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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Rural Design Webinar Series

Emily Wilson-Hauger presenting on rural design and downtown development at the Learning Cohort Summit. (Credit: Omar Hakeem)

Beginning in February 2020, CIRD resource team members will lead a series of three webinars to help participants navigate the design process. Topics will focus on fundraising and predevelopment activities, design development and project management, and how to complete an action plan. Each webinar will feature subject matter experts and case studies showcasing success in rural design.

To maximize impact, the Citizens' Institute on Rural Design Webinar Series will be open to the public. The Webinar Series will also be recorded and shared with CIRD constituents.

Webinar I: Predevelopment and Fundraising

Tuesday, February 18th, 2020 (2:00pm-3:00pm EST)

So you’ve got a design idea – now where do you start? Tune in to CIRD’s February webinar on pre-development and fundraising to learn about the crucial first steps in starting a design project. The webinar will cover the nuts and bolts of considering the history of a project site, identifying key community members and stakeholders to the project, and setting up a fundraising strategy.

Download the PowerPoint Presentation

Webinar II: The Role of Design in the Time of COVID-19

Wednesday May 20th, 2020 (1:00pm-2:00pm EST)

Design for rural areas often plans to bring people together in place and drive economic development for communities. What is the role of design when stay-at-home orders change the environment we live in? How can organizations who work in design respond to economic distress head-on?

Join Citizens' Institute on Rural Design for a special edition of our Rural Design Webinar series on the coronavirus with speakers Manuel Ochoa (Ochoa Urban Collaborative), Margie Reese (Witchita Falls Alliance for the Arts and Culture), Megan Laudenschlager (Strengthen ND), and a special guest message from Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (Maine, D-1).

Download the PowerPoint Presentation

Click here for CIRD's take-away's from Webinar II

Webinar III: Rural Design for a New Future

Tuesday August 25th, 2020 (1:00pm-2:00pm EST)

So much uncertainty pervades our world right now. How are small communities adapting to a global pandemic and the calls for racial equity? Join Citizens’ Institute on Rural Design for a continued conversation in our Rural Design Webinar Series featuring speakers working on affordable housing the the rural south, entrepreneurship among Native American tribes, and our CIRD-led initiative to renovate a black church in Ohio's Appalachian foothills.