- CaRDI's Sustainable Communities Webinar #7: Green Economy Investments: What Do Local Policy Makers Need to Know?
- Opinions on School Consolidation
- Selling Wine in NYS Grocery Stores
- How Schools Help Communities
- Job Impact of Bio-fuel Plants
- Socioeconomic Trends in Rural Towns of NYS
- Structural Ecology and Population Health of Upstate NY
- Social Ecology of Villages in Western NY
- Cornell SBIR Workshop
- Webinar: Identifying Assets and Opportunities in Your Community
- Electronic Retailing: Selling on the Internet
- Farm Catskills will Present Speakers from Hudson Valley Dairy Cooperative at Annual Meeting
- Webinar Series: Strategies for Community Prosperity
- New Town Officials Schools
- NYSAC 2010 Legislative Conference
- 'Your Business & Marcellus Shale: Voices of Experience' Webinar Series
Articles, Publications and Resources
- News from Entrepreneurship@Cornell
- State Comptroller DiNapoli releases 2009 Annual Report on Local Governments
- State Comptroller DiNapoli Releases Shared Services Package
- State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli launches Your Money New York website
- Skorton named to Goldman Sachs advisory council, headed by Warren Buffett
- Kauffman Study Reveals 'Keys to Entrepreneurial Success'
- Northern Border Regional Commission Authorized as Part of the 2008 Farm Bill
- Clean Energy and Climate Policies Lead to Economic Growth in the United States
- Rochester Institute of Technology Receives High Honors from the Commerce Department's Economic Development Administration
- November Smart Marketing: "Terroir" or "Tastes Better"
- November 2009 Small Farms Update
- The Main Street Economist
- Unemployment Rate by County
- ERS Report Analyses Health Status and Health Care Access of Rural Populations
- Knight Report Focuses on Sustaining Democracy in the Digital Age
- Online Map of Local Resources that Support Small Business Development
- NYS Directory of Small Business Programs
Funding and Other Opportunities
- The Federal Grants and Loans Catalog is Now Available
- Grant Action News December 2009
- e-Commerce Mini-Grants of up to $3,000 Available for Extension Educators
- Call for Nominations Issued for Dissertation Award in Rural Education
For more information regarding the Communiqué or to subscribe/unsubscribe to this list, please email Ann Prince at ach37@cornell.edu.
For more information about CaRDI, please visit us at www.cardi.cornell.edu.
CaRDI's Sustainable Communities Webinar #7: Green Economy Investments: What Do Local Policy Makers Need to Know?
December 14, 1:30-3:00pm
Hosted by Susan Christopherson, a Professor in the City and Regional Planning Department, and featuring the work of Cornell Master's Candidates, the goal of this webinar is to inform local officials about what green economy investments mean for their communities and help them make wise and informed policy. We address a set of issues (wind energy, biofuels, green technology & jobs, and local foods) that involve local policy makers as initiators, facilitators, decision-makers, and negotiators.
For specific descriptions, see the CaRDI Sustainable Communities Website at: http://devsoc.cals.cornell.edu/cals/devsoc/outreach/cardi/training/sustainable_communities.cfm.
Our approach to green investments recognizes that if a green economy is to take shape in a positive way, local policy makers have to know what choices are available and have the capacity to implement those that are in the best interests of their communities and regional environment.
To participate in the webinar, please complete the online registration form. The registration deadline is Friday, Dec. 11, 2009. Instructions for joining the webinar will be emailed to you a few days in advance of the webinar. Questions may be addressed to Heidi Mouillesseaux-Kunzman at (email) hmm1@cornell.edu or (phone) 607-255-0417.
In November, Issue #35 of our Rural New York Minute series was released, entitled "School Consolidation: What do New Yorkers Think?", by John Sipple and Robin Blakely, Cornell University.
This month we publish our 36th issue of the Minute, entitled "Implications of Introducing Wine into NYS Grocery Stores", by Bradley Rickard, Cornell University.
The November Issue (#32) of the Research & Policy Brief Series was released, entitled "How can schools help communities in NYS?", by John Sipple, Hope Casto, and Robin Blakely, Cornell University.
