Terry Brunner

ALBUQUERQUE – USDA Rural Development State Director Terry Brunner and Dr. Michael Patrick, of New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension Service have announced the Stronger Economies Together (SET) program is seeking applications from rural communities wanting to strengthen existing regional development efforts.

Dr. Michael Patrick

Today’s announcement is the sixth SET initiative as part of the Department’s efforts to strengthen rural economies by providing training and technical assistance.

The program will help interested communities work together to develop and implement a regional economic development strategy or plan. The SET program project is a collaborative initiative between New Mexico State University (NMSU) and USDA Rural Development. Already two organizations in the Southwest and Northeast areas of New Mexico have received assistance through the program.

In making the announcement Brunner said, “We’ve seen the past SET projects working together to develop a plan to solve common economic development issues. We believe this type of collaboration will help rural communities develop a good plan to meet the economic challenges facing our state and our country.” 

Dr. Patrick of NMSU added, “The SET program provides New Mexico’s rural counties and communities with a unique opportunity to grow their economies through regional partnerships.”

By becoming a SET region the communities will receive the following support:

• Twenty-hours of valuable training on the SET program and guidance on ways to strengthen and enhance regional economic development activities.
• Key data tailored to each region will be provided to help the regional team examine the critical drive of its economy and emerging economic sectors that may determine if that particular region might hold a comparative edge in the domestic and/or the international marketplace.
• Tools that can help uncover the variety of assets and resources that exists in that region that can contribute to the region’s economic activities.
• Technical assistance and educational support from NMSU Extension educators, RD staff, and appropriate Regional Rural Development Centers for the one-year period of the project.
• Webinars with the other selected regions in the U.S., thus enabling the sharing of information and gathering of ideas from other rural communities across the country.

To apply for SET Six please write to rd.comments@nm.usda.gov and make a request for an application.  Applications are due electronically no later than April 13, 2016 (by 11:59 pm Mountain Daylight Time). Site visits will be scheduled with the strongest applicants by the end of April. Final decisions on the SET Six region will be announced later this summer. 

All applications will be carefully reviewed by the SET State Partner Team. The team is composed of representatives of the New Mexico USDA RD, NMSU Cooperative Extension Service, and other key economic development organizations or agencies in the state. National USDA RD office and Regional Rural Development Center personnel will also provide input.

Direct questions about the application process, to any one of the following individuals:

• Terry McDermott, USDA-RD Community Development Coordinator at: Terrence.mcdermott@nm.usda.gov
• Michael Patrick, Community Resource and Economic Development Specialist, New Mexico Cooperative Extension Service at jmpat@nmsu.edu

President Obama’s plan for rural America has brought about historic investment and resulted in stronger rural communities. Under the President’s leadership, these investments in housing, community facilities, businesses and infrastructure have empowered rural America to continue leading the way – strengthening America’s economy, small towns and rural communities. USDA’s investments in rural communities support the rural way of life that stands as the backbone of our American values.