The Southern Rural Development Center (SRDC) seeks to strengthen the capacity of the region’s 30 land-grant institutions to address critical contemporary rural development issues impacting the well-being of people and communities in the rural South. In partnership with the University of Arkansas, the University of Illinois, the University of Kentucky, New Mexico State University, North Carolina State University, and Oklahoma State University, SRDC is working to promote the retail industry through the CREATE BRIDGES initiative. CREATE BRIDGES aims to strengthen retail, accommodations, tourism, and entertainment industries which often make up a large portion of the jobs & businesses that drive rural economies. CREATE BRIDGES was designed to raise awareness of the important role these businesses and their workforce play in the local economy, determine challenges and assets impacting these sectors, and develop and implement strategies to strengthen the sectors.
