What are the most important considerations when developing a rural outreach program?

2 Assess your capacity and resources

Another key consideration is to evaluate your own capacity and resources to deliver your outreach program. This includes your staff, budget, equipment, materials, and partnerships. How many staff members do you have and what are their skills and availability? How much funding do you have and where does it come from? What kind of technology and transportation do you need and can you afford? What kind of materials and content do you have and how will you distribute them? Who are your potential partners and collaborators and what can they offer? Assessing your capacity and resources will help you determine the scope and feasibility of your program, as well as identify any gaps or challenges that need to be addressed.

4 Choose your methods and strategies

Once you have established your goals, objectives, capacity, resources, community, and stakeholders, you can choose the most appropriate methods and strategies for your outreach program. This means selecting the formats, channels, locations, and frequency of your program delivery, as well as the content, activities, and services that you will offer. What kind of outreach methods and strategies will best suit your audience and goals? For example, you could use mobile libraries, bookmobiles, pop-up libraries, home delivery, mail delivery, online platforms, social media, or community events. How will you ensure that your program is accessible, inclusive, and relevant to your audience? How will you promote and market your program to attract and retain your audience?

5 Evaluate and improve your program

The final consideration when developing a rural outreach program is to evaluate and improve your program on a regular basis. This means collecting and analyzing data and feedback from your audience, staff, partners, and funders, as well as reviewing your goals and objectives and measuring your outcomes and impact. How will you collect and store your data and feedback? What kind of tools and methods will you use, such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, observations, or statistics? How will you analyze and interpret your data and feedback? How will you use your findings to improve your program design and delivery, as well as demonstrate your value and accountability? Evaluating and improving your program will help you ensure its quality, effectiveness, and sustainability.