Agenda - Council Work Session - 01/10/2017

Home

include the City of Minnetonka (2012-2013), City of North St. Paul (2013-2014), City of Rosemount (2014-2015), Carver County (2015-2016), and City of Brooklyn Park (2016-2017). The RCP model provides our partner community with efficient access to the broad base of sustainability expertise at the U of MN. RCP staff work closely with the partner community to match their projects with students and faculty from a wide range of disciplines—from architecture, planning, and engineering to environmental sciences, public health, and the humanities. Most projects involve multiple disciplines in order to address problems from diverse perspectives. Assistance is available related to all aspects of sustainability (e.g., environmental health, economic opportunity, social equity, and community livability) and all stages of sustainability efforts (analysis, planning, design, implementation, and evaluation). Through work with RCP, the community is able to enhance its own capacity to advance local sustainability and resilience in a cost-effective manner. U of MN students benefit from real- world opportunities to apply their knowledge and training, as well as bringing energy, enthusiasm, and innovative approaches to local problems and opportunities. The partner community must support the effort through dedicated staff time and a local financial contribution. The selection process is competitive. Benefits of Partnership with RCP RCP provides numerous benefits for the community partner, including: • a high rate of return on investment, with thousands of hours of concentrated student work on community-identified projects • access to an interdisciplinary group of faculty with first-hand knowledge of cutting-edge sustainability research and practice • data collection, analysis, research, concept plans, designs, and policy recommendations that can energize staff, increase the range of options available, and get "stuck" projects moving • greater support from residents for proposed solutions through student outreach in the community • publicity in local, state, regional, and national publications and venues, highlighting your community as a forward-thinking and sustainable community • faculty, students, and staff who serve as ambassadors for your community by sharing their experiences through conference presentations, community meetings, and informal conversations • engaged students with on-the-ground knowledge of the community who may be candidates for future internships or staff positions II. How the RCP Partnership Works RCP will select one community partner for the 2017-2018 academic year (July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018). Staff from RCP and the community will begin work on the year-long collaboration with a series of orientation and planning workshops in summer 2017 to introduce community partner staff to the program, refine the scope of locally identified projects, begin matching 2