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Key Rural Development Strategies

Rural Development Strategies Guided by a national steering committee of rural NeighborWorks practitioners, the initiative has identified “comprehensive rural community development” as its overarching goal.

Key strategies for the Rural Initiative include:

Support for Innovations in Manufactured Housing
NeighborWorks America supports ongoing demonstrations of manufactured housing as both affordable housing and a valid asset building strategy. To that end, NeighborWorks America invests in the collaborative work of CFED through their I’M HOME (or, Innovations in Manufactured Homes) program, and individual NeighborWorks organizations committed to testing innovations in factory built housing. In addition, NeighborWorks America is committed to the success of two social enterprises, ROC USA and NEXT STEP LLC which are respectfully on missions to expand opportunities for residents to own their own manufactured home and, to replace pre-1976 mobile homes with Energy Star rated manufactured housing.

Read more about NeighborWorks and Manufactured Housing.

USDA Rural Development Partnership
The USDA Rural Development (RD) is a key partner of the NeighborWorks Rural Initiative. With our partners at the Housing Assistance Council, Rural LISC and Habitat for Humanity, the Rural Initiative is working to improve the delivery of crucially needed RD programs such as 502 Direct, 515, 504, 533, RCDI and HPG.

Training Rural Leaders
In addition to building capacity among rural NeighborWorks organizations, the Initiative has sponsored regional and national training events for community development practitioners working in rural communities.

View highlights from the 2010 National Rural Membership Conference.

Learn about NeighborWorks Community Economic Development Training Programs.

Public Policy Catalyst
Globalization is dramatically changing the rural economy, and a lack of good jobs is creating a rural “brain drain” to urban areas. It is widely believed among rural development practitioners that for rural America to survive, it needs a new vision and new models for success. The NeighborWorks Rural Initiative is working closely with rural NeighborWorks organizations, the National Rural Housing Coalition and the National Rural Assembly.

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