The Citizens' Institute on Rural Design™ is a National Endowment for the Arts leadership initiative in partnership with the Housing Assistance Council and buildingcommunityWORKSHOP.
Watch Webinar I: Predevelopment and Fundraising
Webinar I covered the basics of project pre-development, historic preservation best practices and case studies, and tips for fundraising. Download the powerpoint or watch a recording of the webinar using the link below.
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From the Blog

  • Mara Mintzer listening to an elementary student share their ideas for a local community park. (Credit: Lynn M. Licktieg)

    TED Talk Design Leader on How to Engage Youth

    March 2, 2020
    Mara Mintzer spoke with the Citizens’ Institute on Rural Design about her award-winning work at the intersection of design, education, and community engagement with one overriding theme: youth voices matter, and they matter right now. 1.6 million people have viewed Mintzer’s How Kids Can Help Design Cities TED Talk. We suggest a listen, too, as it buttresses CIRD’s recent conversation with Mara. And don’t let “cities” get in the way; Mara notes the utter rural applicability of her approach.
  • Millinocket is using design to merge the natural amenities of the region with economic development. (Credit: Peggy Daigle)

    CIRD is Gearing Up for the Local Design Workshops

    January 30, 2020
    CIRD’s multi-day design workshops bring together a diversity of participants from the local community and introduce a wide array of design strategies to improve the way a community looks, its quality of life, and economic viability. The Citizens’ Institute on Rural Design (CIRD) is proud to announce the schedule for the selected 2019-2020 local design workshops in Millinocket, ME, Pueblo of Laguna, NM, and Athens, OH.
Over 60 workshops in all regions of the country.
Where We Work

Established in 1991, the Citizens' Institute on Rural Design™ has convened more than 60 workshops in all regions of the country, empowering residents to leverage local assets for the future in order to build better places to live, work, and play.

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Webinars

CIRD supports host communities before and after their workshops via informational conference calls and webinars that cover critical topics in community engagement, rural design, partnership development, and workshop planning.

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