November 8, 2007

Workshops provide details on rural enhancement program

The RISE 2020 workshops begin Nov. 27 at the Purdue University Extension Marshall County office in Plymouth. Other workshops are planned for southern Indiana on Jan. 16 and central Indiana on March 4.

RISE 2020 - Rural Indiana Strategy for Excellence 2020 - is a 15-year initiative for enhancing the state's rural communities through innovation and entrepreneurship, regional cooperation, youth engagement, and civic leadership. Purdue Extension and the Indiana Rural Development Council Inc. (IRDC) are program collaborators.

The workshops are free but space is limited. For advance registration, contact Angi Thomas at the Purdue Center for Regional Development (PCRD) at (765) 496-2090, toll-free at (877) 882-7273 or by e-mail at adthomas@purdue.edu.

The Nov. 27 workshop takes place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. EST. The Purdue Extension office in Marshall County is located in the county building at 112 W. Jefferson St., Plymouth. Workshop speakers include Sam Cordes, Purdue Extension program leader for economic and community development; Phil Anderson, IRDC executive director; and Walt Sell, Purdue Extension educator in LaPorte County.

"Workshop participants will not only gain a strong understanding of the RISE 2020 framework, they will also learn how it can be used to further important community conversations and plan for the future," Cordes said. "For example, LaPorte County is using RISE 2020 to organize a countywide Rural Summit."

Purdue Extension played a role in developing RISE 2020 for Indiana, Cordes said.

"Many of our Extension educators were involved in different capacities as the RISE 2020 framework was developed," he said. "They and other community partners are interested in how this framework can be used by local stakeholders. We are pleased to partner with the Indiana Rural Development Council Inc. - the official steward of RISE 2020 - and to be able to host these three workshops to help accomplish that goal."

RISE 2020 could be applied differently across Indiana, Anderson said.

"The IRDC takes seriously its role as the steward of RISE 2020," Anderson said. "Stewardship to us means that as many people as possible become conversant with the framework and how it can be used to further local and regional efforts that will lead to a prosperous and vibrant countryside. Different communities will use the same framework to achieve very different goals. Our job is simply to help create awareness and enthusiasm and to get the local conversations started. Partnering with Purdue Extension is one important avenue for doing so."

For more information about PCRD visit https://www.purdue.edu/dp/pcrd. Additional information about the IRDC is available at https://www.ruralindiana.org/.

Writer: Steve Leer, (765) 494-8415, sleer@purdue.edu

Sources: Sam Cordes, (765) 494-7273, smcordes@purdue.edu

Phil Anderson, (317) 275-2245, panderson@ruralindiana.org

Ag Communications: (765) 494-2722;
Beth Forbes, forbes@purdue.edu
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