Office of Rural Prosperity

from Kansas Department of Commerce Annual Report - 2021

by Kansas Department of Commerce

BY THE NUMBERS

LEADERSHIP NOTE

SOCIAL ACTIVITY

1,697

ORP FACEOOK FOLLOWERS

4,058

ORP TWITTER FOLLOWERS

TRISHA PURDON

Office of Rural Prosperity Director The Office of Rural Prosperity (ORP) is passionate about the opportunities and assets that make rural Kansas an incredible place to live, work and prosper. With new support programs to train grassroots champions interested in helping their communities thrive; innovative strategies to revitalize rural downtowns; and strong new housing data to help communities increase housing opportunities in their communities, ORP evolved this past year to become an even better partner, a champion and a switchboard to rural communities. When rural Kansas prospers, the Sunflower State as a whole prospers.

OVER 6,200

MILES TRAVELED ACROSS KANSAS

7

GRASSROOTS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COURSES

5

NEW MURALS IN RURAL COMMUNITIES

PRIORITY AREAS

RURAL HOUSING CHILDCARE AND EARLY EDUCATION BROADBAND AND INFRASTRUCTURE WORKFORCE AND RURAL LIVING ART, CULTURE AND DIVERSITY HEALTHCARE AND WELLNESS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

This past year, ORP partnered with the Kansas Sampler Foundation to produce the Power Up & Go report. Over 400 Kansans ages 21-39 were asked about their challenges, successes and dreams for living in rural Kansas. #RuralByChoice is a movement we want to encourage and grow. We believe there is no better way to tackle communities’ critical challenges in housing, childcare, broadband, healthcare and economic development than to support the creation of training programs and funding mechanisms, and dedicate an ORP staff person’s time to this work. We are rolling out a new Economic Development 101 training program to help train these rural champions so they have tools they need for this important work. We want EVERY rural community to have at least one champion ready to help their community prosper!

“Advocating for and promoting rural Kansas and focusing on ways to guide rural improvements toward prosperity.”

TOP 3 ACCOMPLISHMENTS

1Housing Market Analysis: ORP partnered with Kansas Housing Resources Corporation (KHRC) to complete the Kansas Housing Market Analysis, which is providing key data to communities for use in developing housing opportunities as well as strategies and program proposals to encourage housing development across Kansas.

2Power Up & Go Report: This report, in partnership with the Kansas Sampler Foundation, addressed key strategies that both ORP and communities can use in recruiting and retaining young people. Based on recommendations from the Power Up & Go Report, the position of Grassroots Strategy Developer was established to aid in local support programs across rural Kansas.

Block 22 Innovations: Kicked off the expansion of the Block 22 Innovations in Rural Housing program designed to assist communities with higher education institutions in establishing downtown housing. 3Grassroots Economic Development Training 101: This course is designed to train rural champions on the basics of economic and community development so they can be stronger advocates for initiatives in their communities. Since its launch, 200 people have participated in the training.