VSU Rural Development Institute Focuses on Enhancing Rural Prosperity in Georgia

More than 40 economic development, city, county, and community leaders from Irwin County, Jones County, Pierce County, Seminole County, Tattnall County, and Ware County were selected to participate in Valdosta State University’s 2023 Rural Development Institute and get help developing an action plan for rural prosperity in their communities. Pierce County Jones County Irwin County Tattnall County Ware County Seminole County

VALDOSTA — Valdosta State University’s Center for South Georgia Regional Impact recently kicked off its second annual Rural Development Institute with a three-day Summit designed to help communities across Georgia develop an action plan for rural prosperity.

More than 40 economic development, city, county, and community leaders from Irwin County, Jones County, Pierce County, Seminole County, Tattnall County, and Ware County were selected to participate in VSU’s 2023 Rural Development Institute.

Before coming to the Summit, teams representing each of the participating communities were tasked with using a readiness index to conduct a self-assessment of their recruitment, education, infrastructure, leadership, demographics, and quality of life.

During the Summit, the teams analyzed the results of their self-assessment and worked with mentors to identify their unique opportunities and challenges, connect with experts and other available resources, build a support network, and develop a roadmap for economic vitality.  

Darrell Moore, director of VSU’s Center for South Georgia Regional Impact, said the Rural Development Institute Summit offered a program that emphasized experiential learning with a heavy dose of discussion, debate, and teamwork.

Highlights included content experts, professional developers, and consultants delivering interactive and engaging sessions on the elected official’s role in economic development, the current economic environment and future projections, how to compete in a rural community, downtown redevelopment strategies, retail as a catalyst for economic growth, tourism opportunities to generate wealth, and more.

After each session the teams “worked with a mentor to reflect on what they had just learned and then talk about how they could take some of those ideas back and implement them in their community,” Moore said.

Summit mentors represented various organizations — One Valdosta-Lowndes, Georgia Power Company, Retail Strategies, Hodge Consulting Services, and the Georgia Municipal Association.

Featured Summit speakers came from the Georgia Department of Economic Development; the Georgia Department of Community Affairs; the Georgia Municipal Association; Association County Commissioners of Georgia; Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management of New York, New York; Deloitte Consulting LLP of Chicago, Illinois; West AlabamaWorks of Tuscaloosa, Alabama; the Downtown Development Authority of Bainbridge; Retail Strategies of Birmingham, Alabama; One Valdosta-Lowndes; Transformation Partners LLC; and Advanced Economic Development Leadership Program of Alabama.  

Each team left the Summit with a prioritized list of projects and initiatives designed to build a better future for the people who live, work, play, and visit in their communities. Through experiential learning initiatives at VSU, the Center for Regional Impact will use university faculty, staff, and students to help each community implement at least one of their projects in the coming months.

“We are currently working on taking those lists and identifying resources on our campus, and we will run one or two projects for each community through the Center for South Georgia Regional Impact,” Moore shared.

Based on initial feedback and comments from participants, presenters, and mentors, VSU’s Rural Development Institute Summit continues to be a tremendous success.

VSU’s Rural Development Institute is an opportunity for the university to continue supporting the work of the Governor’s Rural Strike Team and provide a positive impact on Georgia’s rural communities.

Moore had an opportunity this summer to travel to Michigan to participate in a roundtable dialogue focused on highlighting how regional public universities across the nation are serving their communities and how federal and state policymakers can support the community and economic development missions of regional public universities like VSU. Sponsored by the University of Michigan-Flint and the Brookings Institution, the one-day event allowed Moore to share some of the work VSU faculty, staff, and students have done through the Center for South Georgia Regional Impact, the Governor’s Rural Strike Team, and the Rural Development Institute.

“We have a great foundation and a working model for universities to have a direct impact on the communities they serve,” Moore said.

On the Web:  
www.valdosta.edu/sgri