How will the information gathered at the Roundtables be used and disseminated? 

1. Thanks to support from the Farm Foundation and the Western Rural Development Center, roundtables are being held in each of the 13 western states.

2. The insights gathered at each roundtable will guide the rural development work of our state land-grant universities.

3. At the same time, the inputs captured at the various roundtables in the Western region will give shape to the work of the Western Rural Development Center (WRDC) for the next five years. The WRDC is a valuable partner that works hand-in-hand with the region’s 30 land-grant schools generating the high-quality research and Extension outreach education programs that are needed to address the important issues facing rural people and communities in the West.

4. When the information from all of the roundtables is synthesized, it will improve the chances that the research and Extension programs conducted in each state, in collaboration with our rural development partners, will address our needs.

5. The individual state reports and final planning report that will be produced by the WRDC will also provide each state and region with valuable information regarding the ‘pulse’ of the region. We will be able to see if other states are experiencing challenges similar to ours. It will expand our opportunities for networking and information sharing across the region.

6. We will become more fully engaged with the Western Rural Development Center thus gaining access to their regional and national networks of like-minded, rural development specialists, researchers, innovators, and leaders.