The Legislature finds and declares:

(1) That it is a benefit to the state and in the best interest of the citizens of Nebraska to deliver economic and community development services in an integrated and coordinated system through increased community, state, and federal cooperation and collaboration;

(2) That the Partnership for Rural Nebraska is recognized as a strategic partnership between the State of Nebraska, the University of Nebraska, and the United States Department of Agriculture, the purpose of which is to provide a formal structure of organizational collaboration and delivery of rural economic and community development resources and programs to Nebraska's rural communities;

(3) That the Partnership for Rural Nebraska has earned national recognition as a model for cooperative and collaborative delivery of services; and

(4) That it encourages the continued participation of the State of Nebraska, through the Department of Economic Development and the University of Nebraska, in the Partnership for Rural Nebraska.