The Global Rural Network Project: Other Countries Involved

Friday, July 23, 2010

Other Countries Involved

There are individuals and organizations across the global participating in the initial development of the network. They are:

Nigeria	Obinna Okeke, President of the African Chamber of Commerce located in Charleston, SC, has made contact with associates in Lagos to identify one or more rural areas to be involved with the GRNP
Canada	Ruben Nelson, President of Foresight Canada, will involve a rural area that is a part of his network. In addition, Jan Wright, an economic developer in a rural area of Nelson, Alberta, plans to be involved. Mike Stolte, Director of a Rural Commission in Alberta will be involved.
Australia	Paul Wildman, creator of the idea of Bush Mechanics, will have a rural area near Brisbane involved.
Scotland	Bill Whiland, involved in community development throughout Scotland, and Fiona Howard who publishes periodicals in Scotland that relate to rural areas have agreed to connect a Highland rural area with the GRNP
India	Manish Jain, Harvard educated, internationally known educator for rural areas who focuses on helping individuals and groups unlearn what traditional education has created as fixed ideas of how the world works, will be the contact in Udaipour, India

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The Overall Concept of GRNP

The idea for a Global Rural Network has evolved as a result of a dialogue that began almost a decade ago in 1999 between several individuals: Rick Smyre, a noted futurist who specializes in the emerging field of community transformation; Robin Pulver, past Vice President of the NC Rural Center and architect of the NC Step program that is connected to the Global Rural Network; and Phil Sharre, Director of Community Development for the Tennessee Valley Authority. The goal of the GRN is to develop an international network of interested rural individuals and organizations who would

Share ideas with each other
Be involved in research and development projects to help prepare rural areas for a constantly changing
Develop a community culture that will support continuous innovation.

There are three objectives of the GRN:

Develop core groups of rural leaders who are coached in the new leadership concepts and methods that relate to community transformation:
Establish multiple parallel capacity building processes (e.g. broadband infrastructures, 21st century neighborhood networks, Transformational Learning, etc ) that support the ability of a local rural area to transform itself in ways that are aligned with a constantly changing society; and
Create interlocking networks at all levels ( intra and intercommunity; intra and interstate; and international ) to design and implement research and development projects that develop capacities for rural transformation.

Global Rural Net

As a parallel effort to the NC Step Project sponsered by the North Carolina Rural Center in Raleigh, NC a collaboration was established with the Center for Communities of the Future (COTF) to develop the Global Rural Network (GRN), a network of rural leaders in all fifty states and ten other countries interested in preparing their communities for a different kind of future that is constantly changing. Communities of the Future is a network of individuals and organizations in forty-six states and six other countries who are involved with helping to develop new ideas and methods for the emerging field of community transformation. The Center for Communities of the Future is located in Gastonia, NC and is responsible for recruiting people and organizations interested in identifiying new trends and weak signals and collaborating to develop community research and develp transformational projects. During 2008, individuals and organizations in eighteen states and four other countries were recruited. By the end of 2009, it is expected that connections in twenty additional rural areas in the U.S. and three other countries will be made. By the end of 2010, the intent is that the GRN network will include representatives from all fifty states and ten countries.

NC Step/NC Rural Center

In 2006, the NC Rural Center announced a major state effort to help prepare local rural areas in different parts of the state for a different kind of future. To support this effort, the NC Legislature provided $10.5 million dollars over three years. Known as the NC Step project, the NC Rural Center sent out an RFP (request for proposal) throughout the state to key organizations in communities under 10,000 in population. Eighty communities responded to become part of the project. Twenty communities were selected to be aligned with individual coaches who are working to develop basic leadership and economic development skills with these rural areas.

Beginning in June ’07, one “community innovator” was selected within each community to begin work with Rick Smyre to establish and develop a state network of “master capacity builders” (transformative leaders) for each of the selected rural areas. “Master Capacity Builders” is a new type of leader who are able to: identify “weak signals,” see connections among disparate ideas, build parallel processes to support systemic change and build capacities for transformation for the longer term.