The NWRIS (Northwest Rural Investment Strategy) Summit last week in Stevenson, Wash., was another productive gathering, with attendees doing so much networking and idea generation that getting folks to quiet down after breaks took some effort. The steering committee is starting to plan for next year, allowing us to get the word out sooner so more people can attend, especially clerks and mayors from rural communities. I’ll pass along the date and location as soon as possible so it can be added to calendars.
The NWRIS-WA core group presented its draft plan for how to provide coordinated, collaborative assistance to rural communities across the state to maximize and leverage the significant amount of funding from government sources over the next several years and how to leverage that funding with capital and assistance from the private sector to create a win-win-win operating model. The plan, in as much of a nutshell as possible:
- Communities, through discussions with town staff and stakeholders and using input from staff from PRWA, Washington USDA Rural Development, Washington Department of Commerce Community Engagement Unit, and WSU Extension (and potentially other entities with relevant knowledge) will be identified according to the kind and level of assistance needed. We’ll start with a handful of initial rural communities from around the state, and if they choose to opt in, we’ll put our plan into practice (incorporating feedback and suggestions from Summit attendees and other potential partners).
- Level 1 – The community is in the first phase of project planning/ prioritization/fund identification, perhaps dealing with especially large, complex or multiple projects, projects that have stalled or the community is generally struggling.
- Level 2 – The community has a plan, has taken some initial steps toward developing the project(s) and building a funding stack, but could use some help keeping things moving.
- Level 3 – The community has a project that is past the mid-point, but could use some help getting it to completion or could use some guidance on how to take the community and its residents to the next level in its development efforts – it’s ready to grow or continue growing.
- Assisting Level 1 communities will involve a coordinated and sustained approach, heavy on communication, problem solving and follow-up. A broad tech team will be assembled – a hub of expertise and funding with the community’s needs at the center. We’ll help find solutions that work for the community and its particular situation, keeping stakeholders informed as we progress and keeping those that can help on task.
- Level 2 communities will receive similar, but targeted assistance on a smaller scale, also with the community’s particular needs at the center of the solution.
- Assistance for Level 3 communities will largely be in the form of facilitation – connecting them with people and entities that can directly assist with their specific issues. We’ll make the connections, check in now and then and nudge when asked to keep things moving forward.
- PRWA and the core entities will serve as facilitators, communicators and coordinators, and when possible, provide some of the services that may be needed to keep moving forward. PRWA will also document how well the NWRIS model works, gathering metrics and feedback from the initial opt-in communities and preparing a summary document with suggestions for improvement before rolling out the model statewide in late 2025.
In addition to the project tech team actively providing expertise and potential funding, stakeholders related to this effort will include county government, economic development entities (state and federal), workforce development organizations, community action centers, the Association of Washington Cities, the Washington State Association of Counties, nonprofits with a rural focus and other relevant organizations involved in the community or region. Over the next several weeks, we’ll also be soliciting feedback from various small rural communities to see what additional changes we may need to make to this plan before we begin to identify the initial communities in late October. Stay tuned
Take care,
Jody
