AN INNOVATIVE COMPUTERIZED RURAL INFORMATION SYSTEM

LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS IN RURAL AREAS DO NOT HAVE EQUAL ACCESS TO INFORMATION ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT. ASIDE FROM THE CATALOG OF FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE THERE IS NO STRUCTURED WAY IN WHICH TO FIND OUT ABOUT FUNDING FROM A VARIETY OF FEDERAL SOURCES. STATE AND PRIVATE SOURCES OF FUNDING ARE NOT AVAILABLE IN ANY MEANINGFUL, ACCESSIBLE WAY. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS INNOVATIVE RESEARCH PROJECT WILL BE TO SURVEY A STATISTICALLY VALID SAMPLE OF RURAL LEADERS TO DETERMINE EXACTLY WHAT KINDS OF INFORMATION THEY WOULD LIKE TO HAVE ABOUT A VARIETY OF FUNDING SOURCES, CONDUCT AN ANALYSIS OF THIS INFORMATION USING THE LATEST COMPUTERIZED TECHNIQUES, DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY OF A COMPUTERIZED APPROACH TO PROVIDING THIS INFORMATION, AND THEN DESIGNING A COMPUTERIZED INFORMATION SYSTEM TO PROVIDE THIS INFORMATION. A RESEARCH SURVEY DOCUMENT WILL BE DESIGNED AND THEN MAILED TO OVER 1,000 RURAL LEADERS. THE RETURNED DOCUMENTS WILL BE ENTERED INTO A COMPUTERIZED DATA BASE, AND THEN ANALYZED BY THE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR. THE FEASIBILITY OF A COMPUTERIZED RURAL INFORMATION SYSTEM WILL BE DETERMINED, AND THEN A SYSTEM WILL BE DESIGNED TO MEET RURAL NEEDS.