# Presentation: 050223

## OCD Progress Report:  Partners in Community Development

***OCD Annual Conference 2002***
***June 11-13***
***Kissimmee, Florida***

## A Year of Progress

## Changes in the Empowerment Programs Family

**In—**
***2 Round III Empowerment Zones out of 60 applicants***
***5 new Champions, so far***
**Out—**
***2.5 ECs named as Renewal Communities***
***52 Champions at risk of dropping out, letters going to State Offices today***
***2 low-performing NCEs***

## New Regulations for EZs, ECs & CCs!

**Round II**
**Round III**
**Grant process established**
**Expanded explanations for post-designation requirements**
**Expanded definitions for boards**
**Environmental processes in place**

## New Tools for Building Boards

**Two sets of the Board Training Materials will be mailed to the State Offices this month**
**Each set includes:**
**Community Empowerment Board Training Tapes: Volumes 1-3**
**Facilitator’s Guide**
**Participant Manual**

## Training a Key Focus

**Besides this annual conference:**
***3 Cornell trainings for RD staff, community leaders, 2 more coming this year***
***“******Building a Rural Development Strategy for Improving Technical Assistance in Indian Country” – Nebraska State Office has the lead with HQ support from OCD***

## Keeping Our Programs Accountable

**OCD conducted 15 MCRs since last year**
**13 more planned for this year**
**Key findings include—**
***Field offices sometimes give insufficient attention and support to customers***
***Need to work closer with community Boards***
***Need more field staff for Community Development function***

## Research Shows Empowerment’s Benefits

**North Central Regional RD Center doing evaluation of EZ/EC**
**Interim report completed in October**
**[summary of findings]**

## We’ve Been Working on the Farm Bill

**Consulted with Congress before passage**
***Drafted language***
***Consulted with Conference Committee staff***
**Law creates Rural Strategic Investment Program (RSIP)**
***Includes many EZ/EC features***
***National Board on Rural America***
***Regional Investment Boards***
***Planning and Innovation grants***
**OCD helping plan the implementation**

## National RD Partnership

**NRDP was part of OCD for a year**
**OCD helped NRDP stay in business**
**Also helped write new law for NRDP**
**Farm Bill gives NRDP legislative foundation**
**Also removes restrictions on RD participation in State RD Councils**

## CD Staff Under Pressure

**National Office staff is 2/3 of the level of 18 months ago**
**Field staff:**
***Fewer staff***
***More uncertainty***
***Many personnel changes***
**Field Staff Restructuring Proposal Practically Ignored CD**
**OCD responded with vigorous counter-arguments**

## CD Human Assets Survey

**All States had survey respondents**
**Survey respondents = 192**
**55 different titles, 8 occupational series**
**37 staff work more than 86% on CD**
**80 work more than 55% on CD**
**Field FTE Ceiling = 5072**
**“****Full-time” CD staff (> 45%) = 96 (1.8%)**

## Survey Data for the “Full-Timers”

| GS-Grade | n |
| --- | --- |
| 7 | 3 |
| 9 | 5 |
| 11 | 20 |
| 12 | 40 |
| 13 | 28 |

| Ed-Level | n |
| --- | --- |
| High School | 4 |
| Some Coll. | 15 |
| Bachelors | 60 |
| Graduate | 28 |

**93 have more than 10 years of service**
**32 more than 25 years**

## Human CD Resources Are Precious

**63 EZ/EC/REAPs are being assisted by 82 staff with a total FTE commitment of only 17.4 FTEs**
**100 RD staff are giving TA to 190 CC & RCAP communities but only 12.1 FTEs**
**CD TA capacity has been eroded further over the past 6 months by “collateral duty” assignments**

## We’ve Been Noticed

**OCD’s MAP system received PostNewsweek Award for Innovative Technology**
**MAP featured in several articles in information industry press**
**OCD made several presentations at information industry conferences**
**MAP featured on BusinessNow television program**

## Slide 16

## Slide 17

## CD Program Elements

**RD Community Development Program**
**EZ/EC, Champions, REAP Zones**
**RCAP Communities**
**National RD Partnership/State RD Councils**
**National Centers of Excellence/Tribal Colleges**

