Elements essential to an adequate framework for rural development in the U.S. are a national growth and development policy which includes a rural development strategy and definition of common problems and programmatic actions required to deal with them. Many past federal rural development programs (lacking a federal rural policy focus) have failed to build adequate state and local capacity for managing rural development, to use a wide enough range of development tools, and to target resources on problems of special groups; fragmented programmatic approaches have caused rural data base deficiencies. Three objectives proposed for rural development are expanding economic opportunity, providing access to essential services and facilities, and strengthening public and private institutions concerned with rural development. Strategies to increase effectiveness of federal rural development efforts might include: a comprehensive public report on status and needs of rural America and programmatic initiatives required; a more integrated rural development policy management process through a rural development policy focus within the White House, evolution in advocacy role of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and strengthened state and local institutional capacity; a larger role for private enterprise (national development bank, tax, wage, and output incentives); interagency efforts (housing, technical assistance, data base). (RS)