About IIRA -> History

History

The Institute for Rural Affairs is the outgrowth of a need for an agency to monitor conditions in rural Illinois and to develop programming to assist community leaders and organizations find solutions to local problems. In 1986, a Task Force on the Future of Rural Illinois conducted a set of 25 public hearings and one of the outcomes was a need for a permanent agency to study rural issues and to identify potential remedies.

In 1989, IIRA was created as a companion agency to the Governors Rural Affairs Council and works with the Council on research projects to find innovative solutions to rural issues that can be implemented in Illinois and to provide technical assistance to policy makers. Recognizing that solutions to rural problems required a comprehensive and organized approach and that the only effective solutions will come from local leaders and policy makers, the Institute works on eight main issues:

1. Economic Development
   Economic Development efforts include a visioning program (MAPPING the Future of Your Community) that has been conducted with local leaders in more than 60 communities. The Rural Economic Technical Assistance Center (RETAC) works with leaders and economic development agencies on projects to identify community needs and assess the assets on which a community can build programs to improve local conditions. Thus, after a community has completed the MAPPING program, local leaders access RETAC services.
2. Value-Added Rural Development
   The recent low prices of agricultural commodities and livestock have increased the importance of finding ways to add value to farm products. IIRA has worked with groups of farm producers interested in investing in value-added enterprises that not only increase farm incomes but also create high quality jobs locally. In a collaborative effort with the University of Illinois (Champaign) and Southern Illinois University at Carbondale through a program financed by the Illinois Council on Food and Agricultural Research (C-FAR), IIRA has created an Agricultural Community Action Process (ACAP) to assist farm producers and local community economic development leaders in creating a brighter future for their region. This program works in conjunction with the Illinois Department of Agriculture.
3. Education
   Public education is an issue of growing importance to rural communities, especially in an increasing technological based economy where the work force must be prepared to work in high tech companies as well as more traditional businesses. At the same time, rural areas with shrinking populations are experiencing more difficulty raising the revenues necessary to provide high quality educational opportunities for students. The Illinois Center for Research and Evaluation Services (ICRES) conducts a school MAPPING program to help school administrators identify community issues in which the school can play a major role and identify programmatic solutions.
4. Health Care
   Health care access is especially important in rural communities with a high proportion of elderly residents and is becoming of increasing concern as the number of hospitals and medical services have declined in some areas. Working with the Illinois Department of Public Health, Center for Rural Health, IIRA staff provide a Community Health MAPPING program and a variety of applied research-technical assistance to community health agencies throughout rural Illinois.
5. Transportation & Infrastructure
   Public transportation is of special concern in communities with a significant number of residents without sufficient funds to afford reliable transportation and/or access to essential services. In some instances, businesses are unable to find enough employees with the necessary skills and public transportation can enable these residents to reach gainful employment. The Rural Transit Assistance Center (RTAC) in collaboration with the Illinois Department of Transportation, Division of Public Transportation, provides training and technical assistance programs for public transportation managers.
6. Public Management including data to support effective planning practices
   Effective public management of local resources is crucial in today's environment. Rural community leaders often are part-time with limited formal backgrounds on public management practices. IIRA has had a cooperative arrangement with several state agencies in which their staff worked closely with IIRA faculty and staff to identify innovative management practices, conduct case studies, and present these materials a conferences and seminars attended by local public officials and community leaders.
7. Innovative Housing Strategies

8. Information Technology
   Many rural communities fall behind metro areas in local economic development efforts—especially those that involve the use and implementation of information technology. Unfortunately, many local officials and economic development practitioners are unaware of the benefits that appropriate information technology could bring to their communities and do not know where to begin to access relevant information. The Rural Information Technology Planning Project (RITPP) was designed to educate rural residents and policymakers about Information Technology (IT) and empower them to make informed IT decisions to enhance the development of their community.