Southwest Minnesota residents with an idea to strengthen sustainability in their community can now apply for partnership support from the University of Minnesota Extension Southwest Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships (Southwest RSDP).
Southwest RSDP supports local innovation by connecting community ideas to University of Minnesota resources. Community members work on diverse project teams that research, design and plan local sustainability projects with University students, faculty and staff.
Southwest RSDP has several resource opportunities to support community-university partnerships. Residents and organizations are encouraged to submit their sustainability project ideas through the RSDP idea brief application. The RSDP annual call for ideas has supported hundreds of sustainability projects in the Southwest region for over twenty-five years. RSDP is also seeking applications from local farmers interested in building a deep winter greenhouse using the latest University researched design. Additionally, RSDP is launching a new program, “Empowering Small Minnesota Communities,” to help small Minnesota communities benefit from federal, state and local investments. This program is seeking applications from communities interested in collaborating with the University to advance or plan projects that support sustainable economic, social, or transportation infrastructure.
“Now more than ever we need ideas and expertise from people across Southwest Minnesota to help support communities that are resilient and able to respond to challenges,” said Southwest RSDP Executive Director Anne Dybsetter. “I’m looking forward to talking with people about their ideas for making our communities more sustainable places.”
Applications for all resources are being accepted through February 14. Visit the link z.umn.edu/RSDPIdeaBrief to read more about the programs and to apply. Community members are encouraged to contact Dybsetter directly at adybsett@umn.edu or 320-2350726 x 2012 to discuss their ideas and ask questions. Successful projects are selected by the Southwest RSDP community-university governing board through a competitive process.
