Strategy Deepening IFAD's engagement with the private sector Cover photo: IFAD supports rural business development in Moldova: Women prepare croissants for baking at the Finetia company in Sturzovca village. 3 Abbreviations and acronyms 3 Executive summary 4 Introduction 5 Background 5 Definition of the private sector and public-private partnerships 5 The changing role of the private sector in ...

Rural communities in the United States have diversified and their dependence on agriculture has decreased substantially. In the 1980s, rural deindustrialization occurred and rural areas continued to become more service oriented: employment opportunities declined because of shifts in the world and U.S. economies, and anti-rural public policies. In response, some rural communities have become ent...

The Art Institute of Chicago's pioneering development of public computer programs jump started with two fortuitous events. In 1987 the museum was asked to join a consortium of museum education directors from seven art museums whose main goal was to research and experiment with educational computer technology. Soon afterwards, the Art Institute became one of sixteen American institutions selecte...

In recent years there has been a great deal of discussion on the working of village forest institutions (VFI) in developing countries with a view to understanding their role as rural institutions. In a tropical country like India, the success of any community based forest management effort largely depends on the emergence as well as role played by the institutions at local village level, which ...

This paper highlights research that explores the key factors that affect the attraction and retention of minority faculty in engineering and technology programs in rural communities, in particular southern rural communities. It is well known that the pool of minority applicants, specifically black applicants, for faculty positions in engineering and technology programs is very small. Furthermor...

S mall businesses form the foundation of most rural and urban economies. To grow and prosper, these enterprises need access to equity capital as well as the debt capital provided by traditional banking institutions. While debt markets function well in most rural places, rural equity markets tend to be unorganized or nonexistent (RUPRI Rural Finance Task Force). The impetus for the Rural Policy ...