by:
Michal Smith-Mello
In spite of its enduring appeal, rural Kentucky is home to disturbing and seemingly intractable inequities--persistent joblessness, poverty, depressed incomes, lagging educational achievement. Moreover, the promise of a better future is being undermined by the enduring legacy of poverty and the continual loss of better-educated young people who migrate to urban communities in search of opportunity.
It is evident that the poverty or prosperity of any part of Kentucky--rural or urban--influences the state's overall well-being. It is therefore difficult, if not impossible, to conceive of a strategy for greater economic and social well-being that does not recognize and systematically address the development of rural Kentucky. Reversing the decline many of our rural communities have experienced demands that we connect with the global community and enhance the capacity of communities to negotiate this demanding new international environment. Ultimately, change in the larger, global context will either propel improved circumstances throughout rural Kentucky in the 21st Century or ensure its continued marginalization.
Few individuals or communities around the world will remain insulated from the remarkable, unprecedented structural change which is presently underway. Our ability to leverage positive outcomes for rural Kentucky will depend in no small part on how successfully we negotiate the dynamic economic and social changes ahead, and on our capacity to compete and prosper.
Contemporary rural Kentucky is characterized by demographic flux, economic realignment, and persistent disparities that complicate and frustrate the pursuit of prosperity. During the early 1990s, rural counties throughout Kentucky have experienced modest but unexpected population gains. Today, a slight majority (51 percent) of Kentuckians live in what are defined as rural counties, according to population estimates for 1994.
While national analysts attribute much of the rural population growth of the early 1990s to retirees and commuters to suburban areas, a rural revival may be underway (Johnson & Beale, 1995). On the other hand, flight from urban areas, propelled by job displacement, may be the impetus for rural population growth. Population growth, however, does not necessarily correlate with economic growth. In any event, whether the present blush of growth will be sustained depends on our ability to adapt to the larger context of change and seize the opportunities it yields.
Already, the perceived mainstays of Kentucky's rural economy have changed. The coal industry's historically prominent role has diminished dramatically. Likewise, few Kentucky counties now fully depend on farming to sustain their economies. Instead, manufacturing and, to a lesser extent, services are playing more prominent roles in rural economies. Still, rural Kentucky is home to many low-skill, low-wage industries that usually provide poor training grounds for the for the high skills demands of our emerging economy.
While per capita income has risen statewide, it continues to trail the national average by a wide margin and significant disparities exist between rural and urban economic circumstances. The challenge before rural communities is to sustain income growth in an era that will place new and more exacting demands on individuals, enterprises and communities.
The hopeful and, at the same time, discomforting reality before rural people and places throughout Kentucky is the certainty of structural economic and social change that is well underway. In the years to come, it will only accelerate. Few members of the world community will remain insulated from its impact, no matter where they live. Globalization, technological advancement and the resultant social shifts compel rural communities to develop a future-oriented outlook and forge new traditions that will enable them to navigate what lies ahead. Stronger, more resilient rural economies that are better able to preserve and protect desirable rural qualities will be required.
Perhaps the most far-reaching transformation in terms of its impact on individuals, enterprises, and institutions is the globalization of our economy, an economic realignment that has forever altered the way we work and conduct business. While it is expected to create myriad opportunities, globalization could have a devastating impact on rural communities as the low-skills, low-wage industries traditionally attracted to and based in rural areas are ill-prepared for the competitive challenge that lies on the immediate horizon.
The demand for high skills is rising exponentially with the advance of information technology, which is redefining work and work lives. While technology has displaced workers, it is also liberating workers to contribute at much higher levels and, increasingly, from remote locations, a trend that could bode well for rural communities. The combination of rising external pressures created by global competition and new internal demands for higher skills have compelled significant organizational change throughout the private sector. Gradually, organizational change is unleashing previously untapped contributions, streamlining processes, and reshaping our fundamental understanding of how to achieve goals.
As the larger context undergoes dramatic change, our understanding of what constitutes and accelerates development is evolving. The demands of a competitive international economy are redefining the requirements for successful development initiatives, and the adaptive experiences of the private sector have illuminated our understanding of how to achieve organizational goals. Participative democracy, we are learning, is the underlying strength that has enabled some workplaces to become more productive and some communities and regions to prosper. At the same time, citizen expectations of government are rising. Increasingly, government is expected to do more with less, to deliver higher quality service at a lower cost. Consequently, nurturing civic engagement and cultivating local capabilities to build from within may offer the optimum strategy for rural development.
Beyond Quantitative Development.
The long-held emphasis on quantity--jobs and investment--is gradually being displaced by a demand for quality--measurable returns to communities and people. In response, states have begun to adopt more entrepreneurial, "supply- side" policies that emphasize "local resources as a basis for growth," rather than competition with other states for mobile jobs (Eisinger, 1988). In the new context, development efforts can no longer be judged solely on the number of jobs created. Instead, the quality of jobs, the overall economic and social benefits they yield for workers and communities, is rapidly becoming the measure of development success.While little can be gained from a unilateral withdrawal from interstate competition for industrial locations, development from within offers a path that research suggests will yield preferred outcomes over the long-term. Consequently, industrial recruitment efforts and particularly the utilization of tax incentives must be used strategically to advance larger economic development goals aimed at raising income and productivity. Through initiatives designed to enhance the capacity or capabilities of individuals, enterprises, institutions and communities, government can help leverage more positive outcomes for rural communities than those realized in the pursuit of mobile industries.