Our next Research & Policy Brief (Issue #33) will be released in mid-January, and is entitled "Estimating the Job Impact of Public Investment in Bio-fuel Plants" by Susan Christopherson and Zachary Sivertsen, Cornell University.
Under "Additional Publications and Resources", we are pleased to offer three new publications on New York State:
- "Socioeconomic Trends, Planning, and Budgeting in Rural Counties' Towns and Small Cities of New York State", by Paul Eberts and Colleagues, Cornell University.
- "The Structural Ecology and Population Health of Upstate New York: Analysis and Applications", by Frank W. Young, Cornell University.
- "The Social Ecology of Villages in Western New York", by Frank W. Young, Cornell University.
All of our publications are available on the CaRDI website at http://www.cardi.cornell.edu
Cornell SBIR Workshop
Tuesday, January 19, 2010 (half day)
Weill Hall 226
Space is limited!
Registration by January 5, 2010, at http://www.cctec.cornell.edu/events/SBIRRegistration.php5UUHH
Participants will hear success stories from companies involved in research partnerships with academic faculty. An overview of the latest program developments at the national level will be provided. Panel discussions will be focused on-campus and regional resources and a topical lunch will allow for further connections
Webinar: Identifying Assets and Opportunities in Your Community
On Thursday, December 10, 2009 at 2:00pm (EST);1:00 p.m. (CST); 12:00 p.m. (MST); 11:00 a.m. (PST) the eXtension Entrepreneurs & Their Communities webinar topic will be Identifying Assets and Opportunities in Your Community with presenter, Bill Pinkovitz, University of Wisconsin Extension Center for Community and Economic Development.
Is another grocery store, a family restaurant, a nice women's clothing store, or a movie theater on the wish list in your community? Are there also empty store fronts that used to be grocery stores, family restaurants, or a movie theater? Certainly, the types of businesses we'd like to see in our community is an important consideration. However, understanding the local market and what it is likely to support is equally important. Unfortunately, few communities or businesses objectively analyze the market before making important decisions. This session will test your perceptions about local markets and show how you easily find data to help learn more about communities and identify real opportunities.
Mark Twain suggested that, "It's not what we don't know that gets us into trouble, but what we know for sure that just ain't so." When it comes to community and business development, I find the two go hand in hand. What we don't know about our communities and local markets, and what we think is true but isn't, often means missed opportunities and misguided decision-making. There is a better way. Free and easily available, reliable data can help businesses and community leaders make not only better informed decisions, but better decisions. This session will test your perceptions about communities and markets and show how you easily find data to help learn more about communities and identify real opportunities.
Help us to spread the word about this session. No pre-registration is required and there is no fee to participate. About 10 minutes prior to the start time simply go the Adobe Connect Pro meeting room at http://connect.extension.iastate.edu/ecop/. You will be presented with a login screen that has an "Enter as Guest" option. Enter your first name, last name and state, then click "Enter Room" to join the conference. To hear the audio of the workshop and participate in the Q&A portion of the workshop we will be using a built-in teleconferencing capability of Adobe's Connect Pro conferencing software. Once you log into the meeting you will be presented with the option to enter your call-back number, your phone will automatically be called. After entering your number you will be automatically called and joined into the audio portion of the Web conference on your phone.
Electronic Retailing: Selling on the Internet
December 10, 2009
2 – 3 p.m. (Central Time)
Dr. Julie Sexton
Participation link: http://msues.na4.acrobat.com/r48867548/
Getting a Web site is just the first step. Learning how to conduct business and sales online, from understanding what motivates consumers decisions and trends to make practical choices for efficiency, can make all the difference. On December 10, 2009 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., the SRDC will preview this upcoming learning opportunity.
For additional information or questions, visit the 2009 Webinar Series page at http://srdc.msstate.edu/ecommerce/webinar.html at or contact Shannon Lane Turner at shannont@srdc.msstate.edu.
