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Small Towns InitiativeLaunched November 4, 2005, the Small Towns Initiative is committed to bringing greater prosperity and better quality of life to North Carolina's small towns.
Goals
StrategiesPolicy leadership The Rural Center joined with key community and economic development leaders to establish the Small Towns Action Council, which advised the center on the initiative and developed public policy recommendations for federal, state and local action to support economic development in North Carolina’s small towns. These recommendations became the Small Towns Action Agenda, a 17-point plan to help small towns bolster their fiscal capacity and build their economies. It was released May 5, 2009. Partnership development The Rural Center convened the Partnership for Small Towns to improve the delivery of services and resources to North Carolina’s small towns. The partnership provides a forum for sharing information, identifying gaps in services to small towns and developing joint programs and projects. It is composed of federal, state and local agencies, nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, community and economic development professionals, and researchers. Research and information The initiative built a research foundation to provide small town leaders, service providers and policy makers with information about the social and economic well being of small towns and the challenges of economic transitions.
The Small Towns Fact Book, published in 2005, summarizes social and economic data about small towns, along with the results of focus groups held with small town leaders statewide. This material may be found on the State of small towns section of this website or downloaded in its entirety.
A web-based resource, Small Towns Data Profiles, provides demographic information on each of North Carolina’s small towns, along with indicators of economic and social-being. The Small Towns Resource Directory included information about technical assistance, training, publications, research and other services available from federal, state, nonprofit and local resource agencies and organizations. The directory has become part of the online Rural Resource Guide. The center and the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Government also have developed case studies of small town economic development documenting some of the best practices in North Carolina and in other states. The report Small Towns, Big Ideas describes the strategies implemented in 45 of these towns. Education and training The initiative created leadership training opportunities for local government officials and other community leaders to help them manage the demands of economic transition in their small towns. These have included the center’s own Rural Economic Development Institute and programs developed by the UNC School of Government. Work is now under way to incorporate additional opportunities for leadership training into the NC STEP program. Community investments Building Reuse and Restoration. The Rural Center's Building Reuse and Restoration Grants Program is designed to spur economic activity and job creation by assisting in the productive reuse of vacant buildings in small towns. Now a permanent program of the center, it was created as part of the Small Towns Initiative and gives priority to towns with populations of fewer than 5,000.
NC STEP. At the heart of the Small Towns Initiative, the North Carolina Small Towns Economic Prosperity Demonstration Program is testing ways to encourage small town revitalization. Forty-five towns have joined the program, which provides a combination of community coaching, training, comprehensive planning and grants. Resource development The Rural Center is investigating ways to ensure that small town initiatives have the best chances for long-term success. Development of the Small Towns Action Agenda was part of this effort. The center also is examining steps it and other nonprofits can take to develop financial resource pools for long-term, strategic investment in small town revitalization in rural North Carolina. Rural community foundations are one of those options. |