Where Does the North Country Symposium Go From Here? A Global and National Perspective on Rural Policy and Practice

Transcription

1 Where Does the North Country Symposium Go From Here? A Global and National Perspective on Rural Policy and Practice Presented to the 6 th Annual North Country Symposium St. Lawrence University Canton, New York April 9, 2008 Charles W. Fluharty, President Emeritus Rural Policy Research Institute

2 Four Considerations I. The New Rural Policy Framework: An Emergent Global Consensus II. The Current U.S. Rural Policy Context III. What Does All this Mean for the North Country, and this Symposium? IV. Final Considerations for the Afternoon Discussions

3 I. The New Rural Policy Framework: An Emergent Global Consensus Realigning, and better integrating, agriculture and rural economic development Moving from sectoral, through multi-sectoral, to regional considerations Addressing the asymmetry y between top-down and bottom-up workings Building local evaluative frameworks which actually influence central government action Valuing participatory process concerns as well as cost effectiveness considerations

4 II. The Current U.S. Rural Policy Context t

5 The social and economic institutions of the open country are not keeping pace with the development of the nation as a whole... - President Teddy Roosevelt s Country Life Commission

6 If you do the same things, over and over, you ll probably get the same outcomes!

7 Critical Components in the Current U.S. Rural Policy Context Federalism and Regional / State / Local Policy Dynamics Rural / Urban Constituency Convergence New Governance, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development e Systems s Landscape, Culture, Heritage and Arts as Asset- Based Development Drivers Defining and Driving a New Rural Vision Global Rural Futures

8 A U.S. Rural Policy Renaissance: Regional Rural Innovation Federal Departmental Collaboration / Funding Alignment Federal / State / Regional / Local Cooperation (Programs / Funding) Incent Public / Private / Philanthropic Investment Cooperation Regional Framework Innovation / Entrepreneurship Focus Attention to Diversity, Gender, Poverty and Immigration Concerns

9 Support Key Operational Principles Asset-Based Development Flexibility / Local Input Research / TA: Public Decision Support Tool Investment in New Intermediaries: Regional Universities and Colleges, Community Colleges, Foundations, Faith- Based Organizations, and other NGOs, etc. Attention to the Importance of Working Landscapes Nt Natural lresources Arts / Heritage / Culture Renewables Bioeconomies Sustainable Development and Renewables, Bioeconomies, Sustainable Development and Entrepreneurial Agriculture

10 The Necessity of Regional Approaches to Rural Development

11 Globalization makes regions the athletes in the global economic race. The impact of globalization is greater for regions than for nations.

12 The impact of globalization is greater for regions than for nations. 6.2% range

13 The impact of globalization is greater for regions than for nations. 17 % range

14 Globalization has changed the field of play in this race. Innovation now matters more than simply being a low-cost place.

15 To prosper, rural regions must: 1. Craft a regional strategy. 2. Build robust regional governance. 3. Deliberately pursue innovation. 4. Grow a lot of entrepreneurs.

16 A New System for Regional ldevelopment Strategy Governance Regional Prosperity Entrepreneurship Innovation

17 III. What Does All this Mean for the North Country, and this Symposium?

18 The ec Critical Role oeo of New Rural Governance

19 Defining Governance: We define governance as the means by which h people come together to identify key problems and opportunities, craft intelligent strategies, marshal necessary resources, and evaluate outcomes. -- RUPRI / CFED Rural Governance Initiative Governance is about the process of making decisions regarding the distribution of public and private resources and responsibilities, across multiple stakeholders.

20 Good governance engages people in a democratic process. It maximizes i the potential lfor all people to have a say in what happens in their community how decisions are made and put into action. Good rural governance has the following characteristics: Creates policies that give voice to the people p who are invisible, Crosses geographic, political and/or ideological boundaries, Builds and nourishes sustainable collaboration, Achieves meaningful economic and social outcomes for rural people, Reflects on what works and doesn t work; makes changes based on that learning. -- RUPRI / CFED Rural Governance Initiative

21 The Critical Role of Intermediaries Intermediaries are people and institutions that add value to the world indirectly, by connecting and supporting i.e., by enabling others to be more effective. Intermediaries may act as facilitators, educators, capacity builders, social investors, performance managers, coalition builders, and organizers of new groups. Xavier de Souza Briggs The Art and Science of Community Problem-Solving Project Kennedy School, Harvard University, June, 2003.

22 Five Types of Intermediaries Promoting Public Interest: 1. Government as intermediaries i 2. Civic intermediaries 3. Funder intermediaries i 4. Issue-focused intermediaries 5. Capacity building intermediaries Xavier de Souza Briggs The Art and Science of Community Problem-Solving Project Kennedy School, Harvard University, June, 2003.

23 Five Strategic Challenges for Public Intermediaries 1. The most useful specific functions of an intermediary will often be ambiguous and will likely change over time. 2. It Intermediaries i may have to develop the market ktfor what htthey wish to provide. 3. A given community may be home to multiple intermediaries with diverse and overlapping functions. 4. Broad community change social, economic, political shifts the market for what intermediaries should contribute, how, and with what support. 5. Showing value added credibly demonstrating the intermediary s contribution is an ongoing challenge. Xavier de Souza Briggs The Art and Science of Community Problem-Solving Project Kennedy School, Harvard University, June, 2003.

24 IV. Final Considerations for the Afternoon Discussions

25 Celebrating the Way Forward! Lessons learned, given this new global rural policy framework Challenging gthe naysayers y Process as destiny Keeping on, keeping on!

26 Three Critical Questions Will public sector champion(s) step forward? Will institutional innovator(s) accept the challenge of building new intermediary structures? Will new constituencies develop to support these innovative leaders and institutions?

