Blog
Better Results: What does it take to build capacity in rural and Native nations communities?
Organizational capacity and technical assistance need to be carefully and intentionally strengthened in rural and Native nation communities to grow...
Rural Capacity-Building Tips From and for Funders
On April 8, 2022, around 90 community and economic development practitioners and community members gathered at a Thrive Rural Open...
Learning Through Collaboration: Field Leaders Drive Critical Conversations
Setting the scene: Over eight hundred people in the virtual room, watching and listening, sharing resources in the chat, and...
The Calm Before the Storm: Disaster Planning and Rural Resilience
Flooding, tornadoes, drought, wildfire, and other extreme weather events cause major disruption and damage wherever they occur and have potential...
Supporting EDA Reauthorization
For over a year, Aspen CSG has been leading work with Reimagining Rural Assistance Network (RRAN). RRAN is a focused,...
Building an Infrastructure of Care
This week, the White House announced its support for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework, hailing it as, “the largest long-term investment...
Place Matters: Suiting Climate Solutions to Rural Regions
A recent New York Times article detailed the climate-related pros and cons of using wood pellets for heating in the Southeast United...
For Our Clean Energy Economy Future, It’s Time to Tap Rural Innovation
Rural communities are integral to our nation’s economy, culture, history, and the environmental services that we all depend on. Yet...
Federal Rural Policy Scan: Rebuild Rural America Act of 2021
With a new administration in Washington, we can expect many proposals for shifting the direction of rural policy and programming....
Redesign Required: Four Ideas for Reimagining Federal Rural Policy in the COVID-19 Era
This is the second in a series (see Part 1) on how to ensure development investments that are part of...
The Electoral College and the Rural-Urban Divide
In the last two election cycles, much has been written and said about the disproportionate influence that rural voters and...
Championing Rural Initiative: The Rural Development Innovation Group at Four Years
Over the past four years, the Rural Development Innovation Group has identified and highlighted what’s working in rural community and...