In July 2023, NASEO, in partnership with the Mississippi State Energy Office (Mississippi Development Authority, Energy and Natural Resources Division), was announced as winner of the Energizing Rural Communities Prize for a proposal to support the innovative partnership between the Mississippi State Energy Office and the State Broadband Office (Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi) that will help rural or remote communities plan and deploy broadband-dependent clean energy projects.
Through this project, there will be written and presentation materials on best practices around this teaming approach that other states can leverage for their own rural community engagement, or collaborative efforts between the State Energy Office and the State Broadband Office.