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OK-SET rural development applications available

By Donald Stotts

STILLWATER, Okla. – Community and county leaders looking to strengthen their area’s potential economic prosperity should apply now to participate in OK-SET, part of Phase Three of “Stronger Economies Together,” a partnership between the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development and the Cooperative Extension Service.

Oklahoma is one of seven states recently selected to participate in Phase Three of the collaborative program.

“SET is a proven, highly interactive program that helps rural residents and leaders build regional partnerships focused on their particular economic strengths,” said Brian Whitacre, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension rural development specialist and an associate professor in the department of agricultural economics.

Whitacre said the basic format is that a minimum of three counties work together to identify and understand their strengths and weaknesses with the help of OK-SET professionals drawn from key state and federal agencies, land-grant university Extension programs and other public and private organizations.

Thirty-five hours of training will be delivered to each SET-approved region of three or more counties. Much of the training involves hands-on work on the regional plan by team members. In addition, as many as 40 hours of technical assistance will be offered to facilitate the implementation of the regional plan.

“More and more community leaders are realizing that a vital element of economic enhancement is in finding some way to reach the needed critical mass of knowledge, talents, skills and resources to effectively develop and enact a successful plan of action; this is just the type of collaborative partnership promoted by OK-SET,” said Ryan McMullen, Oklahoma director of USDA Rural Development.

Applications are available at http://srdc.msstate.edu/set/phase3.html via the Internet. Completed applications should be sent by email to McMullen at ryan.mcmullen@ok.usda.gov no later than May 4.

“This is an exciting opportunity,” Whitacre said. “A particular strength of SET training is in getting rural and urban areas to work together to understand how they can better benefit one another.  Previous SET participants in other states have gone on to develop industry-specific training programs and successfully apply for grants and other monetary assistance targeted toward economic enhancement and development.”

Anyone seeking additional information about OK-SET should contact McMullen at 405-742-1000 or Whitacre at 405-744-6083.
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REPORTER/MEDIA CONTACT:
Donald Stotts
Communications Specialist
Agricultural Communications Services
143 Agriculture North
Oklahoma State University
Stillwater, OK 74078
Phone: 405-744-4079
Fax: 405-744-5739
Email: donald.stotts@okstate.edu
DASNR Website: http://www.dasnr.okstate.edu

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