An%20Update%20of%20Activities:%20August%202001

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An Update of ActivitiesAugust 2001

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Strategic Plan FY2001
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Strategic PlanningProcess

• Actively engaged the Southern Region Rural
  Development Consortium
• Sampled 150 persons from the consortium
• Did e-mail or telephone surveys
• Participants provided input on six key questions
• Results were closely studied by the SRDC TAC in
  the Fall of 2000
• TAC provided input on the Centers five new goals
• Goals approved by the Board January 2001

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Revising Our Mission Statement

• Current Mission
• The SRDC serves as a proactive leader and primary
  facilitator of rural development research,
  education and policy dialogue that will improve
  the socioeconomic conditions of the Southern
  region.
• The SRDC fosters innovative and creative
  approaches to sustainable rural development and
  serves as a key player in building collaborative
  networks that reach across agencies, institutions
  and communities.

• New Mission
• The Southern Rural Development Center seeks to
  strengthen the capacity of the regions 29
  land-grant institutions to address critical
  contemporary rural development issues impacting
  the well-being of people and communities in the
  rural South. It does so by
• stimulating the formation of multi-state research
  teams
• coordinating the development of educational
  materials
• organizing and delivering research and
  educational workshops/conferences
• preparing science-based reports
• building partnerships

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New SRDC Goals

• Strengthen the engagement of rural people and
  organizations in the civic life of their
  communities
• Promote sound rural economic and workforce
  development strategies that improve job quality
  and the competitiveness of workers in the rural
  South
• Assist in developing strategies for addressing
  the challenges associated with the expansion of
  urban and surburban localities into rural areas

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New SRDC Goals

• Expand efforts to improve health care access in
  the rural South, and explore strategies for
  reducing the prevalence of food insecurity and
  hunger
• Explore the prevalence of a digital divide
  among various populations and communities in the
  South

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Some Current Activities
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Educational Curricula and Resources

• Southern Perspectives Newsletter
• CD Institute
• Take Charge Training Curriculum
• Cahing in on Business Opportunities
• Community Choices Public Issues Education
• Economic Development Curricula Resources
• Public Conflict Resolution Turning Lemons into
  Lemonade
• E-commerce curriculum resources
• E-commerce reports

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Training Activities

• COMPLETED
• Sustainable Development Conference
• Southern Region Health Institute
• Mid-South Delta Consortium
• Building Tomorrows Workforce
• Examining the Rural/Urban Interface
• 3 reports being finalized
• Southern Region CD Institute
• UPCOMING
• Southern and Delta Regional Rural Conference
  (Sept.)
• E-Commerce Impacting the way we do business
  (Oct.)
• Southern Region Health Institute (Oct.)
• Video on the communitys health care system
• Southern Institute for Rural Development (Nov.)
• State of the South Forums (MS)
• National Community Economic and Resources
  Development Conference (Feb. 2001)

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Applied Research Activities

• Workforce Investment Areas GIS Map and Data
• SSARE/SRDC Sustainable Community Innovations
  Grant Program
• Rural Schools Initiative
• Latino Population in the South
• New policy series
• Food Assistance Needs of the Souths Vulnerable
  Populations

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(No Transcript)
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Millennium Series . . .The Rural South
Preparing for the Challenges of the 21st Century

• 21 issues published to date
• Has been one of our most popular series
• At least 4,000 electronic requests for various
  issues of the series were made in the Year 2000
• Being integrated into classroom teaching, being
  used by CSREES with Congressional staffers, and
  by selected state and regional organizations

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Website Enhancements (Monthly Statistics, June
2000 - July 2001)
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Sabbatical Leave and Senior Fellows Program

• Requested proposals from faculty wishing to
  undertake a sabbatical working with the SRDC
• Host institution provides salary
• SRDC provides up to 20,000 to support activity
  relevant to the priorities of the Center
• Funded a Senior fellows program
• Sought innovative proposals designed to build on
  the five new SRDC goals. Funds of up to 6,000
  for a one-year period were being made available
• Expect to fund 4 projects

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SRDC Funding FY 2000
Extramural Funding
Base Funding
255,880
342,692
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Extramural Funding Since January 2001

• Approximately 267,000
• Submitted Fund for Rural America Application for
  nearly 600,000
• Other resources being sought (such as the Ford
  Foundation)