Farm Catskills will Present Speakers from Hudson Valley Dairy Cooperative at Annual Meeting
December 12th , 2009
11:00 am
South Kortright School
Farm Catskills has invited Dr. Sam Simon and Patrick Manning, founders of Hudson Valley Fresh, to this year's annual meeting to talk about their experience starting a non-profit dairy cooperative. Simon and Manning will speak at 11am, with an opportunity for questions and answers. Their talk will be followed by a pot-luck lunch and the Farm Catskills annual meeting.
This meeting is open to the public. We encourage farmers as well as those interested in the development of local business to come to the meeting with your questions! The potluck lunch afterwards will allow for more informal discussion. South Kortright Central School is located on State Hwy 10 in South Kortright.
Hudson Valley Fresh is a non-profit dairy cooperative dedicated to protecting the agricultural heritage of the Hudson Valley. Their main business is producing premium quality dairy products – whole, skim, low-fat and chocolate milk along with half and half, heavy cream, sour cream while promoting sustainability by keeping farmers in business by assuring a fair price for their milk. Their milk is produced in the Hudson Valley and sold in markets from Catskill to New York City. The cooperative has received extensive media attention. An excellent article was published in the September 2009 Farming magazine http://www.farmingmagazine.com/article.php?id=3924.
Farm Catskills is a grassroots membership not for profit dedicated to strengthening sustainable communities in a working landscape. For more information, visit http://www.FarmCatskills.org, or e-mail info@farmcatskills.org.
Webinar Series: Strategies for Community Prosperity
The Heartland Center for Leadership Development in collaboration with the RUPRI Center for Rural Entrepreneurship is pleased to announce a new webinar series with the theme Strategies for Community Prosperity.
The five-part webinar series will begin in January and conclude in May with the following schedule and topics:
- January 21, 2010: Rural Communities Can Thrive in the 21st Century
- February 18, 2010: Entrepreneurial Coaching--From Crisis to Economic Growth
- March 18, 2010: Plowing New Ground--Refreshed Leadership Development for Revitalized Economies
- April 15, 2010: Energized Youth--Energized Communities
- May 20, 2010: People Count--Rebuilding Rural Communities with People Attraction Strategies
Each webinar will start at 12:00 p.m. (Central) and end at 1:00 p.m. The training team includes Milan Wall and Kurt Mantonya from the Heartland Center and Don Macke and Craig Schroeder from the RUPRI Center for Rural Entrepreneurship. The cost of each webinar is $59.99 but if you purchase the entire webinar series at one time, the cost is $250.00.
For more details and registration information about this exciting webinar series, please visit the Heartland Center's webinar page at http://www.heartlandcenter.info/webinar_reg/.
New Town Officials Schools
The State Comptroller's Office partners with the Association of Towns of the State of New York every two years to provide valuable information to newly elected town officials.
To view the various topics which are covered during these schools, please go to the following link: http://www.nytowns.org/core/contentmanager/uploads/2009%20NTO%20Agenda%20AOT%20Revised10-13-09%20draft.xls
As in past years, two schools will be provided to newly elected officials. The first school will be held in Albany and the second in Rochester.
The schools are usually preceded with a teleconference for newly elected officials. This year the teleconference will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 8th. Local officials will view the teleconference at many of the Cornell Cooperative Extensions throughout the State.
Here is another link which will provide additional information regarding the teleconference: http://www.nytowns.org/core/contentmanager/uploads/Dec8_AOTSNY_brochure.pdf
For additional information about the schools, please contact Rhonda Latz (518-473-6589). For information about the teleconference, you can contact Heather Thornton (518-408-4019).
NYSAC 2010 Legislative Conference
February 8-10, 2010 (Dennis A. Pelletier County Government Institute's Orientation for Newly Elected and Appointed County Officials on 2/08/10)
Desmond Hotel
Albany, NY
'Your Business & Marcellus Shale: Voices of Experience' Webinar Series
Penn State Cooperative Extension is offering a four-session 'Your Business and Marcellus Shale: Voices of Experience' program this winter for local businesses, intended to help them understand and take advantage of the business opportunities arising from development of Marcellus Shale. Participants will learn about the business implications and opportunities arising from Marcellus Shale and how other local businesses are responding. Each session will highlight successful local businesses who are adapting to the opportunities, as a way of helping other businesses learn how they can explore and take advantage of these opportunities. Several sessions will include natural gas industry representatives, discussing what they're looking for from local business partners, and how to establish such business relationships.
