Regional Rural Development Centers to spearhead new National Agricultural and Rural Development Policy Center
The nation’s four Regional Rural Development Centers (RRDCs) were recently chosen by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture/United States Department of Agriculture to establish the National Agricultural and Rural Development Policy Center (or NARDeP).
Read More | May 10, 2012
IRP RIDGE Center invites applications for 2012-13 Visiting Food Assistance Scholars- June 30 deadline
The Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP) invites applications from US-based food assistance scholars to visit the IRP RIDGE Center for National Food and Nutrition Assistance Research for one week during the 2012-2013 academic year, interact with its faculty in residence, and become acquainted with the staff and resources of the Institute. The deadline to apply is June 30, 2012.
Read More | May 9, 2012
FDIC and SBA team up to offer financial education support for new and aspiring entrepreneurs
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) recently announced new resources to support small businesses across the nation. FDIC Director for Depositor and Consumer Protection Mark Pearce and SBA's Deputy Associate Administrator for Entrepreneurial Development Michael Chodos released Money Smart for Small Business, a training curriculum for new and aspiring business owners. Developed in partnership between both agencies, this curriculum is the latest offering in the FDIC's 10 year old award-winning Money Smart program.
Read More | May 1, 2012
May 30 webinar offers latest small business research findings
Small businesses have many beneficial effects on rural communities, as they are associated with higher income levels and lower poverty, unemployment, and crime rates. In a free Southern Rural Development Center-sponsored webinar, "Big News about Small Business," researchers Charles M. Tolbert and F. Carson Mencken from Baylor University and Troy C. Blanchard from Louisiana State University will report on nearly two decades of work on local firms' many contributions.
Read More | April 25, 2012
USDA-ERS releases atlas and data sets of rural and small town America
ERS promotes the well-being of rural America through research and analysis to better understand the economic, demographic, environmental, and social forces affecting rural regions and communities. In collaboration with other USDA agencies, ERS research helps provide rural residents and community and business leaders with the knowledge and skills to help their communities thrive in the global economy.
The objectives of the Atlas are: to provide a spatial interpretation of county-level, economic and social conditions along four dimensions: people, jobs, agriculture, and county classifications; to highlight the value of the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey as a new source of county data and to bring together data from several different Federal sources; and to allow the use of socioeconomic indicators jointly with ERS county typologies to better understand the diverse opportunities and challenges facing rural regions and communities.
Read More | April 20, 2012
Rural America's shifting workforce
Over the last year, rural unemployment has decreased by a full percentage point. Though unemployment is still higher in rural counties than that of urban and exurban counties, the rural workforce has grown by nearly 210, 000 new workers since February 2011. However, the overall gain was not evenly spread across the country, as some areas lost more workers than they gained. Is there a direct relationship between unemployment rates and changes in the size of the workforce?
Read More | April 16, 2012
RIDGE Center for Targeted Studies @ the SRDC now accepting 2012 research grant proposals
The RIDGE Center for Targeted Studies @ the SRDC, in partnership with USDA Economic Research Service, has released its 2012 request for proposals for both the Doctoral Dissertation Research Grant Program and the Food Assistance and Nutrition Challenges in Rural America Grant Program.
Read More | March 9, 2012
