North Central Regional Center for Rural Development

What North Central Regional Center for Rural Development does

NCRCRD is a federally-funded, non-profit research and extension center hosted at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, established in 1972 under the Rural Development Act. Designated as one of four USDA NIFA Regional Rural Development Centers, it serves 12 Midwestern states (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin) by connecting the land-grant university Extension network to rural community development needs. The center operates across three thematic areas: Creating Resilient Communities & Economies, Developing Leadership & Civic Engagement, and Promoting Community Health & Wellness, supported by a team of approximately 9 staff.

The center's core technology platform is NCR-Stat, a household survey dataset system built on Qualtrics with CATI capabilities, covering 4,000+ respondents across 12 states on topics including demographics, income, workforce participation, entrepreneurship, caregiving, housing, broadband access, civic engagement, health, food security, and environmental concerns. NCRCRD produces open-access datasets (Baseline 2022/2024, Caregiving, Small Business, Housing in development), regional household survey reports, monthly webinars distributed via YouTube, an annual Energize! conference, and research publications. The center also administers a small grants program (working groups up to $50,000 over 3 years), fellowships, and thematic working groups.

NCRCRD's revenue model is entirely grant-funded: USDA NIFA serves as the primary federal funding source, supplemented by cooperative extension association grants (e.g., NCCEA) and project-specific funding. All core products — datasets, webinars, publications, and the newsletter — are provided free of charge to users, reflecting its public-sector mission. Grant-funded fellowship and small grant programs are awarded to researchers and extension professionals rather than sold as commercial products. The organization has no commercial revenue streams and no equity ownership structure.

Name

North Central Regional Center for Rural Development

Legal name

The Trustees of Purdue University

Website

https://ncrcrd.ag.purdue.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

NCRCRD is a federally-funded non-profit research and extension center at Purdue University serving 12 Midwestern states. It produces open-access household survey data, hosts webinars and conferences, and administers grants and fellowships supporting rural community development.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

West Lafayette

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. USDA NIFA Funding: Primary federal funding through USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture as one of four Regional Rural Development Centers in the United States. The Centers collectively connect to the nationwide network of Land-Grant Universities and the Cooperative Extension Service.
2. Cooperative Extension Association Grants: Project-specific grants from organizations such as the North Central Cooperative Extension Association (NCCEA) supporting regional household survey reports and other initiatives.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

NCRCRD is a federally-funded research and extension center that builds rural community capacity through open-access household survey datasets (NCR-Stat), regional research reports, professional development webinars, small grants, fellowships, and thematic working groups across 12 Midwestern states. Its core mission is to connect the land-grant university and Cooperative Extension network to rural communities through cutting-edge research, data resources, and innovative partnerships across three thematic areas: Creating Resilient Communities & Economies, Developing Leadership & Civic Engagement, and Promoting Community Health & Wellness.

Product overview

NCRCRD operates as a research and Extension center offering a portfolio of data products, grant programs, and professional development resources. The core products include the NCR-Stat household survey datasets (Baseline, Caregiving, Small Business) that provide open-access research data on rural community well-being. These are complemented by North Central Region Household Survey Reports synthesizing the data into actionable insights. NCRCRD also manages Small Grants, Fellowship, and Working Group programs that fund multistate collaborative research across its three thematic areas: Creating Resilient Communities & Economies, Developing Leadership & Civic Engagement, and Promoting Community Health & Wellness. The monthly Webinar Series connects researchers and Extension professionals across the 12-state North Central Region.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• NCR-Stat: A household and community well-being dataset developed by NCRCRD to facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration across states, among researchers and Extension professionals
• NCR-Stat: Baseline Survey
• NCR-Stat: Caregiving
• NCR-Stat: Small Business
• NCR-Stat: Housing
• North Central Quality Childcare (NCQC) Network
• North Central Region Aging Network (NCRAN)

Products and services

• NCR-Stat: Baseline Survey Comprehensive household survey dataset covering the North Central Region's 12 states, examining household, business, and community well-being including demographics, income, workforce, entrepreneurship, caregiving, housing, broadband, civic engagement, health, food security, and environmental concerns. Available as open-access data for researchers and extension professionals.
• NCR-Stat: Caregiving Regional caregiving dataset examining caregiving experiences across the life course, including care for children, adults, and elderly. Includes 4,532 respondents with data on caregiver demographics, financial impacts, and support needs. Available as open-access data co-developed with the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development.
• NCR-Stat: Small Business Dataset Dataset providing unique focus on the intersection of small businesses, employee benefits, and rural health outcomes in the North Central Region. Available as open-access data for researchers studying rural entrepreneurship and workforce health.
• North Central Region Household Survey Reports Thirteen regional and state-level reports presenting index measures synthesizing survey questions from NCR-Stat: Baseline Survey 2024 into indicators of household and community well-being, organized by NCRCRD's three thematic areas. Available as open-access downloads.
• NCRCRD Webinar Series Monthly webinar series (August-May) connecting North Central Region rural development researchers and Extension professionals with stakeholders, covering topics in community development, health, entrepreneurship, and rural vitality. Past recordings available on the NCRCRD YouTube channel.
• NCRCRD Small Grants Program Small grants program providing funding for multistate working groups focused on NCRCRD's three rural development thematic areas: creating resilient communities, developing leadership, and promoting community health. Awarded annually to extension professionals and researchers.
• NCRCRD Fellowship Program Fellowship program supporting researchers working on rural development challenges in the North Central Region, with fellows receiving funding to conduct research and develop innovative approaches to rural community issues.
• Thematic Working Groups Multistate collaborative groups focused on specific rural development topics, funded up to $50,000 over 3 years. Current working groups include Rural Childcare Working Group and In Pursuit of Place Working Group.

