Since 2000, the decline of goods-producing sector jobs has persisted. At the same time, the rapid expansion of service-producing jobs has slowed, largely due to the economic difficulties facing our nation. Increasingly, rural areas of the South must explore a more balanced set of activities to build a stronger and more diverse economy in the months and years ahead. The SRDC will seek to undertake efforts to educate and communicate information on viable economic development strategies to land-grant faculty, practitioners and citizens who want to implement viable and equitable economic development strategies in rural areas of the region.

At the same time, it is clear that the capacity of rural areas to generate jobs or compete for new jobs will be dependent on the quality of its human capital resources. That is, the skills and educational credentials of the rural workforce will have much to say about its long-term economic prospects. As such, attention to the educational advancement of the region's rural residents will be given attention during the fiscal year as well.

Planned Activities:

Research

Delta Rural Revitalization Initiative. Special attention will be given to an 18-county area of the Northwest Mississippi Delta to determine the nature of the demographic and economic shifts that have transpired in this region over the decade of the 1990s. The information compiled will be made available on a special website dedicated to the Center's work in the Mid South Delta region. In addition, the SRDC will launch a study that will examine the current level of use of e-commerce by various economic sectors of the 18-county area, and to examine the retention and expansion plans of key firms in this region. This information will be used to guide the e-commerce and economic develop outreach education efforts of land-grant schools in Mississippi.

Measuring Rural Diversity Policy Information. As part of a conference co-hosted by the SRDC and the Economic Research Service in FY03, the Center will take a lead role in publishing important research/policy briefs that outline innovative strategies for measuring and documenting the economic and population changes occurring in the United States., with special emphasis on nonmetro counties of the country.

Strengthening the Rural Poverty Research Capacity of the South: A Regional Conference. As one of our nation's most impoverished areas, the rural South continues to be challenged in its capacity to adjust to the changing economic, social and demographic conditions of the region. Effectively addressing these critical shifts must be rooted in strong applied social science research that can offer guidance on possible strategies for bringing hope to the people and communities that are directly touched by poverty. The SRDC will sponsor, in concert with the RURPI Rural Poverty Research Center, a regional conference in the South that will seek to energize and expand the community of social science researchers committed to accelerating the level of attention and investments in poverty-related research in the region.

Rural Education and Schools Initiative. The SRDC will collaborate with the Economic Research Service and the Rural School and Community Trust to produce important research and policy products that address critical rural education issues in the South and the nation. In particular, the SRDC will serve in a key role in co-editing special issues of two academic journals highlighting various rural education-related topics. In addition, the SRDC will design, produce and publish a valuable policy document that will address a variety of rural education topics of interest to the rural education policy and research communities.

Early Education Experience of Rural Youth: The Role of Social Family, School and Community Social Capital. The SRDC will join forces with the University of Florida in furthering research on the role that social capital plays in advancing the educational success of young elementary school children. This research will build on years of research that Glenn Israel (University of Florida) and Bo Beaulieu (SRDC) has conducted on middle and high school children. This important work will delineate the relative importance that family, school and community social capital have in shaping the educational aspirations and academic progress of youth who are enrolled in our nation's elementary schools.

Educational Curricula and Workshops/Conferences

Care for Your Local Community: Strategies for Local Economic Development. The SRDC is working closely with Dr. Mike Woods at Oklahoma State in the development of a new curriculum addressing economic development strategies for local communities. A final version of that curriculum will be written by Dr. Woods in FY04 as part of funds awarded on a competitive basis by the SRDC to Dr. Woods. The SRDC will design and develop an electronic version of these educational products for placement on our website. It will be made available at no cost to land-grant educators and other rural development practitioners engaged in economic development efforts.

Business Skills and Economic Diversity Workshop. The Center will work with a team of land-grant educators in the design of a weeklong training that will address important strategies for building the skills and vitality of rural businesses in the South. The workshop will also present the latest strategies for broadening the economic development efforts of local communities.

National Extension Tourism Conference. The SRDC will provide support and coordinate the conference details for the 2004 National Extension Tourism Conference in Kissimmee, Florida. The program will examine a variety of ways in which tourism can be incorporated into the economic development strategies of local communities. It will include approaches for enhancing urban and rural tourism attractions and offer important strategies for enhancing Extension's capacity to provide technical assistance to local communities.