This is a collaborative project across the following institutions: Angelo State University (TX), Richard Bland College of William & Mary (VA), Independence Community College (KS), and Longwood University (VA). The Raising Rural Economic Development & Innovation (RREDI) pilot seeks to explore how higher-ed based innovation hubs can effectively address socio-economic underdevelopment in rural areas by harnessing local resources and leveraging a multi-state cohort model. This project is important because rural communities in the United States have experienced significantly higher levels of poverty, unemployment, and food insecurity since 2008 compared to other areas in the United States and these communities must find innovative solutions for solving these challenges given the current social and economic climate. The RREDI cohort aims to collaborate with one another to leverage and position their rural regions for socio-economic development through strategic academic and industry partnerships. The framework of Project RREDI's approach is: ‘Collaboration Inside’ + ‘Collaboration Outside’ = ‘Economic Development’. The higher education institutional partners will build collaborations within their rurally located institutions and with industry partners to foster economic development in their regions. The goal is to create innovation clusters (via the hubs) for the purpose of harnessing local, regional, and cohort resources that will generate socio-economic growth. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.