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The First Annual Land Grant Youth Entrepreneurship Symposium, or Land Grant YES, will be held June 4-6, 2008, at Penn State University. Hosted by The Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development in partnership with the SRDC, Land Grant YES will bring educators and program leaders from eastern United States and beyond together for a face-to-face symposium focused on youth entrepreneurship best practices, research findings and future program development. Registration deadline is April 30. To register and for more information, visit http://nercrd.psu.edu/Entrepreneurship/YESymposium.html Date: June 4-6, 2008
At least 50 percent of US farm workers are unauthorized. Immigration reform may provide a path to legal status for some currently unauthorized farm workers and make it easier for farm employers to employ legal guest workers under a revised H-2A temporary worker program. The purpose of this conference was to assess the provisions of pending immigration reform proposals, the roles of legal and unauthorized farm workers in US agriculture and of MSFW programs in integrating migrants and their children, and the implications of continued immigration for rural communities. The conference was organized with the support of the Farm and Giannini Foundations, with additional support from the Southern Rural Development Center and the Institute for the Study of International Migration. Conference proceedings are available by clicking here.Date: May 08-09, 2008
The Stepping Up to Sustainability conference was a rousing success! Many great ideas and examples were shared by presenters and attendees. Course Objective:
Location:Duluth, MN Web site: http://www.tourism.umn.edu/education/conference/index.html
Date: May 16-20, 2005
Smart Growth in the Rural South The Southern United States is facing great challenges involving land use and growth management. With rapid economic and population growth have come the challenges of suburbanization and urban sprawl. Rural communities are searching for answers to these challenges such as planning and zoning. At the same time, landowners are worried about their ability to use private property. Course Objective: To provide state specialists and county agents with awareness of current issues and tools for addressing educational programming for smart growth in the rural South. Emphasis will be on developing a foundation for the navigation of land use issues in communities along with tools to assist communities in the search for a balance between public and private interests. Course Outline: Participants will have a solid foundation in the land use issues including: 1) what is "smart growth," 2) legal basis for land use planning, 3) multi-modal transportation planning, 4) downtown revitalization concepts, 5) farmland and open space preservation strategies, and 6) local government finances and land use. Date: May 13-14, 2003
Rural Tourism: Virtual Institute for Small Town and Rural Development Do you want to stimulate the development of rural tourism in ways that will substantially benefit both the quality of life of individual rural families and improve the economic stability for rural communities? Course Objective: Key concepts include significance of rural tourism, planning and managing rural tourism, rural tourism business opportunities, marketing and economics of tourism. Heritage tourism and ecotourism, two major components of rural tourism, are explored in specific case studies or practical examples for application. Course Outline: Case studies in this course focus on a rural county in northeastern North Carolina. This county once depended upon agriculture for survival but today is witnessing the daily struggle of farmers and rural communities to maintain economic stability and their quality of life. Its poverty ranking is fourth out of 100 counties. Ranked 20th in unemployment, this county is still proud of its heritage, both its cultural and natural resources. Course participants will learn to apply course concepts to their unique situation in their state or county.
Economic Impact Analysis Communities often experience significant changes in the local economic base. A first step in responding to change is understanding the magnitude of the change. Change can be represented by a new business moving to the community, increased tourism activity or in-migrating retirees. Course Objective: Economic impact analysis offers an approach to quantify the impacts of these types of change on the local economy. Often local leaders may also desire to estimate the impacts of existing business or industry. For example, what are the economic impacts of local manufacturing firms or the local health care sectors? Again, impact assessment provides methodologies for measurement. Course Outline: This training session will provide an overview of economic impact analysis and provide case studies. Specific topics addressed will include economic analysis versus fiscal impact analysis; what is the multiplier; using impact analysis in Extension programming; measuring economic impacts of the health care sector; IMPLAN — a tool for analysis; and using IMPLAN for target industry analysis. Date: Feb. 25-27, 2003
Value-Added Entrepreneurship With an eye toward an everchanging business environment, entrepreneurs will be on the lookout for opportunities to expand their operations — many times through value-added products. Course Objective: To prepare Extension faculty to develop and implement an economic development program based on entrepreneurship for businesses focusing on value-added agricultural products. These products are broadly defined and may include (but certainly not be limited to) food processing firms, primary, secondary, and tertiary producers of forest products, agri-tourism firms and more. Course Outline: This course is designed to be an in-depth examination of the factors critical in developing value-added projects. Specific topics that will be discussed include developing a business plan; developing a marketing feasibility study for a new product and/or new organization including instruction on conducting marketing research; developing a marketing plan including advertising alternatives; developing technical feasibility analysis and operational plan; developing a management plan and/or management analysis; and financial feasibility analysis for a new product. Date: December 3-5, 2002
Rural Health Institute Extension professionals are increasingly being asked questions about health systems and their role in the community. In the complex world of healthcare, providing answers isn't always an easy task. Course Objective: This training is designed to provide Extension professionals with a unique opportunity to participate in an intensive state of the art health training program. It is designed to give participants an increased understanding of health systems, Extension's role in health, and tools and strategies for working with individual, family and community health issues. Course Outline: Specific topics include organization of a health system; the language of health; vital statistics/community health assessment; facilitation and skillbuilding for local decisionmakers; helping decisionmakers maintain primary care services in rural communities; and designing effective health education programs. Date: November 4-8, 2002
Community Development Institute If you are interested in expanding community development skills to state, multicounty or county Extension educators in your state, and are looking for a solid set of educational resources to use in the delivery of an introductory program on community development, then you'll want to attend this year's Southern Region Community Development Institute (CDI). Course Objective: The 2002 CDI program is designed to operate as a “train-the-trainer” workshop. It covers many of the key components associated with community development work. As such, the course is designed to equip state teams with the skills and resources needed to initiate a CDI training program in their own states. Course Outline: Participants are provided an excellent overview of the major components of a strong community development program. It explores the social dimension of the community (such as local institutions, leadership structure, uncovering community assets, civic engagement and dealing with conflict), its economic complexion (such as economic development options, business retention and expansion strategies), and the community's service infrastructure (such as health clinics/hospitals, adult day care facility, solid waste and rural transportation). This course serves as an excellent foundation for the more specialized training programs being offered by SRDC. Date: Sept. 23-27, 2002
Improving Board and Organizational Effectiveness Extension specialists are more and more frequently called upon to support the efforts of voluntary and nonprofit organizations. But where do Extension professionals turn for assistance? Course Objective: This training course will provide educational resources that deal with the current environment facing our nonprofit and voluntary organization boards. Course Outline: Specific features of the training include nonprofit organization board of yesterday and tomorrow; getting everyone on the same page; staying out of trouble inside and outside the organization; increasing standards and accountability among board members; positioning your organization to gain support in the community; increasing risk management awareness while improving service. Date: July 25-26, 2002
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