Innovators in Rural Community Economic Development

Resource Library

WealthWorks for Your Region: An Introduction. Module 3: Construct a WealthWorks Value Chain

This module profiles the elements and design objectives of a WealthWorks value chain—and how to use them to build wealth that lasts.


Learn More

WealthWorks for Your Region: An Introduction. Module 2: Identify a Market Opportunity

This module offers a series of useful screens for spotting a market opportunity that has good potential to generate wealth-building results for a region.


Learn More

WealthWorks for Your Region: An Introduction. Module 1: Explore Regional Wealth Building

This module defines wealth building as a goal that reaches beyond standard community and economic development objectives, and why that difference is critical to advancing and sustaining regional economies.


Learn More

Community Development v.45, i.5, Special Issue: Rural Wealth Creation as a Sustainable Economic Development Strategy

Many rural areas in the United States find themselves struggling to build local assets and create wealth. They often struggle to hold on to the wealth that is created within their boundaries. Conventional approaches to community and economic development…


Learn More

Local Economy Journal v.29, n.4-5, “Linking rural assets to market demand: Wealth creation value chains in rural America”

Rural regions across the United States have struggled to implement economic development strategies that build local assets and create wealth that contributes to sustained prosperity. This article describes a systems framework that enables rural areas…


Learn More

Rural Entrepreneurship Development I: Examples of Effective Practices

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…
Learn More

Rural Entrepreneurship Development II: Measuring Impact on the Triple Bottom Line

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…
Learn More

Rural Entrepreneurship Development III: Insights for Moving Forward

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.


Learn More

Wealth Creation in Rural Communities: A New Approach

Start with this paper for a description of the Wealth Creation in Rural Communities initiative.
Learn More