Featured speakers include:

• Ferd Hoefner, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
• Bahia Nightengale, Heartland Local Food, with Supervisor Melvyn Houser, Pottawattamie County, Iowa
• Elanor Starmer, USDA

Register for the webinar here.

This webinar is offered as a service to grantees of the federal government’s Sustainable Communities Initiative, NADO members, NACo members, and the broad community of individuals and organizations interested in regional food systems as a strategy for rural economic development.

For more information, contact Stephanie Osborn, sosborn@naco.org or 202.942.4235.

Through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the NADO Research Foundation and Envision Utah are two of eight teams providing capacity building and technical assistance to HUD and EPA sustainable communities award recipients.  The capacity building teams are forming networks among the grantees to exchange ideas on successful strategies, lessons learned, and emerging tools for community and economic development.

Below are links to the workshop materials, including presentations, worksheets, and grantee background information.  If you have any questions about this workshop, these materials, or NADO’s work as a capacity building team, please contact Brett Schwartz.

Workshop Background Materials

Opening Plenary:  Regional Visioning Based on Shared Values
Robert Grow, President/Chief Executive Officer, Envision Utah 

Finding and Leveraging Competitive Advantage 
Nora Johnson, Policy Fellow, US EPA Office of Sustainable Communities
Kathy Nothstine, Associate Director, NADO 

Scenarios Planning 101 and Part 2
Christie Oostema, Planning Director, Envision Utah
Jay Baker, Countywide Planner, Cache County, Utah
Lori Haddock, Economic development professional, Bear Lake County, Idaho
Mitch Poulsen, Executive Director, Bear Lake Regional Commission

Rural Poverty and Equitable Development 
Danielle Bergstrom, Program Associate, PolicyLink
Bill Vanderwall, Capacity Building Manager, Minnesota Housing Partnership

Keynote Address:  Progress and Challenges in Place-Based Rural Policies
Chuck Fluharty, President/CEO, Rural Policy Research Institute 

Best Practices in Creating Strong Regional Economic Development Strategies
Brian Kelsey, Director of Economic Development, NADO 

Implementing a Regional Plan as an Over-arching Economic Development Strategy: Focus on Implementation Strategies and Toolkit
Christie Oostema, Planning Director, Envision Utah
Dave Conine, USDA Rural Development

Additional Materials/Links 
Sonoran Institute’s About Town research and report 
California Financial Opportunities Roundtable (CalFOR) Guidebook 

In this session, Danielle Bergstrom (PolicyLink) discussed how rural and small communities are working to improve local conditions for economic inclusion by growing small businesses, coordinating infrastructure development, working with immigrant populations, partnering with local anchor institutions, and linking workforce pathways to opportunity.  Bill Vanderwall (Minnesota Housing Project) also discussed the Fair Housing Equity Assessment and Regional Analysis of Impediments.

Materials:
Rural Poverty and Equitable Development Powerpoint (PDF)

In the 101 session, participants learned about gathering baseline data, developing a public involvement plan, facilitating public open houses, and creating scenarios. In Part 2, the focus was on bringing together technical teams, stakeholders, and the media to tell a compelling story that will build buy-in to implement your plan. Topics included 1) telling compelling stories through scenarios modeling and visualizations and 2) developing long-term capacity and preparing for implementation.

Presenters included:

Christie Oostema, Planning Director, Envision Utah
Jay Baker, Countywide Planner, Cache County, Utah
Lori Haddock, Economic development professional, Bear Lake County, Idaho
Mitch Poulsen, Executive Director, Bear Lake Regional Commission

Materials:
Scenarios Planning 101 Powerpoint (PDF)
Measurements that Matter:  Modeling What Relates to Community Values and Issues (PDF)
Project Data Needs Spreadsheet (Excel)
Identifying Visioning Principles from Public Input (PDF)
Identifying Data Themes and Alternative Scenarios from Public Input (PDF) 
Envision Cache Valley Final Report and Toolkit (PDF) 
Public Workshops Facilitator Guide (PDF)
Cache Valley Place Types Handout (PDF)
Bear Lake Valley Blueprint and Toolkit (PDF) 
Bear Lake Place Types Handout (PDF)

In this session, Nora Johnson (EPA) and Kathy Nothstine (NADO) facilitated a discussion that explored how regions and communities can approach bottom-up, asset-based economic development to better identify economic drivers, promote sustainable growth patterns, and attract and retain businesses and residents.

Materials:
Finding and Leveraging Competitive Advantage Powerpoint (PDF)
Leveraging Assets Worksheet (PDF)

Grow discussed how visions should satisfy the values, hopes, and dreams of citizens, and how a successful visioning process includes identifying community values to find common ground, frame issues, communicate, and build consensus.  Visions that respond to core values can be implemented, because satisfying one’s values is the foundation of personal and collective decision making.  This presentation explained the importance of understanding values in visioning processes and explored options for smaller places and rural regions.

Materials:
Regional Visioning Based on Shared Values Powerpoint (PDF)  [Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3]
Creating a Strategy, Framing Issues for Scenarios, Using Values in Your Communication Strategy, Inviting Stakeholders Workshop (PDF) 

On November 13, 2012, the National Association of Counties (NACo) presented a webinar in partnership with NADO Research Foundation that discussed strategies to engage elected officials and other community leaders in community planning projects. This webinar featured innovative strategies from regional planning projects and a “clinic” to critique outreach materials submitted by a select number of HUD 2010/2011 sustainability grants recipients.  Speakers included Elisa Ortiz, Smart Growth America; Bethany Wilcoxon, Des Moines Area MPO (Iowa); and Carol Davis, New River Valley Planning District Commission (Virginia).

