As you saw in the last post, we’ve been gaining momentum in the Western counties of our region. One of the ways we’ve been making progress has been through our partnership with Cornell University. Cornell was recently named as the EDA University Center for New York State, and as a result, received funding to build community capacity in our region. The pilot communities for this project are Elmira and Olean (and surrounding towns and villages).
The Community and Rural Development Institute (CaRDI) at Cornell chose Olean based on past performance and future potential to be a community that welcomes support and is open to exploring collaborative approaches to economic development.
The following is the Project Overview, as described by CaRDI:
Community Capacity can be defined as a community’s aptitude for identifying, pursuing and achieving goals that enhance the social, economic, and ecological well-being of its members. CaRDI will work in partnership with two communities in the region to help them increase their capacity for achieving their community and economic development goals through research-based information, education and technical support designed to (1) prepare communities to respond to the reasons for insufficient “brain gain” in the Southern Tier; (2) address issues of community capacity building as it relates to grant funding, entrepreneurial support, and innovation; and (3) increase regional leadership skills. Focusing on two communities provides the opportunity to closely monitor, evaluate, and document the impacts of an intensive, community-based, multi-pronged approach to regional capacity building. Whenever appropriate and feasible, other communities will be welcomed and encouraged to participate in trainings and workshops. Cornell Cooperative Extension Associations in the P4P region will be involved partners.
For more information on Community Capacity Building, or to receive updates on how your community can benefit from the lessons learned in our pilot communities, visit www.P4PNetwork.com.