27 Indiana: RISE

28 RISE 2020 Framework The Foundation : A New Rural Constituency with a Voice and a Platform Seven Pillars: Regional Frameworks Civic Leadership and Engagement g Asset-Based Community Development Rural Innovation Culture through Public and Private Entrepreneurship Youth Engagement Wealth Creation and Retention ti Diversity, Access and Inclusiveness

29 Nebraska Community Foundation

30 Home Town Competitiveness

31 True North

32 Mississippi/Alabama WIRED

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34 In Minnesota: A 30 County Region A Collaboration with The Farm Credit Service The Blandin Foundation RUPRI

35 Tug Hill Commission

36 What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. Ralph Waldo Emerson

37 Rural Policy Research Institute 214 Middlebush Hall Columbia, MO (573) Fax: (573) The Rural Policy Research Institute provides objective analysis and facilitates public dialogue concerning the impacts of public policy on rural people and places.

38 Concluding Thoughts Regarding the Future of the North Country Symposium Presented to the 6 th Annual North Country Symposium St. Lawrence University Canton, New York April 9, 2008 Charles W. Fluharty, President Emeritus Rural Policy Research Institute

39 Get Ready to Run! Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the gazelle or it will starve. It doesn t matter if you re a gazelle or lion. When the sun comes up, you d better start running! (Source: The World Is Flat, Thomas Friedman)

40 Where there is no vision, i the people perish Proverbs, 29:18

41 RISE 2020 Framework The Foundation : A New Rural Constituency with a Voice and a Platform Seven Pillars: Regional Frameworks Civic Leadership and Engagement g Asset-Based Community Development Rural Innovation Culture through Public and Private Entrepreneurship Youth Engagement Wealth Creation and Retention ti Diversity, Access and Inclusiveness

42 All great truths th begin as blasphemies - George Bernard Shaw

43 Ten Reasons the North Country is Uniquely Advantaged: 1. Singular isolation, and profound periphery! 2. No history of systemic public / private / philanthropic collaboration. 3. The potential for an integrated philanthropic regional and community support system remains nascent. 4. Four diverse institutions of higher education must compete within ihi a very constricted geographic area. 5. The region continues to lose population and has a high poverty rate.

44 Ten Reasons the North Country is Uniquely Advantaged: 6. The region s intermodal transportation infrastructure remains a challenge. 7. Development and natural resource extraction are restricted in the Adirondack Park. 8. New York is rapidly urbanizing, with a strong downstate / upstate policy tension, in which awareness of rural challenges and opportunities remain problematic. 9. Home Rule creates unique structural challenges for regional collaboration. 10. North Country folks are independent and get by with what they have.

45 On the Other Hand, 1. The North Country Symposium was initiated, and continues to expand and mature. 2. The Burt family legacy offers an unique model for emulation. 3. The North Country provides an unparalleled natural resource base, as the bio-economy and renewable energy drive enhancements e in public and private funding for resource based initiatives. 4. The local NPR station is a gem, and offers an unparalleled opportunity to create a cohesive North Country brand. 5. The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward sustainability! (with apologies to MLK!) 6. The St. Lawrence River / Seaway

46 Defining Rural America The metro/nonmetro definitions used in most policy targeting are not the same as urban/rural ldefinitions. i i Metropolitan areas contain rural places and nonmetropolitan areas contain urban places. In fact, 51% of all rural residents (30 million people) live in metropolitan counties! Another 10 million people live in small cities and towns in metropolitan counties. These people are excluded from almost all rural policy/program eligibility Rural programs usually target only nonmetropolitan counties Urban programs usually target only large cities

47 Distribution of Population Urbanized Area Small Urban Rural Total Metropolitan 192,064,228 10,338,988 30,176, ,579,940 Micropolitan 255,305 14,976,437 14,299,972 29,531,714 Noncore 18,588 4,704,763 14,586,901 19,310,252 Total 192,338,121 30,020,188 59,063, ,421, million people live in nonmetropolitan counties 40.5 million people live outside urbanized areas in metropolitan counties

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49 Distribution of Population in New York Urbanized Area Small Urban Rural Total Metropolitan 15,504, , ,412,627 17,415, Micropolitan - 497, ,483 1,130,953 Noncore , , ,987 Total 15,504,482 1,096,644 2,375,331 18,976,457 Percent of the Population that is: Non-Urbanized 18.3% Rural 12.5% Small Urban 5.8% Nonmetropolitan 8.2% Percent of the rural population residing in metropolitan counties 59.5%

50 Metro and Nonmetro Counties in New York Metropolitan Counties Nonmetro Counties: Micropolitan Counties Noncore Counties Source: Office of Management and Budget and U.S. Census Bureau Map Prepared by RUPRI

51 Micropolitan Areas in Northern New York Plattsburgh (Clinton County) Ogdensburg-Massena (St. Lawrence County) Malone (Franklin County) Watertown-Fort Drum (Jefferson County) Source: Office of Management and Budget and U.S. Census Bureau Map Prepared by RUPRI

52 Population Percent Change, Population decline Population increase less than 10% Source: US Census Bureau Population Estimates Map prepared by RUPRI

53 ERS County Typology: Population Loss Counties number of residents declined both between the 1980 and 1990 censuses and between the 1990 and 2000 censuses (ERS, USDA) In the U.S.: 601 Counties In New York: 14 Counties ERS Population Loss Counties Other Counties Source: Economic Research Service, USDA Map prepared by RUPRI

54 Percent of Population in Poverty, 2003 Less than 10% 10% to 14.9% 15% to 19.9% 20% or higher Source: U.S. Census Bureau Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates Map prepared by RUPRI

55 The question is not what you look at, but what you see. -Henry David Thoreau