View the webinar recording here. For more information, contact Cindy Wasser at NACo at cwasser@naco.org or 202.942.4274.

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This webinar was produced by NACo, through a subcontract agreement with NADO Research Foundation. NADO Research Foundation provided overall guidance and project direction. The work that provided the basis for this webinar was supported by funding under an award with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The substance and findings of the work are dedicated to the public. The author and publisher are solely responsible for the accuracy of the statements and interpretations contained in this publication. Such interpretations do not necessarily reflect the views of the Government.

RETAIN FUNDING FOR LOCAL DEVELOPMENT AND INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS

ACTION NEEDED: Urge your members of Congress, especially those serving on the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies (T-HUD), to support the HUD Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program as part of the final FY2013 Transportation-HUD Appropriations bill.  The members of NADO support retaining CDBG formula funds as a flexible, locally driven resource that provides valuable assistance for local community and economic development initiatives, including infrastructure and job creation projects supported by the CDBG state small cities program. 

ISSUE: The HUD Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program continues to face cuts each year.  The program was reduced from $3.99 billion in FY2010 to $3.34 billion in FY2011 to $2.94 billion in FY2012. This continues a recent downward trend in CDBG funding since the program reached a high of $4.36 billion in FY2003.

On June 19, the House Appropriations Committee approved a FY2013 T-HUD appropriations measure (H.R. 5972) that would fund the CDBG program at $3.34 billion, approximately $400 million above FY2012 and level with the Administration’s FY2013 request.  During House floor debate of the T-HUD measure, an amendment offered by Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) to eliminate all funding for CDBG grants in FY2013 was soundly defeated with a 80-342 vote.

Of interest to regional development organizations, the House Appropriations Committee included report language that would examine how grantees use CDBG funds as matching dollars for other federal programs.  Specifically, the report directs HUD to detail the percentage of CDBG funds used to match other federal programs; which federal programs are being matched; the local match requirements of such federal programs; what portion of the local match requirements are being met using CDBG, by federal program; and what legal authority allows the use of CDBG as a local match, by federal program.

On April 19, the Senate Appropriations committee approved a FY2013 T-HUD appropriations measure (S. 2322) that would fund the CDBG program at $3.1 billion, approximately $150 million above FY2012 and the Administration’s FY2013 request.  It is unclear when the Senate will move the bill to the floor.

KEY TALKING POINTS:

• CDBG is an important tool used by state and local officials as they tackle their most serious community and economic development challenges, such as providing affordable housing, upgrading and building essential public infrastructure and water systems, creating small business development loan funds for local entrepreneurs and industries, and addressing local planning and technical assistance needs.
• At a time when local governments and communities are striving to overcome intensifying global economic competition, upgrade aging public infrastructure, and address the severe housing crisis, it is vital that federal policy makers continue to maintain support for the CDBG program.
• The cornerstone of the CDBG program is its locally driven, flexible, and bottom-up approach.  The program provides invaluable resources for 1,180 urban counties and cities to meet locally-identified needs.  As required by law, 30 percent of CDBG formula funding is reserved for states to assist rural communities with economic development, infrastructure improvements, and other fundamental building blocks for job creation and economic development.
• State, regional, and local officials use the CDBG program to provide valuable seed capital, gap financing, and core support for a variety of projects.  In addition, CDBG funds are typically used to leverage and attract private sector investments.  Every CDBG dollar invested in communities is leveraged, on average, by three dollars in private funding, bringing much needed business investments to distressed areas.

The following amendments were offered to the FY13 T-HUD Appropriations bill:

HUD Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program:

So far, there have been three amendments offered and voted on that pertain to the HUD CDBG program:

• McClintock Amendment to H.R. 5972, FY2013 T-HUD Bill: The amendment offered by Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) proposed to eliminate all funding for CDBG grants in FY2013.  The amendment was defeated by a 80-342 vote.
  • To view the roll call vote, click here
• Chaffetz Amendment to H.R. 5972, FY2013 T-HUD Bill: The amendment offered by Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) proposed to reduce CDBG by $396 million (reducing it to FY2012 levels).  The amendment was defeated by a 157-267 vote.
  • To view the roll call vote, click here
• Diaz-Balart Amendment to H.R. 5972, FY2013 T-HUD Bill: The amendment offered by Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) proposed to increase the proportion of CDBG funds available for public services from 15 percent to 25 percent. The amendment was withdrawn and no vote was held.

HUD HOME program:

• Flake Amendment to H.R. 5972, FY2013 T-HUD Bill: The amendment offered by Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) proposed to reduce funding for the HOME program by $200 million (reducing it to the FY2012 level).  The amendment was defeated by a 178-242 vote.
  • To view the roll call vote, click here

ESSENTIAL AIR SERVICE AMENDMENT

• McClintock Amendment to H.R. 5972, FY2013 T-HUD Bill: The amendment offered by Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) proposed to eliminate all funding ($114 million) for the Essential Air Service.  The amendment was defeated by a 164-238 vote.
  • To view the roll call vote, click here