culture sees a way to use insects to control noxious weeds and create
jobs for Native Americans at the same time. Conservation interests,
regulators and farmers explore ways to coordinate farm plans. Util-
ities and a city association organize workshops on telecommunica-
tion.
The Idaho Rural Development Council may be a good example of
the collaborative model at the state level. We strive to build top-
down support for bottoms-up initiatives. However, there are hun-
dreds more community- based groups in rural America grappling
with their futures. Most are nonprofits or ad hoc groups like commu-
nity development corporations, forest service action teams,
grassroots sustainable development groups, groups concerned with
the provision of health care, groups of environmentalists and land
users working out resource management issues.
The more we work together, the more traditional turf lines fade.
Connections between issues become apparent. The number of po-
tential partners on any project multiplies. Problems are redefined
and new solutions emerge. Collaboration is not easy, but building a
sense of community to work together may be the best way to make
progress for rural Americans in a fragmented, complex, and often
paralyzed, world. I encourage each of you to get involved and begin
to learn collaboration by doing it.
REFERENCES
Chynoweth, Judith K. A Guide to Community-Based, Collaborative Strategic Planning. Washington, DC: Council
of Governors' Policy Advisors, 1994.
Flora, Cornelia Butler, and Jan Flora. “Entrepreneurial Social Infrastructure: A Necessary Ingredient” Annals-
AAPSS 529(1993):48-58.
Gardner, Richard L., Galen Schuler, and Andrew Brunelle. “Rural Development in Idaho: Doing Something for
Nothing.” Invited paper presented at the Western Agricultural Economics Association Annual Meeting, Coeur
d’Alene, Idaho, July, 1992.
Idaho Department of Commerce. Final Report: Idaho’s Gem Community Action Grant Program. Boise, ID, 1993,
p.4.
Idaho Rural Development Council. Minutes from Board of Directors Retreat, Donnelly. Idaho, August 16-17, 1994.
Putnam, Robert D. “The Prosperous Community: Social Capital and Public Life.” The American Prospect, No. 13,
Spring, 1993, pp. 35-42.
Traynor, Bill. “Community Development and Community Organizing.” Pacific Mountain Network News. Sacra-
mento, CA: Rural Community Assistance Corporation, Apr. 1994, pp.8-11.
U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Power of Collaborative Planning: Report of the National Workshop. Wash-
ington, DC: For. Serv. Pub. 553, Sept. 1993.
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