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About CED Community Economic Development is one of the 4 primary services offered by Rural Development at the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service at Oklahoma State University. The four services offered by Rural Development are:
The services offered by Extension's CED program include the following: Strategic Planning Assistance: Many rural areas desire to expand their economic base. This may involve attracting new industry, expanding existing industry, attracting new businesses, attracting retirees, or increasing recreation opportunities. Whatever the strategy, the Cooperative Extension Service, in conjunction with many other agencies, provides a workshop series to rural leaders. Strategic Planning for community economic development is the focus of the workshop. Community Assessment: Extension provides several types of community assessment tools, including impact, retail sales and economic base studies. The impact study measures the change which will occur in the economy if there is a change in the economic base, such as a new plant locating in that community. The retail sales study indicates why people are shopping where they do. The economic base study provides detailed background data about the resources in that area, such as population, income, employment, agriculture, and taxes. ORIGINS electronic database is used in this effort. Extension can also help communities collect primary data by helping communities create a survey instrument and then carry through with a survey of local residents on topics ranging from housing, quality of life, education, consumer opinions, labor force, etc. Educational Programs: Extension offers several workshops designed to education communities on topics of importance to economic development. Some popular workshops offered include "Using the ORIGINS Electronic Database," "Oklahoma PRIDE-Customer Service Training," and "Local Housing Markets," |
Community Economic
Development