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Southern CRD Webinar:
A Comprehensive Downtown Revitalization Program for Rural Kentucky
May 31, 2017 @ 10:00am CT/11:00am ET
We will speak briefly about a new program designed to invigorate approximately 12 downtowns in rural Kentucky. We will highlight the following programs that focus on regionalism, small business development, community design, and youth engagement.
- CEDIK First Impressions program
- CEDIK Community and Business Retention Program
- KSBDC (Kentucky Small Business Development Center) Small Town Merchant Program
- KSBDC and CEDIK GrowKY Program
- Youth Engagement in Kentucky Downtowns
- The creation of an 8-county Downtown network and mentoring program
- Training on community foundation building and sustainability
- Downtown marketing and communications using new broadband infrastructure
- Community Design program – streetscape and walkability program
Sonny Perdue Sworn in as 31st U.S. Secretary of Agriculture
On Tuesday, April 25, Sonny Perdue was sworn in as the 31st U.S. Secretary of Agriculture by fellow Georgian and Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court Clarence Thomas in a brief ceremony at the Supreme Court building. The U.S. Senate confirmed Secretary Perdue by a vote of 87-to-11 on Monday evening. Perdue's wife, Mary Ruff Perdue, held the Bible as he took the oath of office. He later addressed employees at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) before getting to work on his first day. USDA also launched his official Twitter handle: @SecretarySonny
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New Funding and Financing Community and Economic Development Publication Now Available
One of the most critical challenges facing community leaders and community development professionals is how to pay for new projects. A new comprehensive guide is now available from the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service: “Show Me The Money – a Guide to Funding and Financing Community and Economic Development in Your Community or Region. This guide presents 12 major funding strategies and over 50 real-world examples that have been successfully employed by communities and regions to finance community and economic development efforts. The guide describes a 12-step process for funding community development projects and a Fundability Checklist and Meter to help assess the likelihood that your approach is going to be successful. It will be useful for private, public, and non-profit organizations.
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Rapid Response Team Webinar: Civil Discourse on Race Relations
May 17, 2017 @ 1:00pm CT/2:00pm ET
The Rapid Response Team on Civil Discourse, established by ECOP, is hosting a one-hour webinar to showcase findings and share potential next steps for this work. Please save the date and join in the conversation.
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Great Plains IDEA Announces Master’s Program and Graduate Certificate in Community Development
Community Development is a progressive field, actively promoting positive social, economic, cultural and environmental change. It encourages people to see the "whole picture," engaging citizens in democratic decision making and action. In the Great Plains IDEA Community Development program, a diverse faculty from North Dakota State, South Dakota State, University of Nebraska, Iowa State, and Kansas State teach a variety of courses leading to a master's degree or graduate certificate in community development. These courses equip our students with a breadth of perspective and depth of cutting-edge skills and knowledge in the field, engages them in a network of dedicated practitioners and academics, and provides a master's degree or graduate certificate to work most effectively in, or to advance beyond, their current position. The Great Plains IDEA online programs are ideal for community development students and practitioners. Students seeking a professional career in community development can attain the necessary knowledge base without commuting or relocating.
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South Dakota State University Announces Graduate Certificate in Native Community and Economic Development
Programs in extension, education and social service agencies have recognized the unique challenges in native communities and, therefore, have developed specific approaches for their programs to be successful in Indian Country, which has created a growing need for a workforce cognizant of these unique challenges. The certificate in Native Community and Economic Development is designed for professionals interested in expanding their skills and understanding of these approaches, as well as those with an interest in working with Native communities. Today, students taking these courses are often employed or seeking employment in Native-serving organizations and agencies who have extended their programming to Native-majority communities and neighborhoods.
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Southern SARE Releases 2018 Research & Education Grants Call for Proposals
Deadline: June 2, 2017
Southern SARE’s new education grant, falling under the Research & Education Grant Program, is a broader education and outreach effort. The grant is open to anyone in agriculture interested in conducting education and outreach activities for the benefit of the greater sustainable ag community. Research pre-proposals focus on sustainable agriculture based on a systems approach to research, which aims to understand how the components of a system interact with each other and function as a whole. The central purpose of research proposals is research-based projects with an educational/outreach component involved. Education pre-proposals allow applicants to focus on educational activities, in which their cooperating partners and intended audiences would be involved. Education proposals provide a synopsis of the proposed educational approach to mitigate or solve a problem and encourage farmer adoption of recommended practices or strategies.
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Director: NCI, Michigan State University School of Planning, Design, and Construction
Start Date: September 1, 2017Michigan State University’s School of Planning, Design, and Construction (SPDC) and MSU Extension seek a Director for their NCI unit. The position is 100% funded by MSU Extension through its Greening Michigan Institute.
Formerly known as the National Charrette Institute, and based in a landscape architecture/urban planning tradition, NCI is currently focused on non-credit training and developing collaboration by design process techniques to address pressing social problems, with focus on urban and regional issues. NCI brings nationally recognized training curricula and hands-on community-based procedures along with its established networks.
