The Mission of Penn State Cooperative Extension's Community and Economic Development programs is to empower communities to engage in effective and participatory decision-making designed to ensure their long-term health and economic, social, and environmental well-being. Our role is to collaboratively facilitate a community-level learning process through the provision of timely, research-based information and other educational resources that are relevant, responsive and adaptive to changing community needs.

Program Overview
The primary goal of our Community and Economic Development Programs is to provide citizens, businesses, local governments, and organizations with the education and information they need to make effective decisions. The premise of these programming efforts is that a well informed citizenry and leadership is the key to the long term well-being and quality of life of all those in our communities.

Toward this end, field-based educators work closely with Penn State faculty and others to support a diverse menu of community and economic development programs and assistance. These educational programs are designed to be flexible enough to meet the diverse needs of our communities while maintaining a high standard of quality, professionalism, and objectivity. Equally important, the staff and faculty who work in the area of community and economic development have experience with, and access to a wide variety of resources and information regarding many community issues not directly supported by the formal programs and assistance outlined here.

Because our communities' needs are constantly changing, Cooperative Extension works closely with a number of advisory groups, organizations, and individuals to assess and prioritize which programs should be given the greatest emphasis each year. If we cannot be of direct assistance to you, we will do what we can to help you gain access to the information you need. For further information about any of these programs contact us.