STAKEHOLDER ANNOUNCEMENT

USDA Partners to Create Thriving, Livable Communities That Will Attract People 

and Jobs to Rural Areas and Tribal Nations 

Department Provides Funds to Help People in Socially Vulnerable Communities, Tribal 

Nations and Rural Partners Network Communities

WASHINGTON, Nov. 16, 2022 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Under 

Secretary Xochitl Torres Small today announced that USDA is awarding $4 million in cooperative agreements

to 17 organizations under the Rural Placemaking Innovation Challenge (RPIC). Placemaking is a collaborative 

planning and technical assistance process that helps leaders from rural communities create quality places where 

people will want to live, work, visit and learn. 

The assistance will help the organizations support people who have been unserved or underserved and live in 

socially vulnerable communities, Tribal communities and rural areas. 

The agreements announced today also will support people living in five communities participating in the BidenHarris Administration’s Rural Partners Network. The network is a whole-of-government effort led by USDA to 

transform the way federal agencies partner with rural places to create economic opportunity in rural America. 

The organizations will provide technical assistance to help people apply for and get access to government 

resources for projects to spur economic growth and attract jobs.

The organizations will work directly with people in rural communities to develop plans that will ensure people 

have access to high-speed internet in their homes, are able to live in affordable housing, have access to safe and 

reliable transportation to go to school and work, and more. This assistance will support the communities for up 

to two years.

For example:

• Hailstone Economic LLC will use a $250,000 cooperative agreement to create a placemaking plan to

help municipalities identify community assets that will fund projects to advance arts and culture, and 

create pedestrian and bike-friendly intersections in Columbia County, Pennsylvania.

• CHM LLC will use a $250,000 cooperative agreement to develop a strategic plan and provide technical 

assistance to analyze broadband capacity for rural residents and businesses. This plan will feature

strategies to improve local housing markets, create or enhance cultural and recreational amenities, 

strengthen workforce development, and establish peer exchange networks in Tunica, Mississippi and 

Emporia, Kansas.
• In Wisconsin, Ho-Chunk Nation will use a $249,112 cooperative agreement to develop a plan to 

enhance the Tribe’s capacity to develop a high-speed internet network. This project will help improve 

virtual education, remote job accessibility and telemedicine. 

The investments will help people in rural and Tribal communities in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Georgia, 

Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, 

Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.

For more information about the program, visit www.rd.usda.gov/rpic. To access a placemaking toolkit and 

additional resources, visit: Rural Placemaking | Rural Development (usda.gov).

To subscribe to USDA Rural Development updates, visit GovDelivery subscriber page. 

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