Quantifiable outcome

• 17 RHRA communities generated over $132 million in housing investments
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability6 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and strategic.

• Purdue UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost institution providing headquarters, administrative support, and access to the Department of Agricultural Economics and Purdue Extension. The center is located at 403 Mitch Daniels Blvd., West Lafayette, IN. Purdue Agricultural Communications maintains the center's website.
• Southern Rural Development Center (SRDC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSister center collaboration on household surveys and regional data initiatives. Jointly developed the 4R-Stat Baseline Survey 2024 and other multi-region datasets.
• Auburn UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partner in developing the household survey methodology for the 4R-Stat Baseline Survey 2024 initiative.
• Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development (NERCRD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSister RRDC collaboration on caregiving surveys and multi-region data initiatives. NERCRD funded the Northeast Region caregiving survey data collection. Jointly published Research Snapshots on caregiver impacts.
• Western Rural Development Center (WRDC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of the 4-Region collaboration on Baseline Survey 2024, expanding the multi-region household survey initiative to include Western region data.
• North Central Region Aging Network (NCRAN)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative of Extension professionals from 1862 land-grants dedicated to improving health and well-being of adults in later life through science-based strategies. Founded in 2016.
• North Central Quality Childcare (NCQC) NetworkstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorking group of Extension professionals from 6 states (Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota) addressing childcare quantity and quality in rural communities. Received 2-year, $34,980 grant.
• South Dakota State University ExtensionstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost partner for the 2025 Energize! Exploring Innovative Rural Communities Conference. Co-developer of rural community development programming.
• Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs/1994 Land-Grants)strategicStrategic or Co-development Partner20 tribal colleges in the North Central Region designated as 1994 land-grants. NCRCRD has awarded 1994 Land Grant Innovation Grants and provides travel stipends for TCU participation in USDA/NIFA grant workshops.
• Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs/1890 Land-Grants)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerTwo HBCUs designated as 1890 land-grants in the North Central Region. NCRCRD has awarded 1994 Land Grant Innovation Grants to support collaboration with TCUs and HBCUs.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Heartland Forward: An economic policy and applied research organization focused on the heartland region, addressing population, workforce, health, and place-based economic issues. Comparable mission of evidence-based rural and Midwestern community development.
• Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI): University-based policy research organization focused on rural America, delivering policy analysis and data to federal and state policymakers. Comparable to NCRCRD's policy-maker and funder-facing research and data delivery role.
• Purdue Center for Regional Development: Located at the same host institution as NCRCRD; Associate Director Michael D. Wilcox, Jr. is also a Senior Associate at PCRD. PCRD conducts complementary regional economics and rural development research within the same land-grant ecosystem.
• Western Rural Development Center: Fourth sister RRDC hosted at Utah State University. WRDC participates in the 4-region collaboration on the Baseline Survey 2024, making it a direct structural peer with the same federal mandate in the western US.
• Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development: Sister RRDC hosted at Penn State. NERCRD funded the Northeast Region caregiving survey data collection and jointly published Research Snapshots with NCRCRD, operating a structurally identical RRDC mandate in a different region.
• Southern Rural Development Center: One of the four sister USDA NIFA-funded Regional Rural Development Centers (RRDCs), hosted at Mississippi State University. NCRCRD collaborated with SRDC and Auburn University to develop the 4R-Stat Baseline Survey 2024, making SRDC the closest structural and functional peer.

Broad incumbents

• National Association of Community Development Extension Professionals: NCRCRD actively sponsors and participates in NACDEP, including administering 2026 NACDEP North Central Region Awards. NACDEP is the broader national professional association for community development extension professionals that NCRCRD's extension network feeds into.
• Extension Foundation: National backbone organization for the Cooperative Extension Service. NCRCRD's outputs flow through the Extension network that Extension Foundation coordinates at the national level, making it a comparable ecosystem-level convener.

Emerging players

• Council on Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics (C-FARE): National organization connecting agricultural and applied economics research to policy. C-FARE shares NCRCRD's land-grant-rooted research translation function but with a national economics-policy orientation.
• Aspen Institute Community Strategies Group: Convenes rural community development practitioners and produces research on rural America. Shares NCRCRD's rural community development orientation with complementary practitioner-network focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@ncrcrd3668
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ncrcrd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about North Central Regional Center for Rural Development