Report on the Stand Up Rural America Regional Forum 2025

Executive Summary

A national economic development forum focused on rural communities is scheduled for October 7-8, 2025, in Gonzales, Texas. The Stand Up Rural America Regional Forum will convene subject matter experts, panelists, and practitioners to provide tangible strategies for economic prosperity. The event’s core objectives are directly aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), emphasizing inclusive growth, resilient infrastructure, and sustainable community development.

Forum Objectives and Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The forum is designed to equip participants with viable tools for immediate action, contributing to several key SDGs:

• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth: To promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth by fostering entrepreneurship, business development, and tourism in rural areas.
• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure: To build resilient infrastructure through strategic discussions on logistics and support for local business innovation.
• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities: To make rural communities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable through downtown revitalization, community development programs, and regional collaboration.
• SDG 4: Quality Education: To promote lifelong learning opportunities via dedicated sessions on workforce, youth, and career development.
• SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals: To create a collaborative environment that strengthens partnerships between public, private, and civil-society stakeholders for sustainable development.

Key Thematic Areas for Sustainable Development

The agenda will cover a range of topics critical for achieving sustainable rural development:

1. Innovative Economic Strategies: Fostering economic diversification and resilience in alignment with SDG 8.
2. Logistics and Infrastructure: Examining the foundational role of logistics in building resilient communities and supporting industry (SDG 9).
3. Community Revitalization: Focusing on downtown and Main Street development to create inclusive and sustainable community hubs (SDG 11).
4. Human Capital Development: Addressing workforce, youth, and leadership development to ensure quality education and opportunities for all (SDG 4).
5. Entrepreneurship and Business Growth: Providing tools to support local enterprises, contributing to decent work and economic growth (SDG 8).
6. Collaborative Governance: Promoting regionalism and partnerships as a mechanism for achieving the SDGs (SDG 17).

Target Participants and Stakeholder Engagement

The forum encourages a multi-stakeholder approach, inviting participation from a wide array of organizations committed to rural prosperity, thereby strengthening partnerships for the goals (SDG 17). Attendees include:

• Economic Development Organizations
• Chambers of Commerce
• City and County Representatives
• Downtown and Main Street Associations
• Regional Development Groups
• Utilities and Lenders
• Community and Industry Leaders

Featured Experts and Practitioners

The event will feature nationally renowned experts whose work contributes to sustainable rural development:

• Julie Roller Weeks: A specialist in tourism as a driver for sustainable economic growth.
• Jeff Siegler: An expert in community revitalization, aligning with the principles of SDG 11.
• Doug Griffiths: An economic strategist focused on building resilient and sustainable communities.
• Lorie Vincent: An economic strategist and author focused on actionable solutions for rural growth.

Event and Registration Details

• Date: October 7-8, 2025
• Venue: JB Wells Expo Center, Gonzales, Texas
• Host: ACCELERATION by design LLC
• Registration: Registration opened on August 15. Sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities are available.
• Information: Complete details can be found at www.StandUpRuralAmerica.com.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

1. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
   • The article’s central theme is the “Stand Up Rural America Regional Forum,” which is explicitly a “national economic development forum for rural communities.” Its primary goal is to help rural areas “grow in economic prosperity” by covering topics like “innovative economic development strategies,” “entrepreneurship,” “business development,” “tourism,” and “workforce, youth & career development.” This directly aligns with SDG 8’s mission to promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all.
2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
   • The forum addresses key components of SDG 9 by including topics such as “logistics” and “downtown revitalization.” The article highlights a specific panel on “Logistics: The Foundation for Growth in Rural America,” emphasizing the importance of infrastructure for economic development. The focus on “innovative economic development strategies” also connects to the goal of fostering innovation.
3. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
   • The article focuses on the sustainability and prosperity of “rural communities.” Topics like “downtown revitalization,” “community development programs,” and “regionalism” are directly aimed at making these human settlements more inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable. The forum aims to provide “viable and tested tools into the hands of the changemakers in rural communities,” which supports the development of sustainable community planning and management.
4. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
   • The forum itself is an example of a multi-stakeholder partnership. It is designed for a wide range of participants, including “Economic Development Organizations, Chambers of Commerce, Cities, Counties, Downtown/Downtown Associations, Main Street Communities, Regional Groups, Utilities, Lenders, Community & Industry Leaders.” This collaborative approach, bringing together different sectors to achieve common development goals, is the essence of SDG 17. The article mentions “collaboration” as a key topic, further reinforcing this connection.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

• Target 8.2: Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification and innovation. The forum’s focus on “innovative economic development strategies” and “business development” aims to boost the economic productivity of rural areas.
• Target 8.3: Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, and entrepreneurship. The inclusion of “entrepreneurship” and “business development” as key topics directly supports this target by encouraging the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises in rural America.
• Target 8.9: Devise and implement policies to promote sustainable tourism. The article explicitly lists “tourism” as a topic to be covered, with a “nationally renowned Tourism Trailblazer” scheduled to present, indicating a focus on developing this sector for rural growth.

SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

• Target 9.1: Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure to support economic development. The emphasis on “logistics” and “downtown revitalization” points to efforts to improve the foundational infrastructure necessary for rural economic prosperity.

SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

• Target 11.3: Enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning. The topics of “downtown revitalization,” “community development programs,” and “local leadership development” are all components of building capacity for sustainable community planning and management.
• Target 11.a: Support positive economic, social and environmental links between urban, peri-urban and rural areas by strengthening national and regional development planning. The forum’s focus on “regionalism” and providing strategies for “rural cities, counties and regions” directly addresses the need for coordinated regional development planning.

SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

• Target 17.17: Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships. The event’s structure, which brings together diverse stakeholders from government (“Cities, Counties”), business (“Chambers of Commerce,” “Lenders,” “Utilities”), and civil society (“Community & Industry Leaders”), is a direct application of this target.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

Implied Indicators for Measuring Progress

The article, being an announcement, does not provide quantitative data or official indicators. However, it implies several areas where progress could be measured as a result of the forum’s activities:

• Growth in new businesses and entrepreneurial ventures: Progress towards Target 8.3 could be measured by tracking the number of new businesses created in the participating rural communities following the implementation of strategies discussed in the “entrepreneurship” and “business development” sessions.
• Increase in tourism-related revenue and employment: To measure progress on Target 8.9, communities could track changes in visitor numbers, spending by tourists, and the number of jobs created in the tourism sector.
• Investment in local infrastructure projects: Success related to Target 9.1 could be indicated by the number and value of new projects initiated in areas like “logistics” and “downtown revitalization” in the communities that participated in the forum.
• Formation of regional development partnerships: For Target 17.17, an indicator of success would be the number of new formal or informal partnerships and collaborative projects established between the various organizations (“Cities, Counties, Regional Groups,” etc.) that attended the event.
• Youth engagement in the local workforce: Progress towards the goals of the “youth & career development” topic could be measured by tracking youth employment rates or the number of young people participating in new career development programs within the rural communities.

4. Summary Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: gonzalesinquirer.com