Indiana Rural Recreation Development Project

Community Development

Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs (IOCRA) is a state government agency that serves Indiana's rural communities through technical, financial and personal assistance.

Southern Indiana Rural Development Project (SIRDP) is an action-oriented, not-for profit organization dedicated to raising the quality of life in Southern Indiana through community and economic development. 

Indiana Rural Development Council (IRDC) is a partnership of local, state, federal, profit and not-for-profit stakeholders that serve Indiana communities. The IRDC's purpose is to coordinate efforts of citizens and governments to meet the economic and social needs of rural Indiana.

Purdue University - Center for Rural Development was established to: 1) bring University resources together to assist public and private sectors as they work toward solving rural development problems; 2) provide a broad range of educational programs which contribute to the development of Indiana's human and physical capital; 3) coordinate and support research that improves our understanding of economic and community development issues, problems and opportunities; and, 4) provide issue-relevant information to individuals and groups interested in rural development.

Community Development Society (CDS)  is a professional association for community development practitioners and citizen leaders around the world.

North Central Regional Center for Rural Development (NCRCRD) is located at Michigan State University and is one of four regional centers coordinating rural development research and education throughout the United States. It is supported by land-grant universities of the North Central region, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and grants and contracts from private foundations. NCRCRD strives to initiate and facilitate rural development research and education programs to improve the social and economic well-being of rural people in the region. The NCRCRD also provides leadership in rural development regionally and nationally by identifying, developing and supporting programs on the vanguard of emerging issues.

Rural Assistance Center (RAC) is a national resource on rural health and human services information. Information specialists are available to provide customized assistance, such as web and database searches on rural topics and funding resources, linking users to organizations, and furnishing relevant publications from the RAC resource library.

Rural LISC  is a national community-building organization that provides grants, loans, and equity investments to community development corporations (CDCs) for neighborhood redevelopment.  This web site can be used to register for Rural LISC newsletter "Network of Rural Community Developers."

Stevenson Center for Community and Economic Development strives to fulfill Illinois State University's obligation to engage in public service and community and economic development activities.

The Community Development Toolbox  is provided by the University of Illinois Extension's Community and Economic Development Lab and offers online decision support tools to help community leaders with assessments and evaluations of local community and economic development initiatives.  The toolbox features  user driven community development tools to help local leaders: conduct community surveys; benchmark progress on community development initiatives; assess local telecommunications infrastructure; determine their readiness for eGovernment; and work through the 7-steps of strategic planning for local community development.

USDA-Rural Development  is committed to helping improve the economy and quality of life in all of rural America. This organization promotes economic development and provides technical assistance to help communities undertake community empowerment programs.

Southern Indiana Development Commission is a voluntary organization of local government serving Daviess, Greene, Knox, Lawrence and Martin Counties to provide assistance with community and economic development. SIDC utilizes multi-faceted resources, opportunities and skill to strengthen and improve the quality of life in the area.