The CRDC Report on Rural Colorado
The Colorado Rural Development Council is the Voice of Rural Colorado! For the first time, a consistent message about rural Colorado’s health and vitality, and its importance to the whole state’s economy, can be measured and recognized.
The CRDC Report on Rural Colorado is available for download:
CRDC is one of 3 Federally Recognized State Rural Development Councils (SRDC’s) that belong to the National Rural Development Partnership, created by Executive Order by President George H.W. Bush in 1990. CRDC operates on the premise that most of Colorado is rural, but all of Colorado is affected by rural issues. Rural Colorado’s health and economic vitality is integral to the health of our entire state.
Here is the complete 116 pg Full Color Document (3.2 Mb PDF file)
The Colorado Rural Development Council, in a partnership with the Colorado Workforce Consortium has developed the first ever “Annual Report” on the Status of Rural Colorado. This report demonstrates the aggregate impact of the economy and workforce of rural Colorado on the state as a whole and will illustrate indicators of economic, workforce, social and environmental health. We are working with our partners to develop real solutions to Colorado’s rural economic and workforce issues as well as rural/urban conflicts.
CRDC completed eight (8) statewide focus groups/strategy sessions to engage business and community leaders in substantive discussions relating to the changing rural dynamics, challenges and opportunities for rural growth and sustainability; Locations include eight of the Rural Workforce Consortium regions: Northwest, Southwest, West Central, San Luis Valley, Central Mountains, Northern Mountains, Southeast, and Northeast. Locations are listed below.
CRDC has clearly identified at a grass roots level, the key issues relating to workforce, training, housing and other related areas and illustrate the interdependence of Colorado’s urban and rural economies.
Thank you to everybody who was involved in the sessions. The discussions were filled with valuable information that will be helpful in the creation of this document. We are currently assembling regional review committees and a statewide advisory committee.
The results will be available for distribution and presentation to key organizations throughout the state. This will also be made to State Agencies and Legislators as a valuable source of information on the importance of the economy of rural Colorado to the entire state’s economy.
Additionally, we will work to develop Strategies to respond to issues identified in the report from the focus groups with potential solutions and implementation planning.
The process for developing the 2008 Annual Report on the Status of Rural Colorado has been a highly collaborative state-wide effort with significant local and regional focus.
We hope that you enjoy and find value in this report, and we are certainly eager to hear your feedback about it!