Chapter 12

Sustainable Community Development:

Goal: 

Colorado State University will enhance its focus and depth in graduate education, applied research, and outreach in analyses related to sustainable community development and be recognized by municipal, county, state, and federal agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and citizens as a leading source of information and analysis promoting community development. This will include community impact analyses of economic activity, community organization for progress, evaluation of the drivers of local development, and workforce professional and personal development.

Strategic Actions:

• Coalesce the personnel resources in the rural community development area to create significant programs in rural tourism, public and private land use, alternative energy systems, contributions of rural finance to economic development, and workforce professional distance education opportunities.
• Work with multi-county, rural regions to assess opportunities and organization for future development.
• Develop relationships with the Colorado State University’s Office of Economic Development and the School of Public Health to provide an outreach component for these enterprises.
• Develop Strategic partnerships with various groups, i.e. legislative relationship with Salazar’s office, Colorado Rural Development Council, etc.
• Develop a Center for Rural Development

Critical Resource Growth Needs:

• Generate small amounts of seed capital to initiate team efforts to assess opportunities and organization for rural regions.
• Assess best use of funds generated by community development research associate.
• Enhance grant resources in the areas of rural tourism development, and assistance and agency contracts for workforce development distance education.
• Develop in-service training for CE agents.
• Provide resources to enhance public finance expertise, secure faculty position (endowed chair) in Rural Finance or Regional Development and expand capability in assessing the role of rural finance to economic development
• Secure faculty position in regional/international development.