Community Development Society conference to focus on regionalism
Save the date for the 2013 Community Development Society annual meeting as it comes to the Southern region July 20-24, 2013. The conference will be held at the historic Francis Marion Hotel in Charleston, S.C., with the theme, "Beyond the Boundaries: Creating Innovation Through Regional Collaboration."
No matter how you look at it, communities have experienced some difficult times in recent years. Be it the product of fiscal stresses, economic uncertainties, high levels of unemployment/underemployment, rising poverty rates, population shifts, housing instability, or spiraling health care costs, communities are at a crossroads when it comes to offering local people a high quality of life. It is in these challenging times, however, that towns, cities, and counties are finding new ways to think, plan, and act – doing so, in part, through regional collaborations and innovations.
The 2013 Community Development Society Annual Conference will showcase effective approaches that are creating win/win situations for local communities as a result of reaching beyond their traditional geographic boundaries. The Charleston meeting will provide an ideal setting to introduce CDS members and guests to innovative regional strategies in economic development, health, education, local facilities/services, transportation, natural resources management, and more.
Who Should Submit a Proposal? If you have conducted work related to the theme of the 2013 conference, please submit a proposal for consideration by the CDS Program Committee. We are also interested in receiving proposals for papers, practice/outreach projects, workshops, panel sessions, and posters that showcase sound community development research and practice relevant to U.S. and/or international settings – even if the focus of these important efforts is not regional in nature.
Five presentation formats allow you to be a formal part of the 2013 annual conference:
1. Research Paper: Showcasing community development theory, methodological advances, or applied studies (20 minutes in length)
2. Practice/Outreach Program: Highlighting an innovative project/program you (or a team) have implemented that is having a positive impact on people, communities, and/or regions (20 minutes in length)
3. Panel Session: Organizing 3-5 individuals with a diversity of perspectives on a topic of importance and relevance to the community development field (up to 90 minutes in length)
4. Poster: Displaying your research or practice efforts through the use of a poster
5. Workshop: Focusing an extensive amount of time on an innovative program or project that CDS members might be able to adopt in their own communities (45-90 minutes in length)
How to Submit Your Proposal and Proposal Deadline: Download the Call for Abstracts. All proposals are due by midnight Feb. 15, 2013. Please keep in mind that only a handful of 90-minute sessions will be accepted, so consider all presentation formats for the 2013 meeting.
Questions? Submit any questions about the 2013 program to Bo Beaulieu, CDS Vice President for Programs, at ljb@srdc.msstate.edu.
Program Leadership Network conference registration now open
Online registration and conference information is now available for this summer’s Joint Meeting of the Southern Region Program Leadership Network, Association of Extension Administrators and Association of Southern Region Extension Directors, set for Aug. 19-23 in Nashville. This year’s theme is “Connecting Our Communities: Preparing for the Next 100 Years.” As the Land Grant System celebrates its first 100 years of the Smith-Lever Act, we look forward to what the next century will bring. Advances in technologies, changes in communities, and expanded partnership opportunities are among just a few of the possibilities as we move forward. Register by July 15 for the early bird discount!
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