Kentucky Highlands Rural Partner Network
The Rural Partners Network is a first-of-its-kind collaboration between federal agencies and local leaders and residents.
This Network is focused on improving social and economic well-being bolstered by existing local partnerships and assets. The Network will launch in selected communities in Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Mexico as well as certain Tribes within Arizona. Community networks within these states will receive individualized support with the expertise to navigate federal programs, build relationships and identify additional resources to promote community-driven solutions.
- In Kentucky: Kentucky Highlands Community Network including the counties of Bell, Breathitt, Clay, Harlan, Knott, Knox, Lee, Leslie, Letcher, McCreary, Owsley, Perry, Whitley and Wolfe counties; and Fulton County and cities of Fulton, Hickman and Cayce Community Network.
Frequently Asked Questions
Rural communities sometimes need help to get financial or technical assistance from highly competitive programs based on individual federal government agencies. Federal agencies participating in RPN have designated key points of contact who focus specifically on rural strategies, improving visibility and attention to rural issues. RPN also puts federal staff on the ground to support designated, economically challenged communities, called “community liaison.” These federal employees provide local leaders with the expertise to navigate federal programs, build relationships and identify additional resources to get the job done. The community liaisons are tasked with feeding critical information to federal agencies regarding community needs and barriers to accessing federal resources. This information will allow agencies to drive policy changes to address the unique challenges faced by rural communities.
- Department of Agriculture (USDA)
- Department of Commerce
- Department of Education
- Department of Energy
- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- Department of Health and Human Services
- Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
- Department of the Interior
- Department of Labor
- Small Business Administration
- Department of Transportation
- Department of the Treasury
- Department of Veterans Affairs
- Appalachian Regional Commission
- Delta Regional Authority
- Denali Commission
- Northern Border Regional Commission
- Inter Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization
The Kentucky Highlands Rural Partner Community Network is a partnership of eight local governments and over 100 nonprofit organizations designed to take full advantage of this federal designation to create jobs and improve the quality-of-life for the residents of Southeastern Kentucky. The lead entity is Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation, a fifty-plus-year-old economic development and community development financial institution serving 22 southern and southeastern Kentucky counties.
Accessing the community liaisons assigned to the Kentucky Highlands network is possible through various methods. First, one may contact Kentucky Highlands using this website’s contact us tab. Two, one may contact USDA Rural Development through www.rural.gov, or three, one may list a project directly in the master project inquiry form at https://forms.office.com/g/rdtD23nA5h.