New Governance for a New Rural Economy: Reinventing Public and Private Institutions

A growing chorus of rural leaders agrees that new opportunities
are on the horizon for rural America. Economic
consolidation and outmigration need not be rural America’s
future. The question most rural regions now face is this: How
to claim the new opportunities?

At root, this question is all about
governance—how regions make economic decisions quickly and
effectively. Simply put, regional governance is about how public
and private leaders work together to build new economic
engines that can compete in globalizing markets.

More than 150 rural policy experts and leaders gathered in
Kansas City in May to discuss new approaches to regional governance
at the fifth annual rural policy conference hosted by the
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s Center for the Study of
Rural America.

For the full report including case studies: http://www.kansascityfed.org/ruralcenter/mainstreet/mainstmain.htm