Two questions motivated the inquiry that led to this report — questions often posed by foundation leaders, individual investors and government officials, among others: “We’d like to do more for rural America, but who can we work with? And besides that, what works?” We converted these into a more specific “framing question” for our inquiry, one we thought could generate concrete answers that spark action: “What actions could shift mindsets, construct or revise systems and policies, and build capacity to advance rural community and economic development in a way that improves equity, health and prosperity for future generations?”

To seek answers, we consulted a set of rural community and economic development organizations whose actions have been addressing this question in their own places across the country: Rural Development Hubs. These region-acting, system-analyzing, entrepreneurial, gapfilling organizations work on and weave a full range of factors critical to healthy and enduring development: people, place and infrastructure; businesses, institutions and culture. Their approach and action and outcomes are more rightfully the definition of economic development than the business recruitment, bricks-and-mortar image still lodged in the public mind.

We focus here on Rural Development Hubs because they are components essential to advancing an asset-based, wealth-building, approach to rural community and economic development in this country. This approach emphasizes people, local institutions and systems thinking. Big cities have planners, financial divisions, community engagement specialists, and the financial resources to contract with experts when they lack the needed knowledge in-house. Big cities typically have the staff and expertise to navigate state government and to interact with the federal government, to travel and to learn from other cities around the country, and, increasingly, to harness data and technology in new, sophisticated ways. Very few small towns or rural communities have this kind of capacity. That doesn’t mean they want it or don’t need it.

Given the sheer number of small towns, rural counties and civic-sector organizations in rural America, it is impractical for national and regional funders and policymakers to engage with every entity out there. Rural Development Hubs can be a strategic entry point for these investors.

Hubs are the most visible actors in rural America working to do development differently by designing and implementing efforts that simultaneously:

  • Increase and improve the assets that are fundamental to current and future prosperity: individual, intellectual, social, cultural, built, natural, political and financial capital.
  • Increase the local ownership and control of those assets.
  • Include low-income people, places and firms in the design of their efforts — and in the benefits.

In short, given the pivotal roles Hubs play where they exist, supporting them — and the enabling environment for their work — is critical to advancing rural development and equity.

Many organizations have at least some attributes of Rural Development Hubs. Within our available resources, we interviewed 43 Hubs, a selection that represents a wide range of organization types, geography and populations, as well as economic and social situations in rural America. Based on Hub leaders’ insights and CSG’s knowledge from 35 years of experience, we developed 10 leading routes for strengthening the rural development infrastructure and ecosystem. These 10 routes and their accompanying recommendations are sorted into the three main categories listed in our framing question — all toward the ends of advancing rural community and economic development that improves equity, health and prosperity for future generations:

  • Shifting Mindsets
  • Constructing or Revising Systems and Policies
  • Building Capacity

Who are these recommendations for? Policymakers, public, private and philanthropic investors — and anyone who holds a stake or interest in improving prosperity and equity not just in rural America, but in all of America — can find action ideas and value in the recommendations the Hubs shared. Hubs and other organizations working on the ground in rural regions and communities will also likely find useful ideas — and validation of their experience — here.

  1. UNDERSTAND THIS TRUTH: ADDRESSING EQUITY NATIONALLY REQUIRES
    INVESTMENTS IN RURAL AMERICA.
  2. INCREASE AMERICA’S RURAL CULTURAL COMPETENCY.
  3. TRUST THE KNOW-WHAT AND KNOW-HOW OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT HUBS.
  4. REIMAGINE WHAT “IMPACT” MEANS IN RURAL CONTEXTS.
  5. DETECT AND ERADICATE GOVERNMENT SYSTEMS AND STRUCTURES THAT DISADVANTAGE RURAL AMERICA.
  6. DESIGN POLICIES AND PROGRAMS WITH RURAL IMPLEMENTATION IN MIND.
  7. SUPPORT ANALYSIS, PLANNING AND ACTION AT THE REGIONAL LEVEL.
  8. BOOST PEER LEARNING FOR HUB STAFF AND BOARD LEADERS.
  9. CREATE PIPELINES AND MARKETPLACES THAT CONNECT INVESTORS TO AMERICA’S RURAL DEVELOPMENT.
  10. STRUCTURE INVESTMENTS AND INITIATIVES TO STRENGTHEN AND SUSTAIN SYSTEM-CHANGING ORGANIZATIONS.