Southern Rural Development Center
 

Box 9656
410 Bost Extension Bldg.
Mississippi State, MS 39762
Phone: (662) 325-3207
Fax: (662) 325-8915
http://srdc.msstate.edu

 

 

 

Around the SouthJune 2007, Vol. 3 No. 6

In this Issue . . .


SRDC Publications

  • SRDC Releases New Report on Our Nation's Food Assistance Programs
    "Strengthening Our Nation's Food Assistance Programs" highlights important and practical contributions made by RIDGE researchers through studies that have focused on providing access to healthy foods at affordable prices, improving nutrition to build a healthy workforce, and responding to diverse needs. Funded by the USDA’s Economic Research Service, the Research Innovation and Development Grants in Economics Program provides research that informs program administrators, policymakers and analysts. This report can be viewed at http://srdc.msstate.edu/publications/ridge07.pdf.


SRDC Items of Interest

  • 2007 RIDGE Program Request for Proposals -- Still time to submit!
    The SRDC is pleased to announce its continued support for food and nutrition-related research focusing on the South under the new banner of the RIDGE Program (RIDGE refers to Research Innovation and Development Grants in Economics). As in past years, the program is designed to support innovative social sciences research that advances our knowledge and understanding of food assistance and nutrition issues impacting vulnerable populations in the South. The Economic Research Service remains a valuable partner with the SRDC in supporting this important work. Proposals must by postmarked by June 20, 2007. View the RFP online at http://srdc.msstate.edu/focusareas/health/fa/07rfp.pdf.

  • SRDC Hosts Successful E-Commerce Training
    The SRDC's "E-Commerce Strategies for Small Businesses and Communities" attracted nearly 65 individuals to Nebraska City last week. This national training offered participants an exciting variety of new e-commerce related Extension educational curricula. For further information, check out the next issue of eNews at http://srdc.msstate.edu/ecommerce/enews/.
  • Invitation to Join the SRDC Regional Entrepreneurship Resource Team
    If you are engaged, or have an active interest in entrepreneurship-related activities, the SRDC would like to invite you to join our regional entrepreneurship resource team. This team is not limited to land-grant faculty/Extension educators. Community college faculty, government organizations, nonprofit groups, foundations, small business representatives, entrepreneurs, community leaders, etc. are all invited to join this important regional team. The form to signup is available at http://srdc.msstate.edu/entrecop.htm.


National Items of Interest

  • Carsey Institute Releases New Report Regarding Low Wages and High Turnover Prevalent in Direct Care and Child Care Workforce
    A new report by the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire examines the economic well-being of workers in two low-wage, predominantly female care giving occupations plagued with high turnover—direct care workers (personal care assistants, home care aides, home health aides, and certified nursing assistants) and child care workers (preschool and nursery school teachers, center-based child care providers, and home-based family child care providers). One in every two direct care workers and one in every three child care workers live in a low-income family, and many live in poverty. To read more, access this policy brief at http://www.carseyinstitute.unh.edu/documents/Caregivers%20Brief_final.pdf.

  • Latest Issue of Rural Realities Is Now Available
    Global economic trends have fundamentally altered the rural landscape. Manufacturing, a mainstay of rural economies, has steadily declined, and many communities are losing their "best and brightest" as young people leave in search of greater opportunities elsewhere. In this uncertain climate, understanding the possibilities for rural economic and community development has become more important -- and more complicated -- than ever. Scholars, policymakers, local leaders, and residents have come to realize that economic development efforts that worked in the past are no longer effective in a global "knowledge economy." Instead, many analysts now believe that the best hope for rural areas to participate in the national and global economy lies in the development of small manufacturing and service firms that match local assets with emerging market opportunities. To read more, check out the latest issue of Rural Realities, "Getting Connected: Broadband Services a Key to a Vibrant Rural America," which was written by Theodore Alter, Jeffrey Bridger, Sheila Sager, Kai Schafft and William Shuffstall, at http://www.ruralsociology.org/pubs/RuralRealities/Volume2Issue1.html.

  • New Report Highlights Community Development by Tribal and Native-serving Colleges
    Rebuilding Hope, Reclaiming History and Culture, Restoring Health: Stories of Success from Tribal and Native-serving Colleges was recently released by the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development. It provides a snapshot of how tribally-controlled community colleges make a difference in Indian communities and how Native-serving colleges in Hawaii and Alaska contribute to the growth of assets for Native Hawaiians and Alaskans. This report describes many promising practices and identifies 39 specific examples of how these institutions act as spurs to economic development; pathways to education and careers; places that preserve tradition and culture; and sources of support for tribal members coping with poverty and disease. The institutions highlighted in the report demonstrate the power of community colleges to aid Native people in their quest for a higher quality of life for themselves and the next seven generations. The report is available on the NCRCRD website: http://www.ncrcrd.iastate.edu/.

  • Southern Growth Policies Board Releases EnterpriseSouth.biz, The 2007 Report on the Future of the South
    Released on June 3, 2007, at the Southern Workforce Summit in St. Louis, Missouri, EnterpriseSouth.biz calls for a cultural shift in the South to an enterprise economy, characterized by a workforce that is knowledgeable, entrepreneurial and innovative. EnterpriseSouth.biz outlines a three-pronged strategy: CONVENE, CONNECT and COMMIT to create an enterprise economy and workforce. The strategy proposes that Southern leaders CONVENE a series of conversations that include all the stakeholders in workforce development, to CONNECT the public more directly to education, and to maximize effectiveness within various public and private workforce efforts. The process is designed to lead parties to COMMIT to a non-partisan compact to build a southern workforce that is both enterprising and globally competitive. EnterpriseSouth.biz includes regional and state-level data on educational attainment and economic achievements as well as profiles of innovative programs. The report is available on the SGPB website at http://www.enterprisesouth.biz/report.html.


Funding Opportunities

  • SRDC's Grant Connections: Rural Development Funding Opportunities
    Volume 9, Number 5, June 2007 -- Available June 29
    http://srdc.msstate.edu/funding/june07.htm

    The SRDC staff compiles Grant Connections primarily for the faculty of land-grant colleges and universities in the South to provide funding information in support of activities in agricultural economics, education, human sciences, rural sociology, youth development, and other related disciplines.


SRDC Sponsored Conferences & Trainings

  • 2007 Joint Meeting of PLN, AEA & ASRED
    August 28-31, 2007
    Louisville, Kentucky
    http://srpln.msstate.edu/ (additional information coming soon)


Other Conferences & Trainings


People in the News


Job Opportunities


Submit Announcements

Job announcements and other items of interest may be sent to Rachel Welborn, rachelw@srdc.msstate.edu, for possible inclusion in future issues.


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courtesy of USDA NRCS.

  

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