Building the Capacity of Rural People and Places.
In response to a rapidly changing global context and an expanding base of knowledge, development theory and practice are gradually returning to the restorative powers of broad civic engagement in building the capacity of local communities. Because economic development is essentially a "self-help" exercise (Lear, 1994), cultivating local capacity is increasingly regarded as the most important work that government can undertake in the name of development. In response, state and local governments are shifting away from a professional, command-and-control model to one that facilitates, supports and nurtures civic engagement in community building.Capacity building initiatives are designed to bring a wider, often non-traditional group of players into the work of development. That work, consensus suggests, should include, among other things, assessing the current situation, planning for desired outcomes over the long-term, nurturing leadership and forging collaborative relationships that strengthen capabilities. The optimum outcome is expanded levels of civic engagement and enhanced rural capabilities to solve problems and achieve goals. Research suggests that this approach to development is most likely to produce sustained, long-term benefits. Capacity building is also a means to doing more with less, to closing resource gaps that have traditionally inhibited the development of rural communities.
A Long-Term Perspective.
One of the hallmarks of successful rural development initiatives is a long-term perspective on development that recognizes the need to persevere and to plan for the future. The process, one that is collaborative and participative, becomes, over time, more important than its more immediate short-term products. Research, particularly the work of Harvard Professor Robert Putnam, suggests that sustained collaboration and civic engagement yield wealth and good government.Regional Approaches.
Research supports the strength-in-numbers approach to development, suggesting that collaborative efforts that engage regions, communities, industries or groups in the pursuit of consensus goals are model organizational structures. Through collaboration, communities can enhance their internal capabilities and increase their external leverage. While politics often frustrates the ability of rural communities to achieve collaboration, the potential benefits are sufficient to warrant state government's active support and encouragement of such efforts.Leadership Development.
The cultivation of a broad base of leadership through formal project specific training and process training that helps sustain engagement and expand participation. Open democratic processes that invite and enable participation in problem solving is reinforced through process leadership training, which cultivates the skills needed to maintain and expand engagement. Leadership helps close resource gaps and strengthen the capabilities of communities to achieve goals.Community Assessment.
Many rural development activists and researchers observe that a solid, data-based analysis of community strengths, weaknesses, and relative position in the larger context, is an essential foundation for development. On this foundation, priority goals and a plan of action can be built, lending critical focus to the work of development. Communities that proceed with development strategies in the absence of such critical knowledge, experts conclude, are blindly groping for answers.Investments That Pay Dividends.
National survey results show that local development initiatives are generating positive, tangible benefits to communities, but they are often constrained by a lack of resources. Indeed, the lack of capital is most frequently cited as the greatest hindrance to the effort, one that underscores the importance of government's role in advancing rural development.The enduring legacies of rural poverty, inadequate infrastructure, low educational achievement and joblessness are reason enough to dramatically alter our approach to development in Kentucky. Now we face another set of forces that are certain to touch each of our lives, regardless of where we live. Globalization, technological advancement and organizational change are restructuring the world in which we live. They also must profoundly influence the way we conduct development.
While it is impossible to predict what Kentucky or, for that matter, the rest of the world will look like in the years to come, many people have closely examined our current circumstances and offered good ideas about how to enrich the possibilities before us. Rather than add yet another list of "things to do" to our public agenda, our report concludes by revisiting the important groundwork that has already been laid, groundwork which echoes the major themes of this report:
From the groundbreaking work of the Kentucky Tomorrow Commission in the mid-1980s to the recommendations of Project 21, a private sector initiative led by the State Chamber of Commerce, there is remarkable consensus on the importance of engaging in the world economy and rejecting isolationist policies. Likewise, a number of thoughtful pursuits of improved public policy, including the 1994-95 Governor's Commission on Appalachia and the Economic Development Cabinet's strategic plan, recognize and recommend focusing state government resources and effort at the local level--from where the energy that propels development must emanate.
Finally, state government, like the private sector, must adapt to the new global environment and become a high-performance organization. The processes of structural realignment and organizational change compel states to develop new capacities, new "relationships, values and methods," and new approaches to both formulating and implementing policy (Fosler, 1992). The many steps state government must take toward achieving optimum outcomes for the citizens and communities of Kentucky include cultivating a "culture of performance" (Fosler), developing critical "institutional intelligence" (Fosler), leveraging expanded capacity by encouraging and supporting collaboration, and engaging citizens and groups in the work of building prosperity throughout the Commonwealth.
In conclusion, we believe Kentuckians are singing from the same song book. It is time to breathe life into their plans and recommendations, their hopes and dreams for the future of this state.
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