Call for Abstracts – Creating Vibrant Rural Economies through Place-Based Rural Development

The Western Rural Development Center is soliciting articles for its September 2011 issue of Rural
Connections. The topic for this issue will be Place-Based Rural Development.

The WRDC is interested in sharing with its stakeholders the research and community and economic
development activities that are underway in the region to address these issues and how these changes
are bringing economic opportunities and/or challenges to the West’s rural communities.

Overview

Creating Vibrant Rural Economies through Place-Based Rural Development
In recent decades there has been a steady decline in employment in agriculture, the natural resource
extraction industries and manufacturing, which have always been the mainstays of the rural economy.
Subsequently, traditional approaches to improve economic opportunities in rural areas are much less
successful now than in the past. When most nonmetro jobs were in agriculture and the natural resource
industries, community development efforts tended to focus on enhancing the supply of or demand for
natural resources. Then with the growth of manufacturing, the most common rural development path was
to entice industrial firms to build or relocate to their community.

In the 21st century economy, the opportunities for resource development are limited, and the traditional
"buffalo hunt" for industrial firms is more costly, the odds of success are greatly reduced, and overall
today this approach is much less effective as a community development strategy. At the same time, there
are development opportunities that simply did not exist in the past. With computers, the Internet and cell
phones, it is now possible for individuals and firms to be connected to the global economy while enjoying
the benefits of rural living.

Full Story: http://library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1103664214007-80/CallAbstracts_RC_SEPT11.pdf