[an excerpt from the report]

This community-based strategy highlights action items to effect positive change in the Lower Mississippi Delta region. The strategy was developed jointly by all the partners, collaborators, local stakeholders, and participants in the Delta initiative convened by the Housing Assistance Council with support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It represents the combined efforts of a regional network of community-based development organizations and public and private funders. The strategy highlights critical needs and gaps, establishes priorities, and presents a set of action recommendations that identify immediate opportunities for achieving key objectives in the region. The strategy also provides a blueprint for leveraging capital and other resources and delivering them to the rural communities of the Delta.

This strategy is also a working document and is designed to be updated at regular intervals, as recommendations are implemented and new ideas surface. It calls upon a range of stakeholders -- from the federal government to local grassroots development organizations -- to combine their efforts for making this strategy an action agenda for sparking the process of change in the Delta. It invites new players to join this initiative in a way that builds upon existing efforts in order to maximize impact in the region.

This strategy identifies several key approaches for rebuilding and revitalizing rural communities of the Delta. The recommendations outlined in this strategy highlight the need for implementation of policies and programs that are grounded in a process of bottom up community planning and stakeholder consensus building. The centerpiece of this strategy is the development of a Delta-wide collaborative effort to begin addressing local needs and problems. Some of the recommendations require minor adjustments in existing programs and can be easily be implemented. While these recommendations are directed at creating small changes, they have the potential to positively impact the Delta immediately. It is also hoped that they will have a ripple effect and set a process of change in motion that will continue to move forward. Other recommendations require greater commitment, may require feasibility studies, and are more long-term. Together they are expected to have a permanent positive impact on the Delta.

Several recommended approaches build upon existing successes, while others represent a new or different way of targeting development efforts. These recommendations for addressing needs in the Delta are grouped under two major categories: initiating structural change and facilitating resource and capital development.

Initiating structural change in the Delta:

Problems associated with the Delta's legacy of segregation were cited repeatedly by participants in the Delta initiative as a major challenge to development. Disparity in access to assistance due to obstacles related to race and "age-old power structures" stymies attempts by local groups to address the needs of Delta residents. A strategy to overcome these difficulties is the first step in addressing entrenched inequities. Recommendations are directed at shaping/encouraging policy and program decisions to take into account the Delta as a unified regional area and developing the capacity of local organizations. This will enable Delta residents to express their concerns with a unified voice, impact decisions related to the Delta in national policy discourse, and gain control over the way resources are allocated within the region. Recommendations are grouped under the following priorities:

• Shape a regional perspective for the Delta
• Facilitate a comprehensive approach to community development
• Undertake capacity development initiatives
• Develop policies to support change in the Delta

Facilitating resource and capital development for the Delta:

Persistent poverty and uneven distribution and underutilization of available resources restrict the ability of distressed rural Delta communities to create positive change in the region. Systematic disinvestment and lack of new resource delivery to the Delta were cited by Delta initiative participants as major obstacles. A strategy to target existing resources effectively and utilize them to leverage and direct additional resources to the Delta would help local organizations accelerate their community development efforts. Development in the Delta requires the involvement of public and private investment. It also requires the creation of partnerships and collaborations between religious, philanthropic, government and corporate interests, and local community groups. Recommendations are targeted at improving the delivery of federal and other resources to the Delta and creating special lending and credit enhancement mechanisms for the Delta. They are grouped under the following the following priorities:

• Improve access to credit and increasing capital for development
• Facilitate access to land and infrastructure
• Create communication networks
• Develop local collaborations to maximize resources