The series is a follow-up to October and November's successful five-session Marcellus & Business webinar series. That series had 19 local sites across Pennsylvania and New York, with more than 500 participants at each session. Like that earlier series, this program will be offered in partnership with local business development providers and economic development groups, such as Chambers of Commerce, Small Business Development Centers, local Main Street programs, and others. These local partners will provide the local 'face' of the program , hosting the download sites as a business development service to their members or clientele. Each local partner will handle registration for their own site. Each session will be 90 minutes long, including 60 minutes of presentation from a centralized site, and then 30 minutes of local discussion facilitated by the local hosts. See the attached flyer for information.
Your assistance is needed in identifying local partners for this program. Please share this information and the attached file as appropriate. In addition, they'll be hosting an informational webinar in mid-December for potential local partners for them to learn more about the program. The deadline for signing up as a local host is December 18, after which they'll be advertising this series to local businesses.
Information about the earlier five-session series, including the local sites and recordings of the sessions, is available on-line, at: http://www.economicdevelopment.psu.edu/MarcellusBiz/recordings.html
Contact: Timothy W. Kelsey, Ph.D.State Program Leader, Economic and Community Development, Professor of Agricultural Economics, Penn State Cooperative Extension, The Pennsylvania State University (814) 865-9542 (office), (814) 574-2874 (cell)
Articles, Publications and Resources
News from Entrepreneurship@Cornell
Click here for the November 2009 issue.
State Comptroller DiNapoli releases 2009 Annual Report on Local Governments
2009 Annual Report on Local Governments
Office of the New York State Comptroller
http://www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/datanstat/annreport/09annreport.pdf
State Comptroller DiNapoli Releases Shared Services Package
Comptroller DiNapoli has released a comprehensive package of assistance for local governments interested in pursuing shared services. The package includes:
- A research report that gives local officials a number of examples of shared service arrangements that have already delivered on their promise of cost savings and efficiency
- A Local Government Management Guide -- a step-by-step guide for local officials on how to begin the process of creating a shared service program and implementing it
- Customized training.
To access materials on shared services, please click on the following:
www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/pubs/research/sharedservices.pdf
www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/pubs/lgmg/sharedservices.pdf
State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli Launches Your Money New York Website
New Yorkers need reliable financial information now more than ever. In September, Comptroller DiNapoli launched a new website called Your Money New York (http://www.yourmoneynewyork.com) as part of an ongoing financial education and empowerment initiative. The site brings together practical, easy-to-use resources from federal, State, and local governments to help readers understand money matters better.
Skorton named to Goldman Sachs advisory council, headed by Warren Buffett
Nov. 18, 2009
Cornell President David Skorton has been named to a Goldman Sachs advisory council, co-chaired by Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, to help steer a new Goldman Sachs $500 million, five-year initiative: 10,000 Small Businesses.
To read the full article, click here
Kauffman Study Reveals 'Keys to Entrepreneurial Success'
A new Kauffman Foundation study, "Making of a Successful Entrepreneur," provides insight into company owners' views about what influences the success or failure of a startup business. The study is being released in conjunction with Global Entrepreneurship Week, which annually introduces millions of young people around the world to entrepreneurship.
Northern Border Regional Commission Authorized as Part of the 2008 Farm Bill
The Northern Border Regional Commission was authorized as part of the 2008 Farm Bill (P.L. 110-627) and covers counties in portions of Maine, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont. The commission is slated to receive $1.5 million as part of the FY2010 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill (HR 3183).
For more information on the commission, visit www.nado.org/legaffair/northernbfact.pdf.
Clean Energy and Climate Policies Lead to Economic Growth in the United States
New analysis shows that adopting comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation could create up to 1.9 million jobs
New economic analysis shows that clean energy and climate policies would create jobs, increase consumers' income, and strengthen the U.S. economy as a whole. Based on collaborate research by the University of Illinois, Yale University and the University of California, the new study clearly demonstrates that comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation, such as the American Clean Energy and Security Act and the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act, would limit pollution and create incentives to drive large-scale investments in clean energy and energy efficiency.
