What is ROCE?

Recharge Our Community’s Economy (abbreviated ROCE but sounds like “ROCK”) is an exciting four-part workshop series that brings a cross-section of people together to talk about all the exciting things happening in a community and all the exciting things that could be happening. But the fun does not stop there! The ROCE Workshops help local residents identify and foster community-driven economic opportunities through interactive elements that empower participants to:

• Recognize the different types of resources and wealth (more than just money) that already exist in the community and region.

• Strategize ways existing resources can be used to create economic opportunities that help the community thrive.

• Develop, implement, and maintain ownership of projects to ensure they benefit residents, instead of out-of-town investors.

• Engage the people, organizations, local leaders, and the other types of partners needed to make each idea a reality.

Between and after the workshops, the Rural Community Assistance Corporation's (RCAC's) Building Rural Economies'(BRE) Team and KEDC provide ongoing technical assistance to help participants maintain project momentum, develop strategic action plans, outline the steps needed to achieve their project goals, connect with industry experts, and secure funding.

WealthWorks is an approach to economic development that connects a region’s assets to market demand in ways that build wealth rooted in local people, places and firms. It is an asset-based approach to community economic development with a goal of building wealth that “sticks” in the community or region. WealthWorks focuses on building an economic sector, such as housing, local food, or energy, rather than individual and unrelated businesses. Since this kind of economic development takes many partners, the approach applies tools that bring together a range of public, private and non-profit organizations that have an interest in the outcomes of development and openness to discovering mutual or collective interests. For more information visit WealthWorks.org