Wealth Creation in Rural Communities seeks to improve rural livelihoods with a systems approach to development that creates multiple forms of wealth that are owned and controlled locally.
The wealth creation approaches comes to life as development organizations research and then construct wealth creation value chains that connect market demand outside poor rural areas with the resources in those areas in a non-exploitative, market driven, set of relationships that is a value chain. The wealth creation approach uses a framework that includes seven forms of wealth as a tool for design and evaluation.
Underway since 2008, this initiative, for which Yellow Wood Associates is both managing grantee and thought leader, has produced a range of publications relevant to creating and maintaining multiple forms of wealth in poor rural areas, including a series of annual interim reports that chronicle our progress and lessons learned. Those publications are archived below. Additional information on Wealth Creation in Rural Communities, including brief case studies of the work on the ground, is available at www.creatingruralwealth.org. We welcome your feedback!
Overview Papers |
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A New Way Forward for Rural America
Wealth Creation Working Group, September 2009
In a changing global environment, the potential contributions of rural America are significant. Rural leaders need new ways of thinking about economic development. This brief introductory paper outlines seven guiding principles for a wealth creation approach to rural development. |
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Formulating a Sustainable Economic Development Process for Rural America
Interim Report
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc., February 2009
A balanced approach to development takes account of the triple bottom line, benefiting the economy, the environment, and social inclusion simultaneously. This Interim Report on the progress of the project assesses lessons learned so far. |
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Formulating a Sustainable Economic Development Process for Rural America
Second Interim Report
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc., June 2010
A balanced approach to development takes account of the triple bottom line, benefiting the economy, the environment, and social inclusion simultaneously, while considering the impacts on seven forms of wealth (individual, social, intellectual, natural, built, financial and political). This Second Interim Report on the progress of the project assesses lessons learned in the second year of this work. |
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Formulating a Sustainable Economic Development Process for Rural America
Third Interim Report
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. and the Wealth Creation Management Team, June 2011
A balanced approach to development takes account of the triple bottom line, benefiting the economy, the environment, and social inclusion simultaneously, while considering the impacts on seven forms of wealth (individual, social, intellectual, natural, built, financial and political). This Third Interim Report on the progress of the project assesses lessons learned in the third year of this work. |
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Formulating a Sustainable Economic Development Process for Rural America
Fourth Interim Report
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. and the Wealth Creation Management Team, June 2012
A balanced approach to development takes account of the triple bottom line, benefiting the economy, the environment, and social inclusion simultaneously, while considering the impacts on seven forms of wealth (individual, social, intellectual, natural, built, financial and political). This Fourth Interim Report on the progress of the project assesses lessons learned in the fourth year of this work. |
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Keeping Wealth Local: Shared Ownership and Wealth Control for Rural Communities.
Marjorie Kelly, Tellus Institute and
Shanna Ratner, Yellow Wood Associates, November 2009
Resources do not represent community wealth unless communities own and control them. This report introduces the concept of shared ownership, then describes and explores various models, looking at strengths, weaknesses, the range of applications, expertise required, and sources of assistance. |
Learning Journeys |
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Learning Journey Debriefing: Emerging ChangeMakers Network visits Coastal Enterprises Inc.
Jessica Norwood, Emerging ChangeMakers Network, December 2010.
This learning journey report shares the reflections of members of Emerging ChangeMakers - a Ford grantee in the Black Belt that is exploring the creation of an investment value chain - on their visit with an experienced triple bottom line lender and investor. The visit focused on sharing perspectives on connecting with motivated investors, picking good investments, balancing running businesses as well as funding them, and strategies for targeting loans and nurturing investments with a triple-bottom-line approach. |
Rural Clusters and Rural Networks |
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A Compendium of Clusters in Less Populated Places: Circumstances,
Interventions and Outcomes.
Regional Technology Strategies, February 2009
Why and to what extent do companies clustering in rural areas pursue – intentionally or unintentionally – triple-bottom-line outcomes? This document discusses the kinds of interventions, cluster strategies, and local policies that can most effectively create triple bottom line outcomes, and what conditions are necessary. |
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Generating Local Wealth,Opportunity, and Sustainability Through Rural Clusters.
