The Rural Domestic Preparedness Consortium (RDPC or the Consortium), led by The Center for Rural Development, was established by Congress and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to develop and deliver relevant all-hazards training in support of rural homeland security requirements. RDPC provides training to small, rural, and tribal communities in all 50 states and 5 U.S. territories.

The Center for Rural Development (The Center) is responsible for course development and certification, marketing, website hosting and administration, delivery coordination, data collection and reporting, and additional technologies including a large network of interactive television (ITV), videoconferencing, and learning management systems necessary to manage large student populations and deliver courses to rural responders across the nation. The Center provides grant administration, general oversight of the Consortium, and is a DHS/FEMA training provider.

All training delivered by the RDPC is certified by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and is offered tuition-free to a broad scope of stakeholders, including the traditional emergency response disciplines, other emergency support functions as defined by the National Response Plan, as well as critical infrastructure owners and operators.