DEVELOPING COLLABORATION IN RURAL POLICY: LESSONS FROM A STATE RURAL DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL



IRDC as a player in the process who can make things happen. The
Council is careful not to portray or operate this as a grant program,
but to use its discretion where an action is strategic to our mission.

This notion of pump-priming works well for community-based col-
laborations, too. Small, flexible grants to help accomplish community
priorities serve as an incentive to community groups far out of pro-
portion to the size of the grant. This has been the case in Idaho with
$10,000 Gem Community Action Grants offered as a reward for com-
munity certification. Thirty-six grants totaling $353,000 led to com-
pleted projects valued at $2.6 million. Small U.S. Forest Service
rural development grants and even smaller Resource Conservation
& Development area (RC&D) discretionary seed money have simi-
larly generated a lot of enthusiasm and achievements in rural Idaho.

Lesson 9. Drawbacks are Time Demands and Measurable
Outcomes

The only criticisms we have encountered to the collaborative ap-
proach are that each activity involves substantial commitments of
time by diverse members before success becomes apparent. Some
of this time is later saved in not having to sell a plan of action or co-
erce others into contributing to it. Implementation tends to flow
easily because all members see their roles and voluntarily do their
tasks. Yet the cumulative time demands of working together on
many issues takes its toll on agency staffs who shoehorn these proj-
ects into their workload.

The lack of quantifiable outcomes has several roots. Many IRDC
accomplishments can be found in the process: information was
shared more broadly; diverse parties were involved; customers
were consulted. Additionally, many IRDC projects empower others
with information to act, but leave the responsibility to act and
change with the individual. Another significant issue is that horizon-
tal networks have no central (and limiting) hub that can monitor all
resulting actions. For instance, an IRDC survey found that one- third
of members had been in partnership projects that were initiated
through the IRDC, but not done as an IRDC project. This is to be en-
couraged. Decentralized networks are empowering and efficient,
yet they frustrate funders who demand accountability. Perhaps the
best measure of success is the satisfaction level of the members of
the collaboration, which is why we conduct a membership survey.

Lesson 10. The Opportunities for Collaboration Are Numerous.

The farther we advance on the learning curve, the more we real-
ize there is to learn, and the more we find possible to achieve for
rural Idaho through collaboration. An arts representative and a
health expert share a drive across the desert and return with an idea
to use theatre to teach youth about health risks. The director of agri-

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