United WE Launches Rural Research Fellowship to Advance Solutions for Rural Economies
Multi-year initiative supported by the Patterson Family Foundation awards 18 research grants addressing critical workforce and community challenges across the Heartland.
KANSAS CITY, MO – August 24, 2026 – Today, United WE, a national, nonprofit, nonpartisan think-and-do tank driving systemic change by focusing on women's labor force participation, announced the inaugural cohort of its Rural Research Fellowship, a multi-year initiative supported by the Patterson Family Foundation to enable practical, place-based research that addresses the economic and workforce challenges facing rural communities.
“Rural communities are not a footnote in America’s economic future. They are where some of the country’s most urgent workforce challenges – and some of its most promising solutions – are taking shape,” said Wendy Doyle, president and CEO of United WE. “These fellows bring the rigor, lived experience and practical focus needed to turn local insight into strategies that can strengthen communities and inform policy across the country. With the Patterson Family Foundation’s partnership, we are building an actionable body of research with scalable insights and lasting impact.”
“Rural communities understand their challenges – and their opportunities – better than anyone,” said Maria Flynn, President and CEO, Patterson Family Foundation. “Our investment in United WE’s Fellowship Program supports researchers who will work closely with communities to examine critical issues such as childcare, healthcare access, workforce development, local government capacity and community investment. We are proud to support United WE and its fellows as they generate locally informed insights that can help rural leaders strengthen their economies and create greater opportunity for people living in rural communities across Kansas and Missouri.”
The inaugural Rural Research Fellows and their projects include:
Ben Harrington, AICP, Community Development Director for the City of Little Canada, Minnesota
Doing More with Less: Strategies for Strengthening Local Government in the Rural Midwest
Harrington will study how rural cities and counties in Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska organize planning, economic development, infrastructure and administrative functions with available staff and resources. The project will identify practical governance strategies that help communities deliver on local priorities, maintain essential services and support the civic institutions rural families rely upon.
Carolyn Chrisman, EdD, Owner and Principal Consultant of Chrisman Consulting, LLC
Beyond Market Rates: Applying a Cost-of-Care Framework to Rural Childcare Providers in Missouri
Chrisman will develop a framework for calculating the true cost of providing licensed childcare in rural communities. By comparing operating costs with parent fees, state subsidy payments and other reimbursements, the project will give providers, policymakers, employers and funders clearer evidence to guide childcare investments and reimbursement policies.
Megan Langley, Founder and Executive Director of Strengthen ND
Trust as Infrastructure: Rebuilding Rural Economies Through Community-Owned Capital Systems
Langley will evaluate locally governed, flexible capital models that allow rural communities to invest in housing, businesses and community priorities while recycling financial returns locally. The project will also examine how these systems affect civic participation and access to capital for those who have historically been excluded from traditional financing.
Michael J. Hicks, PhD, Director, School of Business and the Eldon R. Lindsey Professor of Economics, College of Business, Engineering and Technology atShenandoah University
Quality of Life and the Migration Patterns of Women and Families in Rural America
Hicks will investigate how factors such as schools, public safety, healthcare, childcare and recreational amenities influence migration patterns in rural communities. The research will offer policymakers an evidence-based alternative to economic development strategies centered primarily on business recruitment and financial incentives.
Moiz Bhai, Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock
The Rise of Advanced Practice Registered Nurses: How Scope of Practice Reform Expands Provider Supply in Underserved Rural Communities
Bhai will examine how state laws granting Full Practice Authority to Advanced Practice Registered Nurses affect the availability and distribution of healthcare providers in rural communities. Using county-level data from 2013 to 2023, the research will assess whether expanded practice authority helps fill physician shortages and explore occupational licensing reform as a policy tool to improve rural healthcare access while increasing professional autonomy and economic opportunity in healthcare professions.
Sukriti Beniwal, Ph.D., Assistant Project Director at the Georgia Health Policy Center
Full Practice Authority and the Medicaid Maternal Care Workforce in Rural Kansas
Beniwal will examine whether occupational licensing reforms expanding practice authority for Certified Nurse-Midwives increased access to maternal healthcare for Medicaid patients in rural Kansas. Using Medicaid billing data from 2018 to 2024, the study will assess changes in the availability and distribution of maternal care providers, particularly in rural and frontier communities, while exploring how greater professional autonomy can improve maternal healthcare access.
The inaugural fellows will share their findings and convene for a research symposium hosted by United WE in summer 2027, showcasing how the research can inform practical solutions for rural communities and policymakers.
The Rural Research Fellowship marks the beginning of a broader United WE effort to generate leading research, advance practical solutions and deliver measurable results for communities across the Midwest. The fellowship's inaugural call for proposals drew overwhelming interest, with 62 applications submitted and just six projects chosen to receive funding.
To learn more about the Rural Research Fellowship, please visit united-we.org/rural-fellowship.
About United WE
United WE is a national, nonpartisan, nonprofit think-and-do tank working to strengthen the economy and democracy by increasing women’s labor force participation. For more than 35 years, United WE has turned data into action and action into measurable impact through research, policy and programs. Headquartered in Kansas City, United WE works deeply across Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and Oklahoma and applies its research and solutions nationally. Learn more at united-we.org.
About the Patterson Family Foundation
The Patterson Family Foundation, based in Kansas City, Missouri, is a private family foundation that extends the legacy of Neal and Jeanne Patterson. The Foundation’s mission, “Working together to help rural communities thrive," is carried forward through strategic grantmaking and other collaborative initiatives that serve rural counties of fewer than 50,000 residents across Kansas and western Missouri. For more information, visit https://pattersonfamilyfoundation.org.
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