Measurement

WealthWorks: A Powerful Tool for Thriving Rural Places
WealthWorks is an approach to doing economic development differently that inspired and continues to inform the Thrive Rural Framework. Learn more about the WealthWorks approach.

Commentary: Challenging Everything We Know about Funding as a Path to Thriving Rural Communities
In an op-ed for Daily Yonder, Bonita Robertson-Hardy of the Community Strategies Group writes on how rural communities, funders, and other stakeholders’ approach to economic development can mean the difference between success and stagnation.

Measure Up: A Call to Action
Today, we have a generational opportunity to strengthen prosperity and equity in communities and Native nations across the rural United...

Annotated List of Resources for Measuring Rural Development Progress
This Annotated List of Resources for Measuring Rural Development Progress is part of Measure Up: A Call to Action. It was developed and...

Measure Up: A Call to Action — Executive Summary
This is the Executive Summary for Measure Up: A Call to Action. It highlights six principles for measuring rural development progress to...

What (and Who) Counts? Defining Rural Development Success
There are no easy solutions for the many challenges that rural Americans face, but it’s clear that rural communities themselves...

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...

In Search of “Good” Rural Data: Measuring Rural Prosperity
Economic and demographic data drive research, policy development, distribution of government resources, and private investment decisions. But many of the...

Measuring Community Capacity Building Workbook
This is a workbook focuses on improving the ability of individuals, organizations, businesses, and government in their community to come together, learn, make well-reasoned decisions about the community’s present and future, and work together to carry out those decisions.

Measuring the Cost and Accomplishments of Capital Subsidies: The Case of Rural UDAG Grants
Document provides background into nature of Urban Development Action Grant Program (UDAG), differentiated from other programs in that the grants require letters of commitment from the developer and at least 2.5 dollars of private investment for every dollar of UDAG funds.