Rural Policy Forum: Identifying Issues

Identifying Issues:

The Rural Policy Forum process is intended to significantly advance the conversation, in the United States and worldwide, regarding rural policy. Another objective of the process is to generate a grass roots consensus on the key issues facing rural America, providing practitioners, researchers and policy makers with a road map of issues and priorities and offering political support for a position of reform.

Minnesota Rural Partners meets with event organizers to identify issues and frame strategic questions designed to encourage new ways of thinking about rural issues and policy. Once formulated, a small number of questions (6-8) are integrated into a web-based format that provides a user-friendly interface for initiating outreach via online discussion.

Commonly discussed questions may include:

How important are our rural communities? Why invest in rural America and in rural [state name]?
How are our public policies keeping pace with the changing rural economies? If not, why?
What are the service gaps and barriers to creating and/or sustaining vital, rural communities?
What policies and projects have worked in your rural community?
What resources and tools are needed to maintain and revitalize the quality of life in our rural communities?
What do you think is the most effective use of the public funds in rural [state name]?
What are the issues that a national and/or state rural policy framework should/could address?
What would be the societal benefits of successful rural public policy?