Advancing rural well-being through innovation.
AscendRural, a program of Sourcewell, is a technology-driven innovation hub dedicated to boosting well-being in rural America. AscendRural embodies Sourcewell’s commitment to helping communities thrive.
We accelerate progress on rural well-being challenges by bringing together communities, technology innovators, and strategic partners to identify shared needs, advance promising solutions, and expand their reach across rural America. We help rural communities define their challenges and discover solutions that fit their needs, innovators navigate and grow in rural markets, and partners and funders turn shared priorities into meaningful, sustainable impact.
Together, we’re creating pathways for innovation to be adopted and scaled, improving the lives of people across rural America.
For communities
Rural organizations
Explore solutions to the challenges that matter most to your community. Join other rural organizations to shape priorities, evaluate promising technologies, and get support to put the right solutions into practice.
Explore opportunities for rural organizations
For innovators
Technology innovators
Better understand rural markets, prepare your technology for rural settings, and connect with organizations whose needs it can address. Build evidence, reach buyers, and create opportunities to grow across rural America.
Explore opportunities for innovators
For strategic partners
Strategic partners & funders
Advance the rural well-being outcomes that matter to you. Work with us to bring communities and innovators together, support real-world solutions, and build a path to lasting impact across rural America.
Explore strategic partnership opportunities
AscendRural is a program of Sourcewell
Sourcewell is a Minnesota statutory service cooperative, local government unit, public corporation, and public agency established under Minn. Stat. § 123A.21. It was created to help participating government units meet their needs through programs and services better provided by a cooperative than by members individually. Such programs may include, but are not limited to, those delineated in Minn. Stat. § 123A.21, subd. 7.
Our approach
From community priorities to lasting impact.
Our Rural Innovation Model brings communities, innovators, and partners together to identify priorities, find solutions, build readiness, test what works, and support lasting adoption. The activities can be tailored to the needs and readiness of each organization.
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Identify & Define
Convene communities to identify shared priorities and the outcomes that matter.
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Source
Vet technologies with the potential to meet rural needs.
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Prepare
Equip communities and innovators to move forward with confidence.
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Match & Align
Bring the right organizations, solutions, and partners together.
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Demonstrate
Test in real settings and build evidence for decisions.
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Sustain & Scale
Support adoption and help effective solutions reach more communities.
Powered by collaboration
Current opportunities
