Contact Information

  • Contact Information
    Purdue Extension Economic & Community Development Purdue University 1201 W. State St., Rm 227 765-494-7273 877-882-7273 (toll free) 765-494-9870 (fax) [email protected]

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

« March 2008 | Main | May 2008 »

April 2008

April 23, 2008

High-Tech High School Entrepreneurship Program Video

This is the kind of program I would like to see the Purdue Extension ECD program bring to the entire state of Indiana. This was done last year in West Lafayette but it could be done just about any where there in the state where there is a technology park. How can Purdue Extension partner with the Purdue Research Park to get this done. Take a look at the video. You will be impressed. More information about the West Lafayette program is available here. Can anyone else get excited about this?

on April 23, 2008 at 05:10 PM in Entrepreneurship, K-12 | | Comments (15) | TrackBack (0)

Materials for April 25 On Local Government Program

The following are materials to support the On Local Government program with Larry DeBoer scheduled for 2-4:40 pm (EDT) on Friday, April 25, 2008. An overview of the program is available here. Included below is the PowerPoint presentation Larry will use during his talk, a handout, and an evaluation form.

Along with the multiple viewing stations across the state, the program can also be viewed online via live video streaming. To access the online version, click here at 2 pm EDT. If you are viewing online and have questions during the program, please email them to me. Larry will get to as many questions as possible. The program will also be archived for online viewing later. That URL will be provided when it is available. Here are the three supporting documents:

on April 23, 2008 at 03:32 PM in Local Government Finance | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

April 21, 2008

ECD Retreat Homework

About 35 of us will be gathered on campus in a couple of weeks for the annual ECD Retreat on May 7 and 8, 2008. In anticipation of that event, it would be helpful to review some of the work we have done in the past. These include our program area vision and mission as well as some of the strategic documents we've developed over the last few years.

If you are planning to attend this retreat, and even if you are not, please take time to review these documents. If you are coming, be prepared to discuss where we've been and where we want to go. If you are not planning to attend the retreat, feel free to use the Comments function on this blog to let us know what you think. Here are the first two pieces to consider - vision and mission. Links to other materials are below.

ECD Vision - We envision communities and neighborhoods in which people are empowered and accept responsibility for improving themselves and the communities and neighborhoods in which they reside.

ECD Mission - The Economic and Community Development Program within Purdue Extension uses educational programs and facilitation skills to engage and empower residents in their efforts to:

  • Build leadership capacity
  • Increase community vitality
  • Enhance public decision making
  • Manage public issues

Here is an additional documents to review: 2003 Mini Retreat Report and Recommendations

on April 21, 2008 at 02:38 PM | | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

April 08, 2008

Chicago's Local Food Initiatives

On March 18, 2008 I attended the 3rd Annual Chicago Food Policy Summit at the Chicago Cultural Center. For the past year I've made multiple trips to Chicago (25 miles away) for inspiration on how a large urban center is able to build stronger communities through healthy, local food initiatives. The city has a number of innovative organizations that integrate urban agriculture as a community and economic development activity. Some of these organizations work with at-risk youth or homeless adults and are teaching them gardening techniques, entrepreneurship, and increasing their self-esteem in the process.

For example, here is the working policy objectives  for the Chicago Food Policy Council.  Also the City of Chicago  Dept. of Planning  & Development is invested in  integrating community food systems in their  plan of action.  Last year they came out with a  report, "Chicago: Eat Local, Live Healthy" that looks at integrating locally grown produce and value added food products into Chicago's neighborhoods.

Overall I've been impressed with how progressive Chicago has been on this issue. Imagine if Indiana's metro areas like Gary, South Bend, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, or Evansville integrated local food systems in their plan of work. What if Purdue Extension was able to think outside of the box and support programs like urban agriculture or community gardening and provide impact to those adults and youth who are at-risk.

What if ECD programs looked at local food systems as a way of developing and supporting community entrepreneurship in our urban areas as well as rural communities. We have a great opportunity to move forward in this new and exciting area. Below are some of the Chicago organizations who are doing urban agriculture in the context of community development. Some helpful links are below. Please share your thoughts with me on this issue. Email me here.Thanks.

on April 08, 2008 at 10:56 AM in Entrepreneurship, Impact, Local/Regional Food Systems, Program Ideas, Sustainability, Urban | | Comments (8) | TrackBack (0)