PROGRAMMING AREAS
Balanced Use of Natural Resources
The Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development
The Pennsylvania State University
7 Armsby Building, University Park PA 16802-5602
814/863-4656(phone); 814/863-0586(fax)
Please send questions and comments to:
nercrd@psu.edu
About the Center
The Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development is dedicated to providing research-based information that helps create regional prosperity through entrepreneurial and cluster-based innovation, while assuring balanced uses of natural resources in livable communities in the northeastern United States. Below you can find our Vision & Mission Statements, as well as information on our organization and funding. Additional information can be accessed from the links on the right. |
Center History |  |
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Vision |
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| The Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development believes that small towns and
rural places are the basic building blocks of rural society, and, in
the context of a global society, they are becoming increasingly complex
and multi-dimensional, resulting in an ever increasing number of public
issues needing resolution. The Center recognizes that individuals, the
foundation of these rural communities, are capable of growth, development
and change, and that rural society can be enhanced by increasing the
individual, organizational, and problem-solving knowledge and skills
of its residents. Finally, the Northeast Center believes that creating
a shared vision for the future of sustainable communities requires democratic
participation. |
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Mission |
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| The Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development: Enhancing the capacity of Land Grant Universities to foster regional prosperity and rural development. |
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Organization |
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| The Northeast Center is administered by a joint agreement between USDA and the site
institution operating for the Extension Service and the Experiment Station
in the region. Major core funding comes from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) - and the region's land-grant
universities. Increasingly, other federal and state agencies, private
foundations, and public interests contribute funding in support of special
programs as they envision mutually derived benefits from the combining
of resources, for achieving compatible visions and missions. A board
of directors is composed of administrators and faculty from the institutions,
representatives of NIFA, and the Economic Research Service (ERS) --
USDA, and representatives from public and private agencies and organizations
establishes policies and programming emphases. Plans of work and annual
reports approved by the various funders provide accountability for receipts
and expenditures of public and private monies. |
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Strategies |
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The task of resolving rural development issues demands the highest level of scholarly research, and it requires a constant and interactive process between research and action to assess and improve the effectiveness of educational efforts. It requires a proactive role in formulating a bold and realistic working agenda, ensuring innovativeness in priority setting, creativity in staffing, and flexibility in resource allocation. The Center is uniquely well-adapted and explicitly chartered to meet these requirements from regional and national approaches. We synergize our ability to accomplish this task by collaborating with many rural development partners:
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