SRDC Articles on Community Leadership

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A great series of articles on Community Leadership by Kenneth Pigg. Good reading for leaders, would-be-leaders, and community members. Visit http://srdc.msstate.edu/community/index.html.

Connecting Communities – Best Practices in Program Evaluation and Learning Webinar

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The Federal Reserve’s Connecting Communities program is offering a webinar/conference call on best practices in Program Evaluation and Learning May 28 at 2:00 central. Many communities struggle with (or just want to be better at) evaluating what is and is not working in their programs. Best Practices in Program Evaluation and Learning Webinar Registration Previous Connecting Communities presentations are recorded at https://bsr.stlouisfed.org/connectingcommunities/.

The Value of Government Data

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The following information from the Department of Commerce highlights the importance of government data in decision making. May 7, 2015 Washington, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economics and Statistics Administration (ESA) released a new report today entitled, “The Value of the American Community Survey: Smart Government, Competitive Businesses, and Informed Citizens.”  The report shows how the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) is used to accurately direct over $400 billion in federal funds to the communities that need them, and to help businesses and community leaders… Read More →

What Counts: Harnessing Data for America’s Communities

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You all know how much I love data. It is indispensable for making good decisions. What Counts: Harnessing Data for America’s Communities from the San Francisco Fed discusses why data is important and how to use it. You can download the book for free from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco or order a print copy. Check it out!

Cultivating Community Wealth: Wealth and Disaster

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This post is part of an eight-week series on Cultivating Community Wealth. As we wrap up this series on Cultivating Community Wealth, we take a look at what happens when communities face disaster. We often think of natural disasters, such as drought, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, and wildfire. But disasters can also be purely economic—the loss of a major employer. Some economic losses may be due to a loss of competitive advantage in the region, but losses can also result from global economics and other situations outside the region’s… Read More →

Do disasters help the economy?

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Do disasters help the economy? One of my colleagues asked me recently what economic impact analysis has to say about this question. He provided a link to a Forbes article countering the frequent claim that disasters can be/are good for the economy; in turn, Forbes linked to this example from the New York Times. I’ve heard the claim before, of course. In fact, you often hear people say that rural areas and farmers/ranchers are not impacted by drought, fire, or other disasters because of government disaster relief payments…. Read More →

Understanding Communities and their Dynamics

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eXtension is offering a seven-week (90 minutes per week) webcourse on Understanding Communities and Their Dynamics, level one of the Foundations of Practice in Community Development program. The course provides an introduction to the seven core competencies that focuses on the ability to understand community of place, the nature of public issues, the dynamics and interdependencies of the various segments of the community, and the basics of community development work. Open to all individuals working in a community context this course is offered as an entry level course… Read More →

Cultivating Community Wealth: Success Stories

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This post is part of an eight-week series on Cultivating Community Wealth. I was first introduced to the story of Tupelo, Mississippi, not long after I moved to Texas. The Texas Rural Innovators had invited Vaughn Grisham to tell the story, and I promise you Vaughn is a good story teller. (His brother is famous author John Grisham.) His book, co-written with Rob Gurwitt, is available for free download or hardcopy purchase from The Aspen Institute. Earlier this month, I was able to visit Tupelo while I was… Read More →

Rural Matters: A Free Online Data Event

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Community Commons is sponsoring a free online data event in November. The series features three 19-minute webinars and a dedicated Rural Matters Event Hub.  Topics include the use of data for community assessment, funding applications, and policy change in rural communities. Register for any or all events below: Assessing the Rural Community    Thursday, November 6  10:30-11:00am Central Enhancing Your Funding Proposals   Wednesday, November 12 1:00-1:30pm Central Making the Case for Policy Change   Monday, November 17 3:00-3:30pm Central All events will be recorded for later viewing.

Cultivating Community Wealth: Wealth and Local Government

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This post is part of an eight-week series on Cultivating Community Wealth. Thinking back to the first post in this series, political capital was one of the forms of community wealth, as were built and financial capital. It stands to reason that local government has a significant impact on community wealth. Local officials are the gatekeepers to many community processes. Research has shown that when elected officials support a community development project (although they may not be directly involved), it has an improved chance of successfully building various… Read More →