Rural Innovation Strategies Inc.

Rural Innovation Strategies, Inc. (RISI) is a social impact nonprofit consulting firm with a multi-disciplinary team of strategists, advocates, and capacity builders. Our capabilities reflect the depth and breadth of our commitment to serve rural America, and the local leaders there working to advance tech-enabled economic development. Our work provides critical support to secure funding, develop infrastructure, and implement the programs needed to unlock the potential of rural America. We work with rural communities across the country as they build tech economies that support scalable entrepreneurship and tech job creation. From writing federal grants and launching accelerators to convening stakeholders and securing funding, our team supports communities through the entirety of their tech-based economic development journey.Rural America is home to 12% of the U.S. workforce, but just 5% of the tech workforce. Smaller populations and lack of broadband in rural areas have historically translated into inequities in access to training for fast-growing tech careers, leading rural employers to outsource their tech talent demand to other markets. This has led to a vicious cycle in which there is never enough demand to justify tech training in rural areas, and because training is not available, employers continue to outsource their tech needs. RISI aims to break this cycle by showing that tech jobs and tech talent can exist in rural areas, and we are seizing the moment to create a more equitable distribution of accessible future-proof jobs. RISI and its collaborating organization, the Center on Rural Innovation (CORI), are headquartered in a historic general store building in the village of Hartland, Vermont, part of New England’s Upper Valley and greater Dartmouth College region.RISI is an Equal Opportunity Employer—people of color, people with disabilities, women, and LGBTQ candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. We are committed to a diverse workplace, and to supporting our staff with ongoing career development opportunities. We are interested in your ambitions, personal experiences, great ideas, and passions, and believe that everyone’s unique story and perspective adds value to our organization.RISI will manage the application and review process using our Workable platform. Please direct all inquiries through this system. We are unable to respond to phone inquiries at this time.