2025 Annual Report
The NCRCRD is pleased to share our 2025 Annual Report. The publication provides a summary of the Center’s initiatives and impacts for the past year and includes project reports of grant projects that completed work in 2025.
Previous Annual Reports: The Center’s annual reports from 2009 – 2024 are available by request. Please email NCRCRD with the publication year of your interest. Note: Previous annual reports pdfs are not ADA compliant at this time.
2025 Annual Report Snapshot
Multi-region Baseline Surveys Published
As a result of an innovative data initiative, the NCRCRD along with our sister Regional Rural Development Centers published the open access data of the multi-region Baseline Survey 2024. The survey explores essential topics related to household, business, and community well-being and aims to learn more about the conditions, issues, and challenges faced by rural and urban communities and their residents in each region.
The Baseline Survey 2024 open access regional data sets are available individually as well as in a combined 4-Region dataset on the Purdue University Research Repository. Links to each of these data sets follow:
- North Central Region – NCR-Stat: Baseline Survey 2024
- Northeast Region – NER-Stat: Baseline Survey 2024
- Southern Region – SR-Stat: Baseline Survey 2024
- Western Region – WR-Stat: Baseline Survey 2024
- 4-Region Household Dataset – 4R-Stat: Baseline Survey 2024
Use of the NCR-Stat continues to increase.
Research and special projects using the NCR-Stat datasets continue to flourish. Be sure to check out the comprehensive list of the reports, journal articles, webinars, dashboards, thesis and presentations produced in 2025 in the NCRCRD 2025 Annual Report (pp. 4-5).
Five grants awarded in 2025
The 2025 grants awarded included:
- 3 Small Grants
- 1 Thematic Working Group — A multi-state working group focusing on rural childcare
- 1 Faculty Fellow: Samuel C.H. Mindes, Ph.D., Adjunct Assistant Professor, Rural Sociology, Dept. of Sociology and Criminal Justice, Iowa State University | Project Title: Housing, Identity, and Rural Resilience in the North Central Region
- Total funds awarded: $148,874
Grants & Fellowships Completed in 2025
- 4 Small Grants
- 1 Fellowship
Collective impacts of the 7 completed grant project:
- 23 Presentations
- 2 Journal Articles
- 2 Curriculum
- 6 Webinars
- 7 Manuscripts
- 1 Survey Developed
- 1 Workshop
- 2 Podcasts
- 3 Websites
- Numerous professional development activities
The NCRCRD 2025 Annual Report provides the final grant project reports of each completed grant along with their individual outputs (pp. 13-21).
Supporting initiatives of importance to our region
Some of these efforts include:
- NCRCRD continued working with USDA NIFA on the New Beginnings for Tribal Students program and the Delta Regional Authority on the PROPEL Technical Assistance Initiatives program.
- The Center partnered with North Carolina State University, the Southern Rural Development Center, Purdue University Institute for Family Business, and Mississippi State University to produce the five-part series, Who Will Fill My Shoes? Succession Planning for Land Owners, Farmers, Forest Owners, and Family Businesses Workshop.
- In 2025 NCRCRD hosted the Sustainable Agricultural Systems (SAS) Food Shocks all member team meeting.
- Throughout the year, NCRCRD continued to encourage collaboration and facilitating partnerships among land-grant institutions through conference development, presentations, and outreach.
Learn more about each of these dynamic programs and the people behind them in the NCRCRD 2025 Annual Report (pp. 8-9).
Webinars and other endeavors
2025 NCRCRD Webinar Series
The NCRCRD Webinar Series seeks to elevate NCR research and Extension programs that address the region’s rural challenges. In 2025 we hosted eleven webinars. During this year, we experienced significant growth in registrations and continued to receive positive feedback.
2025 Webinar Series metrics:
- Registrations grew 58% from previous year.
- High attendee ratings given through post-webinar surveys.
- Overall attendees’ rating for the 2025 Webinar Series: 4.46 (ratings: 1=lowest to 5=highest)
- Likelihood of attending another webinar: 4.54 (ratings: 1=not likely to 5=most likely)
- Total views of webinar recordings grew 26% last year.
- Recording watch time: 52% increase from 2024
- NCRCRD YouTube channel subscribers: 43% increase.
Other ways NCRCRD elevates Extension programs
- The Community Development Extension Library provides a national repository for Extension professionals to share and discover programs and resources. NCRCRD continues to maintain and support this site that was created in 2023 with the support of an NCRCRD small grant and in partnership with NACDEP.
- NCRCRD hosts and provides logistical support to the region’s Community Development Extension program leaders for their monthly meetings and also facilitates the compilation and reporting of the North Central Region (NCR) Annual Community Development Extension Impact Report. The report gathers the common indicators that NCR land-grant university Extension leaders developed for reporting their impacts.
Additional details about these efforts are found in the NCRCRD 2025 Annual Report (pp. 10-11).