The Community and Rural Development Institute (CaRDI) provides research-based information to state and local officials and other community leaders. CaRDI publishes three monthly series, Rural New York Minute, CaRDI Research and Policy Briefs, and CaRDI Reports. All three of these publications contain the most up-to-date analysis of social science research on issues of concern to local communities in New York.

The level of social and economic development is extremely uneven across New York state. Some areas have high capacity for local decision making, while others have low capacity and lag far behind in development and most measures of well-being. This program seeks to strengthen less advantaged communities by providing them research-based information on issues such as land use, population change, aging, local agriculture, and labor quality and retention that affect their development trajectories. In connection with CaRDI`s training for local officials, this program results in more informed leaders who are able to make better-informed decisions.

CaRDI produces three monthly publication series specifically designed to fill the knowledge needs of elected and appointed officials and other leaders at the state and local levels. These publications build bridges between the producers of social science knowledge about rural social and economic development and the users of this information. The Rural New York Minute is a one-page broadsheet highlighting the main findings and policy significance of current research. The CaRDI Research and Policy Brief is a two-page analysis that goes into more depth about how the research was done, why the issue is important to rural communities in New York, and policy options suggested by the findings. CaRDI Reports are full-blown research monographs. These publications enhance state and local leaders` knowledge about issues important to their constituencies and communities, and enhance their decison making with respect to these issues.

We have documented evidence that state and local leaders regularly read CaRDI publications and use the information to inform their professional decisions. In a recent web survey of the CaRDI mailing list, we found that between 35 and 45 percent of respondents reported that CaRDI reports were frequently or very frequently useful in their professional roles. Individual leaders, as well as rural development organizations, make more specific use of CaRDI publications.
For example, the New York Rural Schools Association sends CaRDI Minutes and Briefs to member school districts for use in high school social science classes. A recent CaRDI Report, which examined socioeconomic change in the North Country in comparison with other areas of the state, shows the challenges and opportunities facing that region and is providing a basis for making decisions. CaRDI`s Minute on public attitudes toward providing driver`s licenses to undocumented workers provided town clerks with a way to compare their personal opinions on this issue with the opinions of others in the state. These are just a few examples of how CaRDI`s publication program is contributing to better decisions on rural social and economic development in New York.