New Institute Will Help Vermont’s Rural Communities Thrive

VERMONT | The new Institute for Rural Partnerships at the University of Vermont will help the state’s rural communities thrive in the face of big challenges brought on by climate change and population shifts, thanks to a $9.3-million award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, with leadership and support from U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.

“Vermont, like all rural states, faces unique challenges that affect such important issues as transit, economic and workforce development, water quality, food supplies, infrastructure, and broadband connectivity,” Leahy said. “The Institute for Rural Partnerships will enable the university to continue to be a leader in the studies of rural challenges not only within Vermont, but the nation. As chair of Senate Appropriations, I was proud to support UVM and am excited to see the incredible work that will be done through the establishment of the Institute for Rural Partnerships.”

Under the new institute, UVM will bring the resources and expertise of multiple UVM entities to help find solutions to the most pressing problems rural communities are facing—whether it’s a qualified workforce, broadband access, clean water, sustainable energy, suitable housing, food production, supporting more welcoming and inclusive communities, or mitigating the stresses placed on the region’s lakes, rivers, and forests.

“The Institute for Rural Partnerships is an ideal realization of UVM’s land-grant mission in service to our state,” said University President Suresh Garimella. “Connecting the university’s talented research and innovation experts with promising, motivated groups with big ideas from across the state will deliver valuable impact in all 14 Vermont counties and beyond.”

“Vermont remains one of the most rural states in the country,” said UVM Vice President for Research Kirk Dombrowski, principal investigator for the project, whose office will house the new institute. “Across the country we have seen significant challenges to rural viability. Part of our land-grant mission is to take what we’ve learned and put it to the service of communities and help meet those challenges.”

Dombrowski said the institute represents a novel approach, a

“spin-in” concept, where partnerships with community-based groups looking for academic expertise will be seeded and fully supported by the University so they are in a better position to find community-based solutions to rural challenges.

“People will deal more effectively with the inevitable change that’s coming if they have the knowledge base, better data, and strong partnerships that the institute will facilitate,” said Dombrowski. “It’s a way to make a path forward and be part of a viable future, rather than resisting change at all costs.”

At the heart of the UVM institute will be an Innovation and Research Incubator seed-funding program to allocate funding and technical assistance to teams of collaborators composed of UVM stakeholders to fund research projects, student internships, and more for early-stage startups and nonprofit businesses working to address rural challenges.

The incubator will focus investment in Innovative Opportunity areas where UVM has deep expertise like regenerative agriculture, connected community schools, transit and housing reimagined, and more.