Rural community development is challenging work. This article introduces a tool that is useful for scholarship and for working with people in rural communities. Total rural capital is a multi-disciplinary model that can help faculty develop scholarship from their work while helping the public to better understand the complexity of community development

Cartwright, Sharon

Gallagher, Tom

English

Clemson University: TigerPrints

The Journal of Extension Volume 40 Number 6 Article 20 12-1-2002 Total Rural Capital: A Model to Engage Extension Faculty and the Public in Rural Community Development Sharon Cartwright University of Alaska, ffskc@uaf.edu Tom Gallagher Oregon State University Extension Service, tom.gallagher@orst.edu This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License. Recommended Citation Cartwright, S., & Gallagher, T. (2002). Total Rural Capital: A Model to Engage Extension Faculty and the Public in Rural Community Development. The Journal of Extension, 40(6), Article 20. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/joe/vol40/iss6/20 This Tools of the Trade is brought to you for free and open access by the Conferences at TigerPrints. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Journal of Extension by an authorized editor of TigerPrints. For more information, please contact kokeefe@clemson.edu. 	 JOEHOME JOURNAL GUIDELINES ABOUT	JOE CONTACT NATIONAL	JOB	BANKCurrent	Issues Back	IssuesDecember	2002	//	Volume	40	//	Number	6	//	Tools	of	the	Trade	//	6TOT3Total	Rural	Capital:	A	Model	to	Engage	Extension	Faculty	andthe	Public	in	Rural	Community	DevelopmentAbstractRural	community	development	is	challenging	work.	This	article	introduces	a	tool	that	is	usefulfor	scholarship	and	for	working	with	people	in	rural	communities.	Total	rural	capital	is	a	multi-disciplinary	model	that	can	help	faculty	develop	scholarship	from	their	work	while	helping	thepublic	to	better	understand	the	complexity	of	community	development.	IntroductionEffective	rural	community	development	is	a	challenge	for	Extension	faculty--field	agents	and	on-campus	specialists--who	address	rural	issues.	Part	of	the	challenge	is	having	productivecommunication	with	the	public	about	the	dimensions	of	rural	development,	which	necessarilyinvolves	the	disciplines	of	economics,	political	science,	natural	science,	and	rural	sociology.	Isthere	a	way	to	talk	about	rural	community	development	that	both	faculty	and	the	publicunderstand?In	this	article	we	identify	a	thought	model	concerning	rural	community	development	that	isacademically	sound	yet	accessible	to	lay	people.	The	tool,	called	"Total	Rural	Capital,"	provides	anacademic	foundation	and	framework	for	research	and	scholarship	while	presenting	ideas	in	a	real-world	vocabulary	used	by	rural	people.The	matter	of	rural	development	has	been	a	focus	of	national,	state,	and	local	policy	for	decades,with	vast	investments	in	rural	resources	such	as	electrification,	transportation,	and	education.Loury	(1977)	argued	that	it	is	useful	to	think	of	these	resources,	and	investments	as	"capital."Looking	more	broadly,	Coleman	(1990)	proposed	that	there	were	three	forms	of	communitycapital:	physical,	human,	and	social.	Castle	(1998)	suggested,	further,	that	it	was	more	useful	todivide	the	physical	resource	category	into	two	subunits,	natural	and	infrastructure.	He	called	thisset	of	four	"total	rural	capital."	In	theory,	these	four	categories	contain	all	dimensions	of	ruralresources	(Castle,	2002).	Four	Forms	of	Rural	CapitalHuman	capital	is	about	people	and	their	ability,	individually,	to	satisfy	human	needs,	such	astechnical	knowledge	and	leadership	skills.Infrastructure	capital	consists	of	human-created	resources,	those	physical	items	created	byindividuals	or	groups	to	improve	the	community,	such	as	roads	and	libraries.Sharon	CartwrightAssistant	ProfessorSchool	of	EducationUniversity	of	AlaskaFairbanks,	AlaskaInternet	Address:	ffskc@uaf.eduTom	GallagherLeadership	Development	SpecialistOregon	State	University	Extension	ServiceCorvallis,	OregonInternet	Address:	tom.gallagher@orst.eduNatural	capital	encompasses	the	entire	natural	environment,	including	soil,	water,	air,	andvegetation.Social	capital	pertains	to	human	networks,	whether	of	two	people	or	many.	These	networkstypically	are	characterized	by	customs,	laws,	and	institutions,	and	they	often	involve	trust	and	anexpectation	of	reciprocity.	Examples	include	the	family,	civic	groups,	government,	and	a	host	ofinstitutions,	such	as	public	safety,	education,	and	health.	A	Thought	Tool	for	Community	DevelopmentIn	this	model	all	capital	is	contained	under	one	of	the	four	categories,	and	all	communities	have	amix	of	the	four.	