Rural Support Partners, mission-driven management consultants with a participatory approach to create lasting, equitable change in rural areas. Rural community and economic development.

Tools & Resources 

Rural Community and Economic Development Tools for Participatory Change

This section of our website is where you’ll find tools and resources for rural community and economic development. These resources are designed by RSP to improve the practice of participatory change and participatory rural development by sharing what we’ve learned from our work across Central Appalachia. Every month, we post resources including those that help ground you in the concepts that guide our work, planning tools, and occasional case studies of what’s worked and lessons we’ve learned along the way. These resources are intended for people doing similar participatory community, organizational, or network development to bring about system change, particularly in rural communities. Sign up at the bottom of the page to receive a notification about new posts when we send out our newsletter.

Categories

The Spiral Model of Popular Education: An Updated Framework for Facilitating Change

The Spiral Model of Popular Education: An Updated Framework for Facilitating Change

August 10, 2023
The Spiral Model of Popular Education is more than just a tool; it's a transformative practice that empowers groups, organizations,…
What is Participatory Change?

What is Participatory Change?

August 7, 2023
In its simplest terms, participatory change is a values-based approach to leadership. Participatory change is a way of being, thinking,…
Effective Post-Meeting Follow-Up to Ensure Ongoing Success

Effective Post-Meeting Follow-Up to Ensure Ongoing Success

July 7, 2023
In this blog, we will explore important steps for facilitators to take after the meeting to ensure that the outcomes…
Facilitating Effective Virtual Meetings

Facilitating Effective Virtual Meetings

June 23, 2023
Thorough planning alone is not enough to ensure that participants remain engaged throughout virtual meetings. In this post, we take…
Planning Successful Meetings: 3 Key Tips for Facilitators

Planning Successful Meetings: 3 Key Tips for Facilitators

June 16, 2023
How can we prepare our meetings in a way that anticipates and reduces the challenges of meetings? Keep reading for…
Improving Virtual Meetings with the SCARF Model

Improving Virtual Meetings with the SCARF Model

June 8, 2023
In this blog, we look into the underlying problems at play in the virtual space that can make virtual meetings…
7 Reasons Why Virtual Meetings Suck

7 Reasons Why Virtual Meetings Suck

June 2, 2023
In our virtual, post-pandemic world, we have all been there: in a virtual meeting that was uninteresting, ill-prepared, a waste…
Systems-Based Organizing

Systems-Based Organizing

May 11, 2023
Systems-Based Organizing (SBO) is a participatory values-based approach to advancing large-scale systems and policy change by strengthening, connecting, and aligning…
A Look at Entrepreneurial Appalachia

A Look at Entrepreneurial Appalachia

November 6, 2020
Throughout Appalachia, entrepreneurs are forging a new economic model — one based on local investment and local ownership. Their impact…

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Management - Strategy - Collaboration

Rural Support Partners equips changemakers, organizations, and networks to cultivate lasting, equitable, participatory change in rural areas.

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