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NERCRD Rural Business Innovation and Economic Development Workshop: Charleston, WV
May 15-17, 2017
The Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development (NERCRD) is pleased to announce a new conference in its acclaimed What Works workshop series. The conference theme this year is Rural Business Innovation and Economic Development, and the event will be held in conjunction with Create West Virginia’s Universal Design conference, at the Civic Center in Charleston, WV on May 15-17, 2017. 1 The conference seeks to answer the question, How do we (re)create buildings, communities, learning places, programs and products to better meet needs of 21st Century people? To this end we seek presentations that may include papers, posters or educational (Extension) programs addressing some aspect of new or innovative product development in a broad sense. Topics may include new products, services (such as agri-tourism) or business processes, including those based in the arts, or creative ways of valorizing while preserving natural assets, including wilderness trails, whitewater rafting and the development of other nature-based recreational opportunities. Submission deadline is December 13, 2016
NACDEP and CDS Joint Conference: Big Sky, MT
June 11-14, 2017The National Association of Community Development Extension Professionals and the Community Development Society are hosting a joint conference under the theme, “Big Skies/Bold Partnerships Moving Mountains Together”.
Cambio de Colores (Change of Colors): St. Louis, MO
June 14-16, 2017
Call for Proposals, Deadline February 6, 2017
This multidisciplinary conference has traditionally focused on native and foreign-born Latino newcomers, but is interested in the challenges inherent in multicultural changing communities, including the experiences of all newcomers, faith groups, and marginalized groups. The integration of these very diverse groups is being studied by academics and pursued by stakeholders, as the newcomers seek to become part and parcel of the social, economic, and cultural fabric of their new communities. The conference theme this year is “Todos Juntos: Collaboration and Unity in Uncertain Times.” Todos Juntos means “all together”, and seeks to build collaboration across sectors and unite communities across differences in the common goal of supporting everyone’s wellbeing in our changing, multicultural communities.
National Extension Tourism Conference: Princeton, NJ
August 8-10, 2017Experience tourism in the 21st Century in New Jersey, engaging with current research, program models and business development in tourism.
Professional Agricultural Workers Conference: Tuskegee, AL
December 3-5, 2017Theme:" Cultivating a Culture of Success through Innovation in Agriculture, Forestry & Natural Resources" We invite the submissions of papers, posters, panel discussions and workshop proposals for the 74th PAWC on the conference themes.
Southern CRD Webinar Series:
A Comprehensive Downtown Revitalization Program for Rural Kentucky
May 31st, 2017 10:00am CT/11:00am ET
Utilizing Extension as a Tool to Preserve Your Community’s Housing Stock
June 27th, 2017 1:00pm CT/2:00pm ET
Other:
Rapid Response Team Webinar: Civil Discourse on Race Relations
May 17th, 2017 @ 1:00pm CT/2:00 pm ET
Southern CRD Webinar Series:
April: Show Me the Money- Funding and Financing Community and Economic Development
March: How Latino-Owned Businesses Thrive: Comprehensive Findings from Limited-Access Microdata
January: Community-Centered Design: How to Empower Residents to Shape the Development of Their Communities
December: Considerations in Managing Oil and Gas Development and Forest Resources
November: Igniting the Sparl for Community Development: Developing Community Readiness
October: Local & Regional Foods: Connecting Regional Efforts
August: Responsive Countryside: The Digital Age and Rural Communities
July:Using Aging-in-Place to Connect At-risk Youth and Seniors
June:Tourism in Extension: How we Assist Landowners, Communities and the Public at Large
April: Bricks to Clicks | Using Facebook to Market Your Business, Community or Local Government
March: You've got the Position, Now Make Sure You Have the Talent
February: Community Food Systems and Healthy Food Access Initiatives
January: Disaster Planning for the Prairie View A&M University Region
December: Developing and Implementing an Effective E-Commerce Program
November: Getting Community Stakeholders to Identify Water Quality Issues and Priorities Using Liberating Structures Webinar:
Webinar RecordingOctober: South Region CRD Webinar Series – Youth Engagement Leadership Program
National CRD Indicators Team Webinar Series:
Developmental Evaluation for Cooperative Extension Community Development Programs
Documenting Community Outcomes with Surveys: A how-to on designing questions & collecting data
Social Network Analysis for the Uninitiated: What is it and what is it good for?
The Importance of Collecting Impact Numbers to Promote Community Development Work
Shoestring Evaluation: New Hampshire’s Experience Measuring CRED Impacts with Limited Resources and Expertise
Webinar RecordingEvaluating for Public Value through Impact Narratives Webinar
Other Great Webinars:
Reaching Urban Veterans through Urban Horticulture
The Impact of Latino-Owned Business on Local Economic Performance
Improving the Health and Safety of NC Farmworker: Connecting Community
Florida’s Urban Extension Strategic Plan
Job announcements and other items of interest may be sent to Katherine Spiering for possible inclusion in future issues.
Subscribe to Around the South by emailing Katherine Spiering.