Reflecting on some of the remarkable rural highlights of 2021

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The past year certainly was a rollercoaster ride: plenty of hope and optimism, and then setbacks as COVID-19 variants came back with a vengeance.??

Through it all, the incredible team at the Center on Rural Innovation and our inspiring, resilient community leaders have persevered, taking our efforts to empower rural economies to a new level and demonstrating the collective power of the?Rural Innovation Network. Yet, as we ambitiously plan for 2022 in spite of an uncertain landscape, I am also looking back with pride at the accomplishments of the past 12 months.?

To recap the past year at CORI, here is a list of 10 memorable highlights:

1. Small Towns, Big Ideas:?CORI’s first-ever?virtual pitch event?in November turned out to be an unforgettable exhibition of the exciting innovation happening every day in rural communities. Many of the participants would have been worthy of the $10,000 prize our judges awarded to?Kall Morris, Inc., one of the 125 — and counting! — tech startups in our Network.?

2. Three Rural Innovation Initiative communities winning Build to Scale:?After an anxious few months,?we learned?in September that?Ada, Oklahoma,?Cedar City, Utah, and?Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, were among the successful bids in this year’s U.S. Economic Development Administration Build to Scale Venture Challenge, securing more than?$4 million?to support innovation tech innovation and startups.?

3. Including new communities in our work:?In an effort to be more inclusive of people and places that are systemically under-resourced and historically excluded, our team identified four communities to receive?technical assistance, funded by?Siegel Family Endowment, over the course of 2021-22: Chambers County, Alabama; Cochise County, Arizona; Paso Robles, California; and Liberal, Kansas.

4. Discovering new opportunities for investment: Our seed fund, the?CORI Innovation Fund, identified and invested in four promising rural tech companies this year, each in a different state:?North Carolina,?Wyoming,?Vermont, and?Delaware.

5. A growing team — and a growing Network:?The inspiring and impactful support we’ve received has allowed us to?grow our team by 80%?in 2021. That's an incredible, humbling achievement when I think about how far we’ve come in the past four years. At the same time, our Rural Innovation Network expanded from 18 to?25 unique communities, with even more poised to join in the coming months.?

6. Critical infrastructure getting a boost:?This year saw unprecedented federal funding — tens of billions of dollars — for programs that will support innovators in rural America and bring?future-proof broadband?to the last mile. It's been an honor to be a part of?important conversations?to advance this work and ensure this historic opportunity has the greatest impact possible.

7. Videos that put the spotlight on rural America:?The Rural Edge video series brought viewers to?Waterville, Maine,?and?Springfield, Vermont,?to show the dynamism and optimism that can be found in small towns across the country. We also produced a short film that shows?the vision behind our core mission.

8. Gains in digital workforce development:?Our?Future of Work?team forged new partnerships, piloted new programs, and helped more rural learners gain the 21st-century tech skills needed for?good-paying digital jobs.?

9. Contributing to the national conversation:?Each month, it seemed, offered a new and exciting chance to talk about the importance of supporting innovation in rural areas. Testifying before Congress about the importance of?broadband, chatting with acting FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel during?Route Fifty’s two-day summit?addressing the digital divide, and participating in the Commonwealth Club’s panel on?America’s rural opportunity?were just a few of them.?

10. Diving deeper into rural issues:?With funding from the EDA, our research team has been exploring topics affecting 21st-century economic development efforts in rural communities, including a?series of briefs?on issues affecting the future of work and?case studies?that examine what strategies are already working in rural towns around the country.

Reflecting on those accomplishments has me even more excited to roll up my sleeves and get to work in 2022, pursuing?our vision?and advancing economic prosperity in rural communities across the country — because?great ideas happen everywhere, every day.

Here’s to a happy and healthy new year full of potential!

-Matt Dunne, CORI founder and executive director (December 2021)