Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development

 

 

Archive for Capacity Building and Facilitation

Measuring Northeast Extension Community Development Capacity

In the winter of 2024-2025, NERCRD Associate Director Stephen Alessi conducted an inventory of the capacity for research and Extension programming in the Northeast U.S. region that corresponds with the priority areas of the NERCRD, which include: He presented his findings in a poster at the 2025 meeting of the National Association of Community Development […]

Land Grant Community and Economic Development Capacity in the Northeast

This report summarizes the findings of an inventory conducted in 2024-2025 aimed at understanding the capacity of the Land Grant Institutions in the Northeast U.S. to conduct research and Extension programming that corresponds with the priority areas of the NERCRD, which at the time of this study included:

  • Food Systems, Nutrition Security, and Agriculture
  • Economic Development, Resilience, and Innovation
  • Tourism and Outdoor Recreation

A companion poster, which was presented at the 2025 National Association of Community Development Extension Professionals (NACDEP) conference in Charleston, WV, is available here.

Alessi.CED-capacity-in-Northeast.March2025Download

Authors: Stephen Alessi

Publication: NERCRD publication   Date Published: March 30, 2025

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Investing in Maryland's Future: Invest Today. Empower Tomorrow. Fueling Economic Growth and Workforce Innovation Through Digital Opportunity

Dispatch from the 2025 Maryland Digital Opportunity Summit

October 24, 2025

The 2025 Maryland Digital Opportunity Summit was held on October 15th in Silver Springs, MD. NERCRD Associate Director Stephen Alessi attended and shared this report.

Small community composed of farms and homes, with a body of water nearby.

Upcoming Event

Penn State Land Use Webinar Series continues in August with focus on small farms and green infrastructure

July 11, 2025

The Penn State Land Use Webinar Series is offering five monthly sessions from August through November focused on important community planning topics.

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New research brief examines rural-suburban-urban differences among Northeast caregivers

June 24, 2025

The latest publication in NERCRD’s caregiving research brief series describes the caregiving experience for rural, suburban, and urban caregivers in the Northeast region of the U.S., as reported by households as part of the “NER-Stat: Caregiving Survey.”

Rural-Suburban-Urban Differences in Caregiving in the Northeast U.S. Region

This “Research Snapshot” describes the caregiving experience for rural, suburban, and urban caregivers in the Northeast region of the U.S., as reported by households as part of the “NER-Stat: Caregiving Survey” — a regional household survey that the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development (NCRCRD) conducted in collaboration with Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development (NERCRD), The Ohio State University and the National Farm Medicine Center. The survey was conducted in 2023 with 4,480 responses from the 13 states of the Northeast Region through a Qualtrics online panel. The dataset that this brief draws upon is also available online here: https://purr.purdue.edu/publications/4491/1

To learn more about this research and to access other briefs in this caregiving series, click here.

Pojman-Becot-Rural-Suburban-Urban-Caregiving-Brief-Final-6-23-2025Download

Authors: Elena Pojman and Florence Becot

Publication: NERCRD Research Brief   Date Published: June 24, 2025

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Insights on Agritourism Among Maine Producers: Evidence from the 2024 National Agritourism Producer Survey

This report presents Maine-specific findings from the 2024 National Agritourism Producer Survey, conducted in part to address the type of knowledge gaps just identified. The online survey was open from March through August 2024, and 2,139 agritourism operators across the United States responded. A total of 94 survey participants identified themselves as being in Maine by reporting the postal (ZIP) code of their farm.

Authors: Jason Entsminger (University of Maine); Claudia Schmidt (Penn State and NERCRD); Sarah Cornelisse and Jackie Schweichler (Penn State)

Publication: Published by NERCRD   Date Published: May 2, 2025

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New report shares insights from 2024 National Agritourism Producer Survey

April 30, 2025

A new report by Claudia Schmidt (Penn State and NERCRD), Jason Entsminger (University of Maine), Sarah Cornelisse and Jackie Schweichler (Penn State) presents findings from the 2024 National Agritourism Producer Survey, which is part of a larger project aimed at defining and enhancing the agritourism support system in the U.S. The primary objective of conducting this survey […]
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Groundbreaking survey conducted across three major US regions sheds light on household and community well-being

April 29, 2025

A new data initiative by the Regional Rural Development Centers has produced an open access dataset available to all researchers nationally. Collected in a groundbreaking, multi-region Baseline Survey 2024, the household-level dataset establishes a baseline to inform policy decisions, community development strategies, and targeted interventions related to regional challenges and opportunities. A webinar on May 9, 2025, at 3:00 pm (ET) will explore key preliminary findings from the survey data.
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Workshop expanded regional Extension capacity

December 9, 2024

Through a partnership facilitated by the Association of Northeast Extension Directors (NEED) Association, the Center recently collaborated with Dr. Justine Lindemann (Assistant Professor) and Cristy Schmidt (Senior Research Associate) from Penn State University to design and deliver the Northeast Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice (DEIJ) Workshop, which was hosted by University of Delaware Extension in Newark, Delaware, from November 11-14, 2024.

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