Grounded Insights for Communities Shaped by Historic Underinvestment & Rural Communities in Transition

Groundwork Strategies conducts community resiliency analyses that help communities shaped by historic underinvestment and rural communities in transition understand their vulnerabilities, assets, and long-term capacity for stability. Our approach is grounded in reality: we examine on-the-ground conditions, demographic shifts, infrastructure gaps, and the systems that determine whether families can weather economic, health, and housing disruptions.

Our work blends quantitative data — including ALICE thresholds, housing stock conditions, mobility patterns, aging population trends, and FEMA/CDC resiliency indicators — with qualitative insight gathered from residents, local leaders, and community-based organizations. This combined approach ensures that resiliency planning reflects both measurable risk and lived experience.

For rural communities like those in the Northern Shenandoah Valley, resiliency is shaped by aging housing, economic transition, limited health access, and the need for strong nonprofit and local government capacity. We help partners identify where systems are strained, where local strengths can be leveraged, and what targeted strategies can increase stability over time.

Our analyses often support:

• Downtown revitalization planning

• Affordable housing strategy development

• Nonprofit capacity alignment

• Cross-sector coordination in health, housing, and economic development

• Disaster and infrastructure readiness

• Grant and capital planning for state and federal funding

The outcome is a clear, actionable roadmap that helps communities build not just resilience, but long-term stability. Our goal is simple: stronger neighborhoods, stronger networks, and stronger futures across the Shenandoah Valley and the state of Virginia.