Citizens of Sandersville gathered on October 30 for an introduction to Communities of Opportunity and to talk about conditions in Washington County. The Fanning Institute is conducting town hall meetings in 11 east central Georgia counties for the Georgia Rural Development Council and the Department of Community Affairs.

While the State of Georgia has experienced enormous economic growth over that past 20 years, that growth has not always translated into vitality for all of the rural areas of the state. And while there are well-intentioned programs administered by the state to assist rural communities, the services and funding that accompanies those programs do not seem to have a significant impact on all rural areas. The Communities of Opportunity Initiative (CO-OP) is a coordinated effort that recognizes that rural communities face unique challenges, as well as many opportunities to prosper and grow. A cornerstone of the Initiative is the idea that piecemeal, one-size-fits-all strategies will not solve the problems facing rural communities; rather, rural communities need strategies that target resources to the unique challenges and opportunities of rural Georgia.

Other facets of CO-OP are the requirements that communities will have to assess themselves, set benchmarks, and develop comprehensive plans based on that self-assessing, benchmarking process. Moreover, communities would have the option of entering into a contract with the state that would obligate local leadership to come to the same planning table. In turn, the state would be obligated to provide the technical assistance necessary to address the goals set forth in the benchmarking/self-assessment/planning process. This assistance would take the form of a coordinated approach by state agencies tailored to the specific community. The benchmarks set during the community assessment would then be used to measure the progress being made toward achieving the goals.

The Fanning Institute has been charged by the Rural Development Council and DCA to gather input about 11 counties in the pilot study area. Faculty from Fanning will use the information to inform the Council and DCA about the types of policy changes that could occur, as well as assist in the design of more coordinated service delivery strategy. The Fanning Institute has compiled data from state and federal sources for the 11 counties and their cities; community leaders in the region were interviewed over the summer; nearly 500 residents were surveyed by telephone; and each of the 11 counties has had a town hall meeting to introduce the initiative, get feedback on it, and find out what the participants think about conditions in their communities.