What's New
e-Vermont: The Vermont Community Broadband ProjectVCRD wins $2.5M in federal stimulus funding to launch the $3.8 million e-Vermont Project. e-Vermont will help municipal, school, community and business groups in 24 rural Vermont towns design and implement ways to expand the use of digital tools and resources to serve a wide variety of local needs including downtown marketing, community engagement, business development, and school innovation. See the map of e-Vermont communities selected for 2010. CLICK HERE to learn more.
Marlboro Community Visit Report Available. We completed our 3-month Community Visit process in Marlboro. Read the Report and
Action Plan. Residents identified 2 new priority areas for future action: Create a Marlboro Community Center Building and Improve Walk-ability and Expand Bike and Walking Paths. Residents also chose to further support two current initiatives: Generate Energy and Advance New Zoning By-Laws to Include All Species.
Also, check this out. Marlboro resident Kelly Salasin captured the flavor (and fun) of all 3 community meetings through her tweets posted here: http://thisvtlife.wordpress.com/?s=vcrd&submit=Search
Shoreham Community Visit Report Available. We completed the Shoreham Community Visit in January. Read the Report and Action Plan for information on task force workplans, resource team recommendations and meeting notes from the process.
VCRD's 2009 Annual Report is Available. We wrapped up our 2-year Council on the Future of Vermont project in 2009 and are working to advance its key conclusions in our workplan for 2010. Read our 2009 Annual Report (Note that if you received a hard copy of the annual report, page 6 has been corrected in this online version).
Reports from recent VCRD facilitated processes:
Values, Vision and Unification in Addison Northwest Supervisory Union. This report synthesizes the discussion from public forums in the Addison NW Supervisory Union on the Renewal of Public Education for the 21st Century. The inputs were presented to the ANWSU Board, the School Boards of the Supervisory Union, and the people of the five communities that make up the union: Addison, Ferrisburgh, Panton, Vergennes, and Waltham as they prepare for a vote on whether to unify their school boards.
Job Creation and Retention Platform. Vermont Economic Development Partners worked together to identify doable, cost-effective and measured ways to advance economic activity that will create jobs and that can be initiated in the short term. This diverse group identified key recommendations for Vermont leaders to consider this year.
Vermont Regional Food Centers Collaborative: Advancing Food Systems through Learning, Planning and Action. This 2009 platform paper outlines the challenges, vision, goals, and workplan in support Vermont farms and local agriculture economies with contact information of the collaborative members and their service areas.
Moving Vermont Agriculture Forward: Strategic Initiatives Report. A report of two initiatives (Branding and Marketing, and Business Development) that emerged through a strategic planning process designed to advance farm businesses and agricultural enterprises in Vermont.
VCRD wraps up its 2-year Council on the Future of Vermont (CFV) project. The CFV final report: Imagining Vermont: Values and Vision for the Future is a reflection of the 18 months of listening to Vermonters and is a call to all Vermonters and decision-makers to act toward specific targets for the future of agriculture, education, infrastructure and civic life.
Final Report on the Summit on the Future of Vermont is available! Click here to read the Summit report.
VCRD's Council on the Future of Vermont presents: VERMONT IN TRANSITION - a comprehensive trend-line analysis of the past two decades in Vermont. This research, written by the Center for Social Science Research at Saint Michael's College, is a contribution to the deliberations of the CFV.
Click HERE for the Table of Contents.
The Young Writers Project, Council on the Future of Vermont and the Northfield
Savings Bank winners of the 2008 ‘Future of Vermont’ Writing Contest. Read the essays.
Champlain Islands Business. VCRD worked with Island residents as part of its Creative Communities Program*
Shoreham residents voting their priorities in a Community Visit meeting.
*Photo courtesy of Michael Levine.
