University of Minnesota, Crookston
EN-10: Community Partnerships

The University of Minnesota Extension Northwest Regional Sustainable Development Partnership (Northwest RSDP) contributes to a vibrant future for Northwest Minnesota. We partner with residents and organizations in the northwestern region of our state to support their ideas to improve the sustainability of their local communities. We support projects in the areas of agriculture and food systems, resilient communities, clean energy and natural resources. All projects we support are connected to University of Minnesota resources.

The Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships (RSDP) bring together community and University knowledge and resources to drive sustainability in four focus areas: agriculture and food systems, clean energy, natural resources and resilient communities. RSDP supports local projects through five regional boards made up of community members and University faculty and staff. The work of each regional board is supported by community-University work groups in the four sustainability focus areas which work with community partners to identify and develop local project ideas. In 2021 alone, RSDP partnered with 332 community partners and 146 University partners on 158 community-driven sustainability projects across Minnesota. RSDP also supports multi-region food systems work across Greater Minnesota and provides energy programming through the Clean Energy Resource Teams.

The Northern Great Plains Youth Institute, an official World Food Prize event, is a potentially life-changing experience at the University of Minnesota Crookston where high school students engage with local leaders and experts on critical global challenges, participate in hands-on activities, and explore exciting ways to make a difference in Minnesota and around the world. The World Food Prize was founded by Dr. Norman Borlaug, a Nobel Peace Prize winner who saved over a billion people from famine and starvation through advances in crop breeding technologies. Today, The World Food Prize celebrates individuals who significantly improve global food security. The Northern Great Plains Youth Institute was established at UMN Crookston to engage high school students with local leaders and experts on critical global food security challenges, participate in hands-on learning, explore campus, and formally present their solutions to food security, environmental or social justice issues.

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The University of Minnesota has extensive partnerships related to sustainability. Other projects can be found via the Public Engagement Footprint where users can filter partnership information by Sustainable Development Goal areas: https://system.umn.edu/your-community