What are the toughest problems communities face? How can people help create solutions, and how ready are they to engage in problem-solving? These are some of the questions that the Bush Foundation, along with several convening partners, recently set out to answer in North Dakota and South Dakota through a series of community conversations called Prospects & Possibilities.

In the late fall and winter of 2010, people in cities and small towns across the two states met to receive information about the economic and demographic shifts that their communities will or already face - a phenomenon called the "new normal."  They then discussed which of the issues facing their communities and their states were the most important.  Finally, citizens engaged in brainstorming ideas for ways they could work together and with those in positions of authority (such as legislators) to craft sustainable solutions to their tough problems.

In the same timeframe, the Bush Foundation engaged Wilder Research to conduct a survey of state residents; the survey supported the findings in the Prospects & Possibilities meetings.

See what people in North Dakota and South Dakota had to say about the challenges in their communities and about how they are willing to work together toward a vital future, as well as read the findings from the Wilder survey.