Regional Technology Strategies, March 2009
As a companion paper to the more theoretical paper above, this second clusters report – over 100 pages in length – offers a series of 50 case studies of rural clusters, in areas such as agriculture, the creative economy, tourism, energy, wood products, technology, textiles, and transportation equipment. |
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Rural Networks for Wealth Creation: Impacts and Lessons Learned from US Communities
Rural Support Partners, November 2011
This research report presents qualitative data from interviews with 24 practitioners at six networks that are working to create wealth in rural areas across the United States. The report presents findings related to network results, network management, network legal structures, network membership, structures and processes for getting work done in networks, structures and practices for governing networks, funders’ roles in networks, and the key building blocks of a successful network. |
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Building a Sustainable Network: A Toolkit
Rural Support Partners, November 2011
This toolkit is a set of worksheets designed to help groups build strong, effective, sustainable networks. It includes worksheets for organizations that are considering forming or joining a network, emerging networks that have already organized and want to become stronger, and mature networks that want to assess their long-term health. The worksheets are based on a research study with 24 practitioners in six rural networks across the US. |
Forests, Financing, and Value Chains |
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The Forests and the Wood Products Sector in Appalachian Kentucky:
What We Heard and What We Learned
Summary Report on Regional Learning Project for The Ford Foundation, MACED, February 2009
What are the opportunities and challenges for sustainable rural development in the forests and wood products sector of Appalachian Kentucky? The participants in the Ford Foundation Regional Learning Project Team engaged in a discovery project, interviewing landowners, foresters, wood product producers, and others. This paper shares the insights learned. |
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Assessment of Triple Bottom Line Financing Interventions
Mountain Association for Community Economic Development (MACED)
On behalf of the Triple Bottom Line Collaborative (TBLC), July 2008
Ten financing interventions are profiled in this paper, which looks at how capital investment in combination with other strategies is used to achieve triple-bottom-line outcomes. |
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Value Chain Best Practices: Building Knowledge for Value Chains that Contribute to the Health of
Source Communities
Sustainable Food Lab, July 2008
This paper aims to contribute to a tool box of best practices for using value chain strategies, which represent an emerging field in rural development. The objectives of healthy value chains are to better balance risk, responsibilities, and benefits along a supply chain, while improving the quality of production and security of long-term supply. |
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The Role of Equity Capital in Rural Communities
Patricia Scruggs, March 2010
This research focuses on the impact that venture or patient capital has on rural economies, how patient capital funds can promote a triple bottom line (TBL) in their rural investments, and how practices with positive impact can be scaled and or replicated in other regions.
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Impact Investing for Rural Wealth Creation: Investing for financial returns and community impact
Marjorie Kelly, Tellus Institute, with Jessica Norwood, Emerging ChangeMakers Network, November 2010
How do we connect impact investors and rural enterprise, encouraging investment that develops multiple forms of wealth? This paper outlines key features of impact investment and shares examples of successful investment models that provide both financial returns and community benefits. It looks at the whole chain of investment - investors, intermediaries, investment vehicles, financial returns, community impact - and examines how design innovations at each stage help impact investments to flow and achieve positive outcomes. |
Rural Entrepreneurship Development |
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Rural Entrepreneurship Development I:
Examples of Effective Practices
CFED & RUPRI Center for Rural Entrepreneurship, July 2008
Entrepreneurship development is a key part of a sustainable economic development process for rural America that benefits the economy, the environment, and social inclusion. This paper begins an exploration of what makes this approach particularly effective by offering 17 effective rural entrepreneurship case examples. |
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Rural Entrepreneurship Development II: Measuring Impact on the Triple Bottom Line
CFED & RUPRI Center for Rural Entrepreneurship, July 2008
To gain greater insight into how entrepreneurship development practitioners are measuring the impacts of their work, this analysis began by looking closely at six interventions, ranging from a youth entrepreneurship program to a multi-county entrepreneur development system. |
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Rural Entrepreneurship Development III: Insights for Moving Forward.
