Notes from the fourth conversation -
- There are not really any community wealth building or individual asset building strategies that are not anti-poverty strategies
- Stay in regular contact with the Rural Center
- UNC-TV produced a documentary called "NC Rising" and they are doing town hall meetings as follow-up to the documentary - may be useful to attend some of the town hall meetings
- Talk with people at RUPRI, Center for Rural Strategies (Dee Davis), Carsey, Ford Foundation (Wayne Fawbush)
- The Kellogg Foundation has been involved in rural work - Rural People, Rural Policy program; has list of organizations they are working with on their website
- Need to consider short term vs. long term results - look at the sustainability of projects/strategies
- Need to look at new and innovative ideas - we need to know what new things are happening, not the old strategies that everyone knows about
- Rural American and NC are confronting a variety of issues - macroeconomic issues; a new political regime that is showing interest in them; issues seemingly unrelated to rural areas
- New issues means there may not be evidence to back up any new initiatives
- Economic development is about responding to context - communities continually change and are in flux
- Talk with Joe James in SC, doing new energy economy and health care work in rural areas
- Talk with Bill Bishop at The Daily Yonder