Rochester Institute of Technology Receives High Honors from the Commerce Department's Economic Development Administration
Rochester Institute of Technology Presented with Prestigious Award for Universityled Economic Development Effort, $500,000 Grant to Boost Global Competitiveness of Region's Manufacturing Sector
The U.S. Economic Development Administration's (EDA) Senior Advisor and Director of Strategic Initiatives Barry Johnson today presented the 2009 EDA Excellence in Economic Development Award for University-led Economic Development to the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Center for Integrated Manufacturing Studies (CIMS). The award recognizes RIT's commitment to advancing regional competitiveness and helping grow the local economy. Click here to read more.
November Smart Marketing
"Terroir" or "Tastes Better"
The combination of cultivation and culture
Bob Weybright, Weybright & Associates, Inc. and Cheryl Leach, New York Food Venture Center; Cornell University, Geneva Experiment Station
For several years, there has been a lot of discussion in the US about the survival of local agricultural production. The suggested strategies all have merit and may be part of the many tools a modern agricultural business will need to be competitive. For the purposes of this article, I thought we would take a look one strategy that has received a fair amount of press in the past decade, "terroir". The reason is, it is my good fortune to live in France – arguably the originator, or at least hot bed, of "terroir" – and I would like to shed some light on why the French are known for their passionate embrace of terroir, based on living as an American in the south of France.
November 2009 Small Farms Update
The Small Farms Update is intended as a resource for farmers and agricultural service providers in New York and is provided to you by Cornell's Small Farms Program. Our mission is to foster the sustainability of diverse, thriving small farms that contribute to food security, healthy rural communities, and the environment. Our work is made possible by a network of close partnerships among Cornell faculty and staff, Cornell Cooperative Extension educators and staff, NYS agriculture support agencies, non profit agriculture organizations and farmers. This update summarizes announcements, information resources, opportunities and upcoming events relevant to small farms. Please feel free to share this information in newsletters, email lists, etc. Click on the link below to read the NOVEMBER 2009 Small Farms Update.
http://www.smallfarms.cornell.edu/pages/news/index.cfm
The Main Street Economist
Over the course of the recent recession, rural economies have held up better than their metro peers, thanks to strong rural economic gains early in the downturn. But author Jason Henderson finds that the long-term health of rural American in the twenty-first century will rest on developing policies that focus on amenity-based development, entrepreneurship, and innovation in the article "Prospects for a Rural Recovery."
This latest edition of The Main Street Economist is available on our web site at http://www.kansascityfed.org/regionalaffairs/mainstreet/mainstmain.htm?ealert=MFG1125.
Included in this issue:
Prospects for a Rural Recovery
Unemployment Rate by County
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/nation/unemployment-by-county/?wpisrc=newsletter
ERS Report Analyses Health Status and Health Care Access of Rural Populations
Rural residents have higher rates of age-adjusted mortality, disability, and chronic disease than their urban counterparts, though mortality and disability rates vary more by region than by metro status. Contributing negatively to the health status of rural residents are their lower socioeconomic status, higher incidence of both smoking and obesity, and lower levels of physical activity. Contributing negatively to the health status of farmers are the high risks from workplace hazards, which also affect other members of farm families who live on the premises and often share in the work; contributing positively are farmers' higher socioeconomic status, lower incidence of smoking, and more active lifestyle. Both farm and rural populations experience lower access to health care along the dimensions of affordability, proximity, and quality, compared with their nonfarm and urban counterparts.
Read the full report at http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/eib57/
Knight Report Focuses on Sustaining Democracy in the Digital Age
The Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy is a group of 17 media, policy and community leaders. Its purpose is to assess the information needs of communities, and recommend measures to help Americans better meet those needs. The Knight Commission sees new thinking about news and information as a necessary step to sustaining democracy in the digital age. It thus follows in the footsteps of the 1940s Hutchins Commission and the Kerner and Carnegie Commissions of the 1960s. But in the digital age the stakes are even higher. Technological, economic and behavioral changes are dramatically altering how Americans communicate. Communications systems no longer run along the lines of local communities, and the gap in access to digital tools and skills is wide and troubling. The Commission seeks to start a national discussion – leading to real action. Its aims are to maximize the availability and flow of credible local informa tion; to enhance access and capacity to use the new tools of knowledge and exchange; and to encourage people to engage with information and each other within their geographic communities.
