief describes the funding landscape of rural programs and highlights the unique challenges confronting rural program leaders. It describes the different public and private resources that can support…

This article describes the formation of an educational partnership developed in a rural, Appalachian, coal-mining community. Williamson Main Street, Inc., a downtown revitalization program, and Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College (Southern) combined their efforts to create the Tug Valley Economic Development Institute (TVEDI).…

Research aimed to enhance rural women's access to communication and information technologies and to assess the impact of their technology use on their participation in small business development and community development. Over 200 women throughout Queensland (Australia) were involved. A trial electronic mailing list linking rural women to urban…

Australian rural communities often suffer from psychological isolation in addition to geographic isolation. Human and social capital are powerful antidotes to psychological isolation and are closely dependent on learning. Rural schools can reverse the negative effects of isolation on educational outcomes if they first work on building human and…

Many small, inland, and remote Australian rural communities continue to lose population and businesses, a trend that has intensified over the last 2 decades. Mean age continues to rise, while the 15-24 age group contracts dramatically. Such declining demographics are caused by the stress and uncertainty of volatile world commodity markets, as well…

This proceedings contains approximately 100 conference papers and workshop summaries on rural health, education, and community development. The majority of the papers are concerned with conditions in rural Australia; about 20 examine rural issues in the United States; while a smaller number cover Canada, New Zealand, and European countries. A…

This study explores current education, training, and employment issues and opportunities for rural youth in Australia, and suggests ways in which relevant education, training, and employment options and prospects can be generated for rural youth. Specifically, this study documents the ways that economic and social changes in rural communities have…