It	is	the	characteristics	of	that	mix	that	give	each	community	its	character,	and	it	isthe	balance,	or	imbalance,	of	the	mix	that	creates	needs.The	total	rural	capital	model	provides	a	way	of	analyzing	these	needs	and	a	way	to	look	atdirecting	investments	to	create	a	different	and	more	valuable	balance	in	a	community,	what	wecall	"community	development."	The	assessment	of	needs	and	the	projection	of	remedies	is	afaculty	activity	that	can	be	discussed	using	the	model.	But	is	the	model	accessible	to	the	public?A	Case	Study	in	ProgressThe	accessibility	of	the	model	to	rural	community	members	was	borne	out	in	a	recent	needsassessment	we	conducted	in	each	county	in	Oregon.	Citizen	participants	in	each	county	identifieda	range	of	needs,	from	20	to	50,	which	they	then	organized	by	categories	with	headings.	Afterseveral	meetings	it	was	apparent	that	participants	were,	despite	substantial	differences	in	issuesacross	counties,	placing	their	needs	into	categories	very	similar	to	Castle's.	We	are	presently	in	theprocess	of	classifying	the	800-plus	needs	identified	by	the	various	counties	into	the	specificcategories	of	the	model.As	an	early	finding,	so	many	of	the	needs	are	falling	under	"social	capital"	that	we	have	found	ituseful	to	subdivide	that	category	into	four	groups:	social	(including	health),	governance,	education,and	business/economic,	creating	seven	in	all.	And,	in	the	process	of	categorizing	the	needs,	itbecame	clear	that	the	participants	in	the	meetings	see	the	connection	between	the	various	formsof	capital	in	their	communities.	For	example,	participants	would	note	the	link	between	naturalcapital	and	education,	and	natural	capital	and	youth	development.	The	public	is	very	aware	thatrural	development	is	about	multiple	objectives.The	Academic	LinkFor	faculty	with	a	scholarship	(which	often	means	publication)	requirement,	the	total	rural	capitalframework	links	to	the	literature	in	a	variety	of	disciplines,	including	economics,	political	science,and	rural	sociology.	The	framework	permits	faculty	working	in	such	diverse	Extension	programs	asagriculture,	forestry,	energy,	and	family/youth	development	to	analyze	needs	and	to	propose	andtest	solutions	within	this	framework.The	total	rural	capital	model	permits	faculty	to	discuss	issues	with	the	public,	including	suchfundamental	questions	as	the	priority	of	investments,	maintenance	costs	of	past	or	proposedinvestments,	possible	substitution	of	forms	of	capital,	the	value	of	conservation	of	capital	for	futureuse,	and	"path	dependence,"	where	an	investment	today	limits	future	opportunities.Value	to	ExtensionOver	10	years	ago,	the	Experiment	Station	Committee	on	Organization	and	Policy	(ESCOP)proposed	additional	funding	for	rural	development	and	noted	a	variety	of	issues	(Schutjer,	1991).Many	of	these	issues,	such	as	"Rural	development	activities"	are	directed	at	multiple	objectives.We	believe	that	the	total	rural	capital	model	can	provide	the	comprehensive	theory	for	ruraldevelopment	programs.	Further,	the	model	provides	a	way	for	both	academics	and	the	public	toanswer	the	fundamental	question	about	Extension	programs:	"So	what?"ReferencesCastle,	E.	N.	(1998).	A	conceptual	framework	for	the	study	of	rural	places.	American	Journal	ofAgricultural	Economics	80(3):621-31.Castle,	E.	N.	(2002).	A	primer	on	rural	community	sustainability.	Oregon	State	University	ExtensionService.	Corvallis,	Oregon.Coleman	J.	S.	(1990).	Social	capital.	In	Foundations	of	social	theory.	Cambridge,	MA:	Belknap	Press.Loury,	G.	(1977).	A	dynamic	theory	of	racial	income	differences.	In	Women,	minorities,	andemployment	discrimination.	(P.	A.	Wallace	&	A.	LeMund,	Eds.)Schutjer,	W.	A.	(1991)	Rural	development	and	Extension.	Journal	of	Extension	[On-line],	29(1).Available	at:	http://www.joe.org/joe/1991spring/tp1.htmlCopyright	©	by	Extension	Journal,	Inc.	ISSN	1077-5315.	Articles	appearing	in	the	Journal	become	the	property	of	theJournal.	 Single	 copies	 of	 articles	may	 be	 reproduced	 in	 electronic	 or	 print	 form	 for	 use	 in	 educational	 or	 trainingactivities.	Inclusion	of	articles	in	other	publications,	electronic	sources,	or	systematic	large-scale	distribution	may	bedone	only	with	prior	electronic	or	written	permission	of	the	Journal	Editorial	Office,	joe-ed@joe.org.If	you	have	difficulties	viewing	or	printing	this	page,	please	contact	JOE	Technical	Support©	Copyright	by	Extension	Journal,	Inc.	ISSN	1077-5315.	Copyright	Policy

Total Rural Capital: A Model to Engage Extension Faculty and the Public in Rural Community Development

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Total Rural Capital: A Model to Engage Extension Faculty and the Public in Rural Community Development

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