2026 CDS Annual Conference

Navigating Change with Rural Stories and Action
This panel will highlight how learning through stories and supporting rural-led action is informing stronger partnerships with rural places for research, funding, network building, and advocacy.  Panelists include university researchers, a not-for-profit, and rural leaders who will share why stories matter in their work and how what is learned from the stories and process are helping to navigate changes for their institutions, in new partnerships, and within rural communities.
This panel focuses on the themes of navigating change together and connecting across urban-rural divides.  The three projects are connected by their focus on collaboration, shared understanding, and aligned outcomes focused on rural voice and power- action steps prioritized in the Thrive Rural Framework by Aspen Community Strategies Group and in the CDS principles of good practice. The panelists represent diverse institutions working across local, state, and national geographies.  They are connecting rural and urban partners and supporting capacity for rural leaders to create more vibrant and resilient rural places through health equity, food access, leadership, and arts and culture.  In a time where decreasing budgets, misinformation, and disconnection are making community change work more challenging, the panelists will discuss the outcomes of their intentional investments - of funding, time, flexibility, and network-building - in strategies focused on rural stories and action. This panel will share examples of how cross-sector and cross-geography collaboration can use stories and connection to move beyond the usual silos toward shared solutions. 
Panel Presentations:
The Rural Missouri Stories Project
From 2023-2024, researchers studied the lived experiences, narratives, and values that shape rural Missouri life and inform perceptions of communities’ ability to thrive. This presentation will share the research process and outreach, lessons learned, and how the data and process are informing other rural Missouri initiatives.
Rural Assembly Everywhere
Rural Assembly Everywhere, a program of the Center for Rural Strategies, is an annual gathering uniting people nationwide who care about rural places, neighbors, and community issues. This presentation highlights how Rural Assembly invites participants to imagine new ways to expand opportunity, share resources, and build a connected rural America.
Missouri EATs and the Missouri Rural Food Access Partnership (MFRAP)
Missouri Rural Food Access Partnership is a network of urban and rural food system partners exploring a statewide food financing initiative. This effort is informed by local strategies and stories shared through Missouri EATs – a program to uncover innovative community solutions for improved food access through community engagement, networks, and local action planning.