AscendRural - Bridging Innovation and Rural Communities to Improve Well-being
The AscendRural National Summit brings together rural thought leaders, community problem-solvers, healthcare and technology innovators, entrepreneurs, funders, and policymakers to explore what's working, what's next, and the relationships needed to advance rural well-being.
This year's theme, Bridging Innovation and Rural Communities to Improve Well-being, meets a real moment. New investment is arriving in rural health, including the Rural Health Transformation Program, and its impact will depend on whether it connects to the systems that shape whether rural communities can thrive: workforce, transportation, broadband, aging, behavioral health, agriculture and food systems, and local economies. The Summit is built around that connection.
Over three days, participants move from defining today's rural transformation moment, to discovering the models and partnerships already driving change, to identifying practical next steps for their own communities and organizations. Sessions pair national framing with community voices, curated technology demonstrations, implementation panels, and structured time to build partnerships across sectors.
This is intentionally a working convening rather than a traditional conference. Attendees will leave with actionable ideas, new partners, and clearer pathways to turn innovation into lasting impact where they live.
At its core, the Summit is about bridging ideas and action, and connecting rural communities with the people, technologies, and partnerships that can help them thrive.
AscendRural is a technology innovation and implementation hub dedicated to boosting the well-being of rural America. Initiated by Sourcewell, we bring together local leaders and the innovation community to pilot technology solutions. Our goal is to address accessibility, availability, and affordability issues while accounting for what makes rural communities unique.
Have questions? Comments? Want to partner with AscendRural? Please contact Melissa Kjolsing, Managing Director of AscendRural, at [email protected]
QUICK HIT NEWS
Minnesota State is preparing to pilot an automated identity verification system across its 26 colleges and 7 universities to combat “ghost students” who enroll using fake or stolen identities to collect financial aid. The Legislature allocated $3 million for the effort after the system flagged 2,696 applications as fraudulent or potentially fraudulent in 2025-26. At Century College, employees spend roughly 60 hours a week investigating suspected fraud, and Normandale Community College has flagged 29,000 applications for review since 2023.
Grand Valley State University is moving ahead with the $166 million Blue Dot Lab, a new technology hub on its downtown Grand Rapids campus that will house the College of Computing and support programs in AI, software engineering, digital production, and industry collaboration. The project is part of a regional strategy to make West Michigan a major Midwest technology hub, with the goal of adding 20,000 tech jobs and increasing the sector's share of regional employment to 10%.
Georgia has adopted GovRAMP as its primary framework for evaluating and monitoring third-party cloud services, joining more than 30 states represented among GovRAMP partners. Starting October 1, new cloud services purchased through the state’s enterprise IT procurement process will require GovRAMP validation and approval from the Georgia Technology Authority. The shared framework is designed to reduce repetitive vendor security reviews by allowing agencies to rely on standardized assessments aligned with NIST security controls. Georgia will give vendors an initial transition period, with full GovRAMP compliance required for cloud procurements next year, and requirements will also extend to contract renewals, extensions, and other transactions.
The Texas Department of Information Resources plans to issue a statewide procurement covering cybersecurity products and services, including encryption, firewalls, biometric authentication, threat monitoring, backup and recovery, identity protection, and security consulting. Contracts awarded through the solicitation will be available to eligible state agencies, local governments, higher education institutions and public schools through DIR’s Cooperative Contracts Program
FOR THE COMMUTE
Growing Urban Agriculture with Brad Gaolach (CitiesSpeak Podcast)
Brad Gaolach, Director of the National Urban Research and Extension Center, explains how building-integrated agriculture can turn rooftops, walls, warehouses, and other urban infrastructure into platforms for food production while also supporting stormwater management, urban cooling, energy efficiency, biodiversity, and economic development. Gaolach also discusses the Building Integrated Agriculture Academy, a 12-month program beginning in November 2026 that will help municipal leaders work through design, zoning and building codes, financing, economic development, community engagement, and a local capstone project.
RESOURCES & EVENTS
How Agentic AI Creates a New Operating Model for Higher Education Security (Virtual - September 24, 2026)
This webinar examines how colleges and universities can use agentic security operations centers to manage large volumes of alerts across fragmented security systems.
Washington Digital Government Summit 2026 (Tacoma, WA - November 12, 2026)
The Washington Digital Government Summit brings together state and local government technology leaders to discuss modernization across cybersecurity, AI, data governance, digital services, privacy, and IT operations.
Report Spotlight: A Smarter Way to Serve Residents (Tyler Technologies)
South Carolina’s AI-powered resident assistant, Bradley, is giving residents a conversational way to find government services while helping the state identify gaps in its digital experience.
INSIGHT OF THE WEEK
California made it through its hottest August on record without rolling blackouts, despite peak electricity demand exceeding 50,000 MW. The state has expanded grid-scale battery storage from less than 100 MW during the 2020 heat-wave outages to more than 17,000 MW today, allowing daytime solar generation to be stored and released during evening demand peaks. Renewables, rooftop solar, and stronger connections to the wider Western U.S. grid have added further resilience, while California plans another 20,000-25,000 MW of battery capacity by 2045.
