Rural Gateway Peer-To-Peer Conference Call
U.S. Department of Agriculture-Rural Development’s Strategic Economic
and Community Development (SECD) Funding Opportunity:
A Discussion of Best Practices
Date: March 10, 2016
Time: 2:00 p.m. EST
The Office of Rural Housing and Economic Development (ORHED) invites you to take part in our next Peer-to-Peer conference call. Scheduled for March 10, 2016, this call will offer participants the opportunity to learn about available activities through the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Rural Development (USDA-RD).
The U.S. Department of Agriculture-Rural Development’s mission is to help improve the economy and quality of life in rural America. Through their programs, USDA-RD helps rural Americans in many ways. They offer loans, grants and loan guarantees to support essential services such as housing, economic development, health care, first responder services and equipment, and water, electric and communications infrastructure. USDA-RD promotes economic development by supporting loans to businesses through banks, credit unions and community-managed lending pools. They offer technical assistance and information to help agricultural producers and cooperatives get started and improve the effectiveness of their operations. USDA-RD provides technical assistance to help communities undertake community empowerment programs and help rural residents buy or rent safe, affordable housing and make health and safety repairs to their homes.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture-Rural Development currently has a funding and technical assistance opportunity called the Section 6025 of the 2014 Farm Bill which enables the Secretary of Agriculture to provide priority to projects that support strategic economic and community development plans. The result of that is a provision called Strategic Economic and Community Development (SECD). The purpose of SECD is to advance projects which support long-term community and economic growth strategies that reflect both multi-jurisdictional stakeholder collaboration and capitalize upon the unique strengths of the rural area. Through this provision, USDA Rural Development is empowered to work further with rural communities to align resources with long-range and multi-jurisdictional challenges and needs by leveraging federal, state, local, or private funding. The goal of SECD is to create a regional focus and increase collaboration across Rural Development agencies and programs, and as a result USDA resources can have a larger impact, enabling greater wealth creation, and quality of life improvements.
Leaders of the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Rural Development (USDA-RD) will share their knowledge of successfully implementing activities that have expanded and created opportunities for those living in rural communities. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions about best practices and establish contacts for future reference.
Join HUD’s Office of Rural Housing and Economic Development (ORHED) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture-RD staff as we engage rural community leaders in this open forum on opportunities available through USDA. Speakers will include:
- Valerie G. Piper, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Development, Community Planning and Development, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development;
- Jackie L. Williams, Ph.D., Moderator, Director, Office of Rural Housing and Economic Development, Community Planning and Development, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development;
- Farah Ahmad, Facilitator, Program Manager, Strategic Economic and Community Development, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-Rural Development
- Hiwot Gebremariam, Program Manager, Stronger Economies Together, U.S. Department of Agriculture-Rural Development
- David Lipsetz, Associate Administrator, Rural Housing Service, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-Rural Development
Topics to be discussed
- Funding and technical assistance opportunities at the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Rural Development
- Public and Private sources of funding to carry out projects
- Best practices and lessons-learned
Format of the call
Call-in instructions and additional materials will be emailed to participants on March 9, 2016. The 60 minute call will include presentations and a Q&A session.
Please RSVP by email to rhed@hud.gov no later than close of business on March 8, 2016. Please include your name and organization.
If you have any questions, please call 1-877-RURAL-26 (1-877-787-2526).
