Article on New Hampshire’s “quiet” innovation highlights NERCRD research

In this opinion piece written for the New Hampshire Business Review, Dr. Charlie French (University of New Hampshire Extension) cites NERCRD research on “latent” or hidden innovation, and provides several examples of “quiet innovation” from rural New Hampshire communities that are leading to gains in employment, income, and quality of life. Dr. French leads UNH Extension’s Community and Economic Development team.

Webinar Recording: The Landscape of Mental Health and Financial Support for Midwest Farmers

August 19, 2025

On Tuesday, September 30, at 1:00 p.m. ET, the Regional Rural Development Centers will host a webinar focused on the range of mental health programs that were developed in response to the challenges facing farmers amid the farm-income crisis of the late 2010s and the COVID-19 pandemic. Our presenters will share findings from the first two years of a five-year research project to understand what the landscape of support in the Midwest looks like and how farmers engage with it. Programmatic and policy implications, along with the project’s next steps, will also be shared.

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.

Congrats to the Northeast Extension professionals honored with community development awards!

July 10, 2025

In June, several members of the National Association for Community Development Extension Professionals (NACDEP) were recognized with awards. The awards were presented at the 2025 NACDEP meeting, which took place in Charleston, WV, and was hosted by West Virginia State University Extension. Among this year’s awardees were several Northeast NACDEP members – please join us in congratulating them on the well-deserved honor!

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.”

Strategic design approach boosts rural innovation, researchers find

June 18, 2025

Businesses that take a strategic approach to design are up to eight times more likely to develop innovative products than those that don’t, according to a study by NERCRD researchers.

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 […]

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.

Rural manufacturing exports linked to innovation

April 2, 2025

While rural areas are more dependent on manufacturing than their urban peers, they are less likely to participate in global markets. NERCRD researchers have identified several factors that explain why, with differences in innovation capacity playing the most significant role.

Webinar Recording: Food Recovery for Rhode Island — Cultivating Community-Led Solutions to Food Access and Food Waste

March 17, 2025

A recording is now available of the April 2025 webinar presentation by University of Rhode Island’s Dr. Amanda Missimer and Vanessa Venturini, who will share the story of Food Recovery for Rhode Island—a Cooperative Extension community development train-the-trainer program that simultaneously addresses food waste, food insecurity and climate change.

Celebrating 25 years of leadership!

March 11, 2025

Since joining the Penn State faculty in 1999 as NERCRD’s Director, Stephan Goetz has shaped its development as a high-performing organization that has made numerous contributions to the understanding and practice of rural community and economic development.