Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships

A pair of people kneeling in a hoophouse tending to plants.

The Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships (RSDP) bring together community and University knowledge and resources to drive sustainability in four focus areas: agriculture and food systems, clean energy, natural resources and resilient communities. We support local projects through five regional boards made up of community members and University faculty and staff. We also support multi-region food systems work across Greater Minnesota and provide energy programming through the Clean Energy Resource Teams.

Features

RSDP projects

Learn about our community-driven projects in: agriculture and food systems, clean energy, natural resources and resilient communities. See by the numbers our work across Minnesota by region and focus area.

How we do our work

The University of Minnesota Extension Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships (RSDP) work to sustain Minnesota's natural resources and rural communities by working with communities to address sustainability issues.

Submit an idea to RSDP

Have an idea to improve the sustainability of your community? We’d love to hear from you!

Get connected

Become a board member

Learn more about opportunities to work with fellow community members and University faculty and staff who are passionate about sustainability in your region.

Become a work group member

Serve as an ambassador for RSDP in your community and help us identify local sustainability needs and ideas.

Submit an idea to RSDP

Have an idea to improve the sustainability of your community? We’d love to hear from you!

RSDP Happenings

A newsletter about RSDP's work with communities across Minnesota.

Contacts for RSDP

Reach out to RSDP staff to learn more about our work in your community.

Connect with environmental impact goals

Connect your community projects to research focused in the areas of safe drinking water, sustainable land use, and building a carbon-neutral Minnesota.

Regions we work in

Central RSDP

From Becker to Stearns counties, our Central board supports community-University sustainability partnerships across rural Central Minnesota.

Northeast RSDP

The Northeast RSDP brings together community and University partners on sustainability projects across the North Shore, Iron Range and beyond.

Northwest RSDP

Our Northwest board supports projects across the Red River Valley and geographies with a strong cultural history and agricultural identity.

Southeast RSDP

From river blufflands to prairie to the heart of Rochester, the Southeast RSDP fosters sustainability projects across this diverse region.

Southwest RSDP

Our Southwest RSDP board builds partnerships across the prairies, river valleys and vibrant small towns of this diverse region.

Food systems work

Supply chains

We work to build the relationships that bring University crop research to farmers, markets and, ultimately, dinner plates.

Deep winter greenhouses

We support deep winter greenhouse (DWG) research and outreach across the state. Find information and construction documents for building these passive-solar greenhouses.

Rural grocery stores

Small-town grocery stores are the heart of rural Minnesota communities.

Clean energy work

Clean Energy Resource Teams

Our energy programming is provided by the Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs), a statewide partnership helping individuals and their communities advance community-based clean energy projects.

Regional steering committees

CERTs regional steering committees form the clean energy work groups for each RSDP region and work closely with our regional boards.

News

A smiling older man with a mustache and glasses wearing a plaid shirt and a nametag that reads "Bob Backman" stands in an indoor setting with orange and green walls.

October 13, 2025

Five RSDP board leaders bridging campus and community

RSDP regional boards and work groups bring community leaders and University faculty and staff together to advance sustainability in Greater Minnesota.

Aerial photo of small Midwestern farming town.

September 26, 2025

University shapes small town’s future

Badger (pop. 417), is partnering with the University of Minnesota to turn big ideas—like clean energy, housing, and downtown revitalization—into real progress.

Man in green polo shirt with glasses standing in a workshop with shelves and industrial machinery.

September 22, 2025

Fighting forever chemicals

A landfill is where the discarded residue of everyone’s lives is buried out of sight. But out of sight is far from out of mind for the people entrusted to handle what happens next.

Explore our projects by region and focus area

Explore our projects