The Rural People, Rural Policy (RPRP) project builds on the assets of rural communities to link together as networks to impact rural policy. The Center for Rural Health is one of only 24 local organizations involved, to date, in the program. The Center is part of the Great Plains regional network that is comprised of five organizations in Montana, Nebraska, and North Dakota, The Center is the only North Dakota participant and only health focused organization. Other Great Plains’ organizations represent a rural voice for business development, housing, legal services, migrant and New Americans, and poverty. In addition to the Great Plains, there are RPRP networks representing the Central Appalachia region (West Virginia and Appalachian counties in Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Maryland, and Virginia); Mid South (Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi); and Southwest (Arizona and New Mexico). There is also an At-Large network.
The RPRP program will grow from these regional networks into a national network working on a variety of economic and social issues that affect rural America. The process promotes a collaborative, multi-organizational approach, which takes the experience and expertise of diverse rural advocates and then builds a comprehensive voice for rural America.
RPRP is based on the assumption that it will take the original thinking, skill, expertise, and experience of a broad array of organizations, functioning within networks, to develop and impact policy that reflects the values and principles of rural America. RPRP believes that policy action is based on the following conditions:
A shared narrative and vocabulary that articulates a common, achievable vision.
A process that highlights, shares, and reinforces better learning and doing through creative and ongoing peer connections.
A deliberate effort to build networks focused on rural policy change.
A framework of inquiry that seeks to understand what drives policy, identifies leverage points to influence policy drivers, and then builds the competencies to influence the leverage points.
Special attention to those activities and messages that scale up over time and create a tipping point for change.
