NORTHEAST REGIONAL CENTER FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT-NERCRD-FY2023

The Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development (NERCRD), based at Penn State University, seeks to enhance the capacity of Land Grant Universities (LGUs) to foster regional prosperity and rural development. We accomplish this by conducting impactful research and forging partnerships with federal and private funding agencies and stakeholder organizations, and connecting them with the LGU system. We also serve as a regional resource hub linking research faculty and Extension professionals across state lines. Rural areas continue to face pressing problems that include economic and demographic change, economic disruption, climate variability, risk and uncertainty about the future, as well as ongoing challenges in recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic.This proposal builds on the Center's prior work in addition to incorporating priorities identified by the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) and approved by the Board of Directors (BOD) at the October 27, 2022 annual meeting held in Newport, Rhode Island. The TAC recommendations were based on current Center activities, results of the NIFA-commissioned Northeast Listening Sessions Report (Entsminger et al., 2023) as well as the TAC members' knowledge of the region. A goal of the TAC at this year's meeting was to 'provide broad guidance on priorities without micromanaging,' and to help the Center to choose important activities that are also feasible given resources available (TAC 2022, p. 2); importantly, the TAC also considered which activities, if any, the Center should consider sunsetting. The proposal furthermore aligns with strategic priorities of the USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture, it reflects the forthcoming 'Northeast Agenda' prepared by the Northeast Research Association (NERA, 2023), and it draws on findings from the climate change-related 'Ecosystems Study' commissioned by the Northeast Extension Directors (NEED) and NERA, to which the Center also contributed. By way of summary, three broad priority areas were approved by the BOD following the TAC's recommendations: 1. Economic development, resilience and innovation; 2. Food systems, nutrition security and agriculture; and 3. Capacity building and facilitation. Four key cross-cutting themes also were identified: 1. The Rural/Urban interface; 2. Infrastructure development; 3. Climate change; and 4. Diversity, equity, inclusion and access (DEIA). These cross-cutting issues naturally intersect with the three broad priority areas identified above. In particular, both tensions (conflict) and opportunities across the urban/rural interface are arguably more pronounced in the NE than in any of the other regions, even as densely settled urban agglomerations co-exist near rural amenities that offer numerous opportunities for recreation. The infrastructure theme likewise cuts across development, food systems and Extension delivery capacity, starting with access to knowledge but extending to cloud computing for innovation and exports as well as both selling and procuring goods and services. Climate change likewise cuts across these issues. Indeed, one of the recommendations from the national listening sessions report is to 'integrate[d] climate-related education into all Extension program areas' (Entsminger et al., 2023, p.27). Last, diversity, equity, inclusion and access issues include availability of credit to start a new business, access to tourism opportunities, and quality diets as they depend on income and local availability of healthy food.Engagement and Representation: The Center's BOD and TAC both include members from 1890 institutions and one of our goals is to maintain membership levels in proportion to the region's stakeholder distribution. This year our TAC chair has established a committee to review the Center's DEIA activities (please see below). Under the leadership of TAC Chair Heather Stephens (WVU), the TAC has also changed the structure of its quarterly meetings to allow for more targeted engagement with the Center; as a recent example, the TAC developed interview questions to be asked of candidates for NERCRD's Associate Director position. We also plan to participate in the UMES Agritourism conference, at the invitation of our BOD chair, Dr. Moses Kairo. We will continue to seek such opportunities over the course of the project.