Community Technical Assistance

The RSI hosted a community discussion on the Southeast Crescent Regional Commission (SCRC) on Feb. 27, 2020. The commission was created in the 2008 Farm bill but has not received funding beyond administrative support. One of several statewide conversations across the Southern region that addressed regional underdevelopment and rural development opportunities within the SCRC, this event was attended by congressional staff, federal agencies, community representatives, and institutions of higher education.

The Black Belt Community Foundation (Alabama), in conjunction with The Rural Studies Institute at Georgia College & State University and Kentucky State University, received a $10,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to study the impact of COVID-19 in the Alabama Black Belt and to develop a COVID-19 web portal for COVID-19 information for the region. The Rural Studies Institute developed a survey and held a focus group with community-based organizations (CBOs) in the Black Belt region of Alabama. (Dec. 2020). Dr. Veronica Womack served as co-principal investigator.

The Executive Director of the RSI also serves on the Milledgeville-Baldwin Chamber’s Recovery & Resiliency Taskforce and led the development of a Milledgeville community business survey for the taskforce in June 2020. The survey was taken by fifty-five business leaders and will be used to develop future strategies for recovery within our community.

The Milledgeville Chamber of Commerce, in conjunction with Georgia College’s Rural Studies Institute and Office of Sustainability, received a $1,250 grant from the Knight Foundation to conduct a study that will assess the theory of “brain drain” in Milledgeville. The group hosted two focus groups with representatives from Georgia College, Georgia Military College, Georgia Military Prep School, Baldwin High School, Oak Hill Middle School and Early College. (Nov. 2020)

$10,000 Grant Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

$1,250 Grant Knight Foundation