Learn more at http://report.knightcomm.org/
Online Map of Local Resources that Support Small Business Development
http://www.nylovessmallbiz.com/
NYS Directory of Small Business Programs
For small business owners and entrepreneurs, the directory is designed to make navigation of state regulations and programs easier. The directory works as a clickable .pdf file with descriptions of 143 state programs from 28 agencies aimed at helping New Yorkers start and grow their businesses. These resources for business planning and operations are organized into the following categories:
- Information Resources
- Technical Assistance
- Funding Incentives
- Industry-Specific Programs
- Workforce Recruitment, Development & Benefits
- Government Contracting & Market Expansion
- Mandated State Filings
The directory also highlights State programs that assist in workforce recruitment and training and gives a detailed description of how prospective business owners can comply with New York State permit and licensing requirements. The directory is available at: http://www.ny.gov/governor/press/pdf/DirectoryofSmallBizPrograms_F_09-09.pdf and is also posted on http://www.nylovessmallbiz.com/.
Funding and Other Opportunities
The Federal Grants and Loans Catalog is Now Available
This publication contains more than 5000 financial programs, subsidies, scholarships, grants and loans offered by the US federal government and various foundations and associations across the United States. That is over 2200 pages of information!!!
Contents of the Catalog: Federal agency administering a program; Authorization upon which a program is based; Objectives and goals of a program; Types of financial assistance offered under a program; Uses and restrictions placed upon a program; Eligibility requirements; Application and award process; Regulations, guidelines and literature relevant to a program; Information contacts at the headquarters, regional, and local offices; Programs that are related based upon program objectives and uses; Examples of funded projects
Programs in the Catalog provide a wide range of benefits and services, which have been grouped into 20 basic functional categories, and 176 subcategories that identify specific areas of interest.
CD version: $69.95
Printed version: $149.95
To order please call: 1-800-610-4543
Grant Action News December 2009
To view the Assembly's Grants Action News for December 2009 click on the link below:
http://www.assembly.state.ny.us/gan/20091201/
For information on other areas of interest, visit the Assembly's Web site:
http://www.assembly.state.ny.us/
e-Commerce Mini-Grants of up to $3,000 Available for Extension Educators
The Southern Rural Development Center is pleased to announce the continuation of its initiative to foster implementation of one of its new e-commerce curricula. U.S. Land-Grant Extension educators or teams are invited to submit proposals outlining how they propose to implement one of the FOUR new e-commerce educational curricula that the SRDC is scheduled to release by this fall as part of the National e-Commerce Extension Initiative. The maximum amount allowed for any proposal is $3,000. Interested parties are encouraged to participate in the Fall 2009 e-Commerce Webinar Series.
To view the call for proposal and learn more about the National e-Commerce Extension Initiative, visit http://srdc.msstate.edu/ecommerce.
Call for Nominations Issued for Dissertation Award in Rural Education
Fully one-quarter of American schoolchildren live in rural communities. The AERA SIG in Rural Education seeks to promote and recognize rigorous research among new scholars that can influence policy and practice to improve the educational lives of these children. The Rural Ed SIG seeks nominations for its 8th Dissertation of the Year Award. The winner of the award will be recognized at the Rural SIG reception at the Annual AERA Meeting in May 2010 in Denver, Colorado. Doctoral dissertations completed between September 1, 2007 and August 31, 2009 are eligible. The awards committee will accept nominations from /any/ research tradition in education, sociology, history, and other fields, and in which the rural context is prominent in the conception, research design, execution, conclusions, and recommendations (if any). Dissertations in which the word rural is uncommon are not likely to qualify to be judged. Authors are encouraged to nominate their own works; nomination by another scholar is unnecessary and it is not considered a substantive advantage.
For more information, visit http://ruralsig.blogspot.com/2008/12/call-for-nominations-dissertation-award.html.