CFED & RUPRI Center for Rural Entrepreneurship, February 2009
Based on a year-long exploration of many effective interventions in rural entrepreneurship development, this report shares insights on what is needed to move forward in working for greater triple-bottom-line impacts. |
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Growing and Retaining Wealth in Rural America
CFED, May 2011
Interviews with community leaders at high-performing organizations in Central Appalachia, the Lower Rio Grande Valley, and the Delta Region provide insight into connections between organizations engaged primarily in individual asset building, entrepreneur-focused economic development, and community philanthropy. This background research suggests that some of these connections are being made in rural regions, but that there is value to be gained from stronger collaboration across these organizations, particularly in the context of supporting the development of value chains in their regions. |
Rural-Urban Linkages |
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How Rural is Central Appalachia?
Rural Policy Research Institute, March 2010
Before we can measure rural economic activity in an area, we need a clear picture and understanding of how geographic areas are defined as rural. This paper explores several methods for measuring the rural character of a region and uses each method to assess the rural character of Central Appalachia. |
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Case Studies: Prosperous Counties in Appalachia
Rural Policy Research Institute, March 2010
This paper identifies rural counties in Appalachia which have sustained or attained relatively strong levels of prosperity over the course of the decades from 1980-2000. Statistical analysis of these counties lays the groundwork for future detailed case studies. |
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Rural-Urban Interdependence in Central Appalachia Discussion Paper
Rural Policy Research Institute, November 2009
To better understand the potential for wealth development in the Central Appalachia region, this paper reviews regional approaches to assessing and developing wealth; examines the ways and extents to which rural and urban economies are interconnected; and assesses rural-urban and cross-region linkages in the economies of the Central Appalachian region. |
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Wealth and Prosperity in Central Appalachia
Rural Policy Research Institute, March 2010
This paper assesses the prosperity of Central Appalachian counties. The assessment compares the prosperity levels of Central Appalachian counties to each other, to themselves over time, and to the region and the country as a whole, using measures that include poverty rate, unemployment rate, high school dropout rate, housing conditions, homeownership, entrepreneurship, access to health care, and educational attainment. |
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Wealth Creation and Regional Innovation
Rural Policy Research Institute, University of Missouri, and Oregon State University, March 2010
This paper identifies the place- and history-based context for a regional approach to wealth creation; assesses varying prosperity rates across the counties of Central Appalachia; analyzes the trade flows between Economic Areas in Central Appalachia; and explores relationships between trade flows in the region and the potential for wealth creation. |
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Wealth Creation and Rural-Urban Linkages in Central Appalachia Briefing Paper
Rural Policy Research Institute, February 2010
This briefing paper summarizes the research work conducted by RUPRI in analyzing areas of the Central Appalachia region, assessing the prosperity levels of the Central Appalachia region, analyzing trade flows between rural and urban parts of Central Appalachia, and in creating a comparative economic analysis of activity in Oregon and Central Appalachia. |
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Wealth Creation and Rural-Urban Linkages Final Composite Report
Rural Policy Research Institute, March 2010
This process report summarizes the wealth development research work undertaken by RUPRI on behalf of the Ford Foundation during the 2009-2010 year. |
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Wealth Creation and Rural-Urban Linkages An Exploratory Study of Economic Flows in Two Natural Resource-Rich Regions
Oregon State University, March 2010
How does the flow of money from trade, dividends and interest, rent, and taxes affect the potential for wealth creation? By examining the economic activity of areas in two resource rich regions, one in Oregon and one in Appalachia, this paper paints a picture of the economic resources currently available in those areas to contribute to wealth creation. |
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Wealth Creation, Capture and Retention for Low-Wealth People and Places in Regional Systems
Aspen Institute Community Strategies Group, May 2010
Much of the wealth created in low-wealth and rural communities slips away. This paper examines how more of the wealth generated can remain in these communities and accrue to the benefit of low-wealth families and individuals. Building on research by the Rural Policy Research Institute, the paper presents and analyzes several Frameworks for Thinking and Action for capturing more of the wealth generated in three sectors (Food Systems, Energy Systems and Ecosystem Services) and how the lessons learned can be applied to other sectors. |
