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In 1991, a partnership was formed between Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) and CSU Cooperative Extension to provide technical assistance to 34 counties in Eastern, Southeastern, and South Central Colorado. This Partnership helps local governments set goals, make decisions, and create conceptual designs to meet the needs and vision of the local communities. Two Eastern Colorado regions are served by CSU-Cooperative Extension with experienced community development specialists.

The program utilizes students from CSU and other higher education programs in Colorado to perform this service. Student work is supervised by experienced community development specialists to insure that work is completed on time and within the guidelines set by the community.

The Program provides service on a wide range of projects with disciplines in the following areas:

• Landscape Architecture
• Architecture and Interior Design
• Historical Preservation
• Research and Planning
• Economic Development
• Community Needs Assessment
• Parks, Trails, and Open Space Planning
• Web Page Design and Maintenance

Natalie working in the CSU campus office

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Projects undertaken by the CSU Rural Assistance Program must meet these criteria:

• Benefits a district, neighborhood, or community, rather than an individual person.
• Benefits a community group that cannot obtain appropriate assistance through a private consultant due to lack of funding or inexperience with the consultant process.
• The requesting community group should be able to cover a portion of the project costs. A portion of the cost can be covered by CSU through a grant from DOLA.
• The project has public policy implications, is innovative or has replication or educational value to a broader audience.

To Request Assistance:

Organizations or local government should submit a written request for CSU technical assistance. This request should be directed to our office or to the local DOLA Regional Representative describing the project and the type of assistance needed. Once a project is accepted, The Technical Assistance Program staff will develop a signed cooperative agreement to ensure accountability and to govern the scope of assistance and responsibilities of each party.

Mike Tupa is coordinator for the NE corner of Colorado and brings 32 years of landscape design, planning and community development experience to the program. He brings experience in project management, citizen involvement, community visioning, and the design process. His office is at the Loveland DOLA office and he has a design studio on campus to accommodate student help.

Diana Laughlin manages the technical assistance office in Pueblo that serves 19 counties in the upper and lower Arkansas Valley and in the San Luis Valley.  She is a community development specialist and has worked for Colorado State University for over ten years.  Diana has advanced degrees in sociology and has expertise in survey design, data collection, analysis and reporting.  She also has experience in project management and group facilitation.

Additional staffing is provided by students from Colorado State University and all work is supervised by the project managers. Typical student help comes from the schools of Landscape Architecture, Interior Design, Business, and Engineering.  Students have a work studio on campus and their work is directed by the project managers Diana Laughlin and Mike Tupa.

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Brent and Caleb presenting

Colorado Community Revitalization Association 

Colorado Center for Community Development  

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For more information from our Loveland office contact:

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