25
May
A total of 19 rural communities from across the state have been selected to participate in a new program to increase their capacity to plan, implement, and manage economic development programs and opportunities. The Rural Community Capacity (RC2) program, a pilot initiative from the N.C. Commerce Department involving Appalachian State University’s Walker College of Business, welcomed its first cohort of participants in Boone Tuesday. During an RC2 engagement, communities have direct access to Commerce’s Rural Planning team, who offer additional training and technical assistance to program participants, including a strategic planning process focused on identifying economic development assets and priorities…