Network development has captured the attention of providers and health care policymakers as an important strategy for improving access to health care services for rural populations, increasing the effectiveness of network members, and aiding the diffusion of managed care in rura l areas. For the purposes of this project, a rural health network is defined as "a formal organizational arrangement among rural providers (and possibly insurers, social service agencies, public health departments, schools, or other entities) that uses the resources of more than one existing organization and specifies the objectives and methods by which various collaborative functions will be achieved." 

The Networking for Rural Health project provides a variety of technical assistance tools and services to support network leaders. Broad-based technical assistance resources - to assist network leaders in addressing cross-cutting issues faced by most networks - are available to all networks nationally. Network-specific resources -- including Site Visits and Targeted Consultations - have been awarded on a competitive basis. 

Examples of the "broad-based" technical assistance resources (including publications) that Networking for Rural Health offers include the following: 

• A primer on the legal aspects of network formation that addresses such topics as governance structures, contracting issues, antitrust, and tax status issues.
• A guidebook on network development and the role of collaboration that outlines the process of network formation and suggests ways to overcome some initial organizational hurdles.
• Workshops for network representatives that focus on a variety of network issues. Workshop participants will include rural network leaders as well as top consultants, researchers and practitioners in a given area. A limited number of travel scholarships will be available upon request.
• Rural Networking to Improve Quality, by Kerry Kemp, will inform network leaders about what quality improvement is, why it can be difficult to implement in rural areas, and how networking and collaboration can address the challenges it presents.
  
• Profiles of the Networking for Rural Health Project's Grantees is a directory of information on the project's site visit awardees and targeted consultation grantees. It includes general information about each network that has worked with the Project, its history and purpose, and its site visit or targeted consultation experience.

The Networking for Rural Health project is pleased to offer the following network-specific technical assistance services to a limited number of network organizations:

• Site Visits: Before a rural health network can engage in productive work, it must have in place an organizational structure and basic management systems. Over three years, the project provides site visits to 18 emerging networks to assist them in assessing their organizational capacity and readiness to engage in substantive activities. Following the visit, AcademyHealth submitted a written report to the network contact person summarizing the team's findings and suggestions for future action. This service was intended primarily for newer, or "emerging," rural health networks that were still developing their organizational structures, however, the project also considered a limited number of applications from more established rural health networks that need help in assessing potential changes to their organizational structure.
• Targeted Consultations: Networks often find it useful, if not essential, to engage outside consultants as they plan and implement various substantive activities. It is anticipated that networks needed assistance in obtaining the following kinds of consulting assistance: legal, actuarial, managed care contracting, process/decision making, communications, and information systems. The project funded networks with grants up to $40,000 per network. A dollar-for-dollar match by the network for funds contributed by Networking for Rural Health was required.