This post is part of the Water Finance Exchange Partner Spotlight Series, where we highlight the work of organizations that contribute valuable work and ideas to the water policy and infrastructure financing sector. This post was created after speaking with Sarah Buck, Chief Programs Officer at the Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP) and Laura Landes, Senior Manager of Research at RCAP. An audio interview between Sarah Buck, Laura Landes and Hank Habicht, Co-Founder of the Water Finance Exchange can be found below.
The Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP) is a national network of nonprofit partners with over 300 technical assistance providers across the country. RCAP works to improve the quality of life in rural America starting at the tap. Water Finance Exchange (WFX) has worked closely with some of RCAP’s regional affiliates to deliver programming and water solutions to rural communities.
This conversation came on the heels of a report, “Regionalization: RCAP’s Recommendations for Water and Wastewater Policy,” which focuses on local, state, and federal policies that encourage and those that hinder regional solutions and includes recommendations at all levels of government to better support regionalization moving forward. That report highlighted the need for more flexibility and funding in regionalization efforts, and the importance of the state in setting policies that encourage regional solutions in places that could benefit from a regional approach to their water systems.