## EZ/EC Program Particulars (06/05/02)

**57 communities in 34 states**
**Average poverty rate 36%**
**$15 million/year Round II grants**
**Designations end 2009**
**Leveraging ratio of 16.0 ($3.5 billion - $1.7 billion Federal Money**
**29,189 Jobs Created; 5,650 houses constructed or rehabilitated**

## CC Particulars (6/5/02)

**119 communities in 33 states**
**Some are benchmarking their way to success, the rest will be notified of the “error of their ways” and de-designated if documentation is not forthcoming**
**USDA preference points in funding**
**$639 million raised, $309 million Federal money**
**2,881 jobs created**

## REAP Zones Particulars

**Pilot Program**
**Designations end 2005 or 2009**
**5 communities - 2 each in ND and NY and 1 in Vermont**
**Technical Assistance**
**Priority in funding**
**Some financial assistance**

## National Centers of Excellence/ Tribal Colleges Program

**Begun in 1997, the National Centers of Excellence College/University Partnership Project (NCE) is an initiative built around one-year cooperative partnerships between eight institutions of higher education, the RD State Offices, and rural communities with USDA** **designations.**
**Goal: Develop and maintain CD projects relevant to the community**

## NCE Program Participants

**University of Texas-Pan American, Texas**
**Somerset Community College, Kentucky**
**Heritage College, Washington**
**Cankdeska Cikana Community College, North Dakota**
**Crownpoint Institute of Technology, New Mexico**
**Fort Peck Community College, Montana**
**San Diego State University-Imperial Valley, California**
**California State University, Fresno**
**$20,000 each for FY 02**

## NCE Particulars

**Developed 177 Partnerships (state, federal, local, other Universities, non-profits, small business development centers)**
**Trained over 20,000 persons in grant writing, leadership training, business development and GIS Seminars**
**Leveraged over $13 Million **
**Outreach in the form of videos, newsletters, workshops, sponsored events, television programs, and newspaper articles**

## NCE-Developed Tools Available

**Leadership training modules**
**Strategic planning modules**
**Business Basics Seminars and Curriculum**
**Computer Training Curriculum**
**Fact sheets on regional development efforts**
**Job assessment Tools**

## International Interest in OCD

**Australia**
**Baltic nations**
**Belgium**
**Bosnia**
**Brazil**
**Canada**
**China**
**Germany**
**Ghana**

**Hungary**
**Israel**
**Japan**
**Mexico**
**Moldova**
**New Zealand**
**Poland**
**Russia**
**Taiwan**
**Udmurt Republic**

_**In-Person Visits over the past 12 months**_

**Over 4000**
**International**
**Visitors from**
**37 countries**
**have visited the**
**EZ/EC website**

## Over the Next Year

***What’s coming in our futures***

## For RD Staff

**Improved capabilities using a better MAP system**
**TAIS -- Technical Assistance Information System will be tested so you can count your technical assistance widgets**

## For Communities

**More TechNotes in the works**
***Tourism***
***Grants Management***
***Rural Healthcare***
***CD in Indian Country***
***Business Development Strategies***
***Project Implementation***
**BMS enhancements (as usual)**
**Free-standing BMS**
**More Tools from OCD and NCEs**

## Community Tourism Project

**Goal:  Compile and catalog all tourism-related attractions and events from all of the EZ/EC/CC/REAP communities**
***Call letter to communities in two weeks***
**Looking for Recreational, Cultural, Historical, Ecological, Agricultural, and Alternative Tourism Opportunities**
**Products:**
***Web site***
***Guidebook***
***Loop Tours***
***Theme Tours***

## New OCD Website

## From This:

## To This:

**New look!**
**More frequent updates**
**Easier to find key features**
**Search capability**
**RD seal of approval**

## To This:

## The Free Standing BMS

***A New Tool for ALL Rural Communties!***

## Free-Standing BMS

**PC–based BMS functionality on a CD-ROM (“Tastes Great – Less Filling”)**
**Available for all rural customers**
**Same great reporting capabilities**
**Same great accountability features**
**Same great strategic plan information management functions**

## Free-Standing BMS (Screen shot 1)

## Free-Standing BMS (Screen shot 2)

## Thank you.  We are your Office of Community Development

**For Everyone:**
***www.rurdev.usda.gov/ocd***
***www.ezec.gov***

**For RD Staff:**
***ocdi.usda.gov***
***rddata.usda.gov***