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Case Studies of Wealth Creation and Rural-Urban Linkages
Brian Dabson, Jennifer Jensen, Alan Okagaki, Adam Blair and Megan Carroll, April 2012
This report contains four case studies about rural-urban linkages in Oregon, the New Orleans region, Texas, and Nebraska, as well as introductory material and a concluding commentary that looks at each case study in context of the core principles of the wealth creation framework. The primary purpose of these case studies is to stimulate learning, discussion and further inquiry about the application of the rural wealth creation framework. |
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Transitioning to a Restoration Economy: A Case Study of Oregon's Forestry Sector
Brian Dabson, April 2012
This case study explores a developing restoration forest economy and its positive impacts along the forest products value chain; these impacts can be seen both in terms of wealth retention and creation and of forging linkages between rural and urban people and places. Sustainable Northwest, a regional nonprofit, has played a vital role as value chain intermediary in this case. |
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Building a Regional Food System: A Case Study of Market Umbrella in the New Orleans Region
Megan M. Carroll and Jennifer M. Jensen, April 2012
This case study looks at the role of Market Umbrella in helping to develop a regional food system around New Orleans. Interviews throughout the case study highlight the importance of building multiple forms of wealth to create community resilience and address system inequities. |
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Plastics from Plants: A Case Study of NatureWorks LLC, Blair, Nebraska
Alan Okagaki and Brian Dabson, April 2012
This is a case study of NatureWorks, a bio-based products company in Nebraska that transforms a renewable crop into a value-added plastic resin that can be used to make low carbon footprint and/or biodegradable products. |
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Wind Energy and Rural Development: A Case Study of West Texas
Adam Paul Blair, April 2012
This case study looks at the extent to which wealth generated by wind energy development in West Texas has remained in and benefited rural communities. |
Energy and Rural Development |
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Financing Renewable Energy Projects: An Overview
Michael Waldhier, Penn State University, May 2010
This paper reviews methods for financing residential and large-scale renewable energy projects. Examples highlight how communities use these methods to develop cost-effective, energy-efficient, and stable energy sources. |
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Distributing Electric Energy in Rural America Efficiently and Economically: The Micro-grid Option
Alisha Fernandez and Seth Blumsack, Penn State University, May 2010
This paper describes opportunities for and barriers to managing electricity production and consumption at the community level via micro-grid systems. |
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Harnessing the Sun as an Alternative Energy Resource: Economic and Social Impacts of PV Use in Electricity Production
Andrew Mackey, Penn State University, June 2010
This paper examines economic impacts, policy frameworks, and socially inclusive training programs related to photovoltaic energy.
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The Significant Potential of Wind Energy in America: A Transformative Force in Struggling U.S. Rural Economies?
Michael Patullo, Penn State University, June 2010
This paper examines opportunities and issues related to wind energy development in rural America, with case studies illustrating a range of wind energy projects. |
Measuring Wealth |
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Measuring Community Wealth
Doug Hoffer, Consultant and Melissa Levy, Yellow Wood Associates, June 2010
What do we mean by "community wealth" and how would we know it if we saw it? In "Measuring Community Wealth," real world data from Appalachian Kentucky is used to illustrate how examples of six forms of wealth (individual, intellectual, natural, built, social, and financial) can be measured. From power plants to patents, local food to locally owned broadband, each section highlights opportunities to increase the stock of wealth in Kentucky counties.
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Measuring Community Wealth: Appendices
Doug Hoffer, Consultant and Melissa Levy, Yellow Wood Associates, June 2010
This paper provides detailed analysis of the data from Appalachian Kentucky used in "Measuring Community Wealth." This information includes county-by-county rates of healthy weight people and the financial costs of obesity; broadband access and computer use throughout the region, along with its effects on social patterns; patents held in Kentucky and strategies for increasing their use; local electric plant ownership and costs; household income, assets, and debt; and local farming, food, and agricultural inputs. |