COMMUNITY REVITALIZATION ASSESSMENT (CRA) PROGRAMS HELP SMALL TOWNS IDENTIFY THEIR STRENGTHS, CHALLENGES, DESIRED CHANGES, AND THE LOCAL AND NON-LOCAL RESOURCES NEEDED TO MEET COMMUNITY GOALS. TO DATE, RESEARCH HAS NOT BEEN CONDUCTED TO DETERMINE THE EFFICACY OF THESEPROGRAMS, AND THE LINKAGE BETWEEN ASSESSMENT COMPONENTS AND ACTIONS RESULTING FROM CRAS IS POORLY UNDERSTOOD BY DELIVERY ORGANIZATIONS, AS ARE COMMUNITY CHARACTERISTICS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO OR INHIBIT ADDRESSING COMMUNITY PRIORITIES. THIS INTEGRATED RESEARCH AND EXTENSION PROJECT WILL ADDRESS THIS KNOWLEDGE GAP WHILE PILOTING INNOVATIVE STRATEGIES FOR INCREASING THE LIKELIHOOD THAT COMMUNITIES WILL USE INFORMATION AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FAIRLY, EFFECTIVELY, AND CONSISTENTLY TO BECOME COMMUNITIES WHERE EVERYONE THRIVES.RESEARCH WILL IDENTIFY PATTERNS OF COMMUNITY CAPITAL STRENGTH AND VULNERABILITY ACROSS MORE THAN 150 RURAL COMMUNITIES IN IDAHO, MONTANA, AND WYOMING. THROUGH SURVEYS, CONTENT ANALYSIS, FIELD OBSERVATIONS, AND RIPPLE EFFECTS MAPPING, THIS PROJECT WILL PRODUCE HIGH-QUALITY DATA AND ANALYSES ABOUT RURAL COMMUNITIES AND MAKE RESULTING KNOWLEDGE AVAILABLE TO CRA DELIVERY ORGANIZATIONS, UNIVERSITY AND AGENCY PARTNERS, AND POLICY MAKERS. ONCE PROTOCOLS ARE FOLLOWED CONSISTENTLY IN IDAHO, MONTANA, AND WYOMING, THE EFFORT COULD POTENTIALLY EXPAND TO INCLUDE ADDITIONAL STATES. THIS PROJECT WILL ENHANCE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF CRA PROGRAMS, DEVELOP SUCCESS INDICATORS AND EVALUATION PROTOCOLS, PROVIDE FOLLOW-UP ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT AND TOOLS TO COMMUNITIES PARTICIPATING IN ASSESSMENTS, SUPPORT A THREE-STATE WORKING AND LEARNING GROUP COMPRISED OF LAND-GRANT PERSONNEL AND CRA DELIVERY ORGANIZATIONS, AND PRODUCE A GUIDE TO EFFECTIVE RURAL CRA THAT WILL HAVE NATIONAL APPLICATION.