Regional Action Project Summaries

What are regional action projects (RAPs)?

Ford RSD Fellows develop individual actionable projects during the course of the program. Fellows identify a topic for their regional action project (RAP) after the first in-person meeting, then outline the major challenges and opportunities, develop strategies to address these issues (that might include a timeline, costs, organizational and leadership needs, and outcomes) and finally report on what they learned. In many cases, these RAPs represent the planning stages of an on-going, long-term initiative. The final product may be a powerpoint presentation, online toolkit, article, or report.

RAP topics vary and the mix of strategies and policies are specific to the Fellows' regions. There are eight major themes under which these RAPs fall, and all the RAPs are broken down into those categories below.

• Regional Governance
• Regional Strategy
• Regional Leadership
• Urban/Community Development
• Environmental Sustainability
• Transportation/Infrastructure
• Workforce Development/Education

Regional Governance

A New Governance Structure to Influence Regional Collaboration, Deborah Vance Bowie, IOM, formerly with the Birmingham Regional Chamber

The Birmingham region is home to 90 separate municipalities with a racially- and politically-split legislative delegation. Lacking leadership from both the publically-elected and business sectors, the region lacked the structure to address an insufficient transit system, aging regional infrastructure and insufficient funding for shared resources. An intercity leadership visit to Denver, Colorado in September 2007 created an opportunity to start working on collaborative governance and shared economic development strategies throughout the region. Key lessons learned included: the long-term, transformational nature of regional efforts, the need to develop a framework to speak with "one voice," reviewing and refocusing existing programs and projects to reflect a regional approach, and the importance of reaching out early to newly-elected officials to gain their support for collaborative initiatives.

Footnote: While there was no new governance structure implemented in Birmingham to address collaborative opportunities, the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce did merge with the Metropolitan Development Board (economic engine of region) in 2009 to form the Birmingham Business Alliance. This new group is currently undergoing a strategic visioning process to develop ways to solve regional problems with regional solutions.

Effective Governance for the Spokane Region, Jeff Severs, formerly with the Greater Spokane (WA) Inc

While the city is located in northwestern Washington, the Spokane region’s more than 1 million residents are spread over three states.  Jeff focused on getting seven of the municipalities to start working together, primarily on transportation-related governance.  The RAP explored various approaches to collaborative governance, brought public and private stakeholders together, initiated research such as benchmarking other regions and then recommended a path forward.  Among the lessons learned: it takes significant time to get stakeholders “on the same page,” effective leadership such as a public-sector champion (in Spokane’s case, the WA senate majority leader) is invaluable, and there may be unanticipated resistance from the public sector to the business sector involvement.

Initiate the “Regional Alliance of Third Class Cities” of Central PA, Ellen Horan, Greater Reading (PA) Chamber of Commerce & Industry

Ellen initiated a regional alliance of third class Central Pennsylvania cities after a report from the Pennsylvania Economy League concluded that at least five of the cities in this region were on very shaky financial ground due to “systemic problems.”  The alliance is comprised of seven chamber leaders with the initial focus of the group to look at alternatives for financial sustainability and fiscal soundness for these struggling cities and advocating for anticipated policy changes that would follow.  Her call to action was an article that outlined the problems third class cities in the region face and laid out a case for business-civic leadership to address such regional issues as workforce, transportation, housing and education.

Regional Advocacy Chamber Coalition, Randy Gordon, Long Beach (CA) Area Chamber of Commerce

Of the 13 small chambers with the Long Beach area, few if any were able to dedicate the staff resources to gather sufficient information and knowledge of the issues impacting businesses in their market area.  With 7,500 business represented, the Long Beach Chamber recognized the need for a uniform public policy platform and better engagement in the advocacy process by volunteer business leaders.  Among the critical topics that the coalition would address were infrastructure, taxation and government finance, education and workforce development, health care and the environment.  Each chamber would have two representatives (professional staff and volunteer leaders) on the coalition board and meet bi-monthly.  While the struggling economy has temporarily put the work of the coalition on hold, Randy expects to relaunch this initiative in the future.  Among the lessons learned is the need to develop better working relationships with the other chamber leadership, for trust and understanding are the basis for getting things done at a regional scale.

Creating a Governance Structure for a Multi-Jurisdictional Region, Gayle N. Anderson, Greater Winston-Salem (NC) Chamber of Commerce

The Greater Winston-Salem Chamber was joined by two neighboring chambers to develop a governance model for an undeveloped area that was expected to see rapid growth in the near future.  The area, with land in two counties and five cities and known as the Heart of the Triad (HOT), would need a land use and transportation plan, zoning revisions, infrastructure funding and revenue sharing plan. Although the initial regional asset district proposal was rejected, the chambers are using one of the key lessons learned, that the private sector needs to drive any long-term solution and needs to provide political cover to elected officials, in revisiting strategies to identify and gain approval for a multi-jurisdictional governance structure.

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Regional Strategy

A Shared Vision for Central Florida, Vilma Quintana, Orlando (FL) Regional Chamber of Commerce

When the New Regional Agenda report, a strategic plan with the input of 400 regional leaders and 3,000 citizens, was released in 2006, it outlined six regional priorities for east central Florida.  Of those, managing the region’s growth rose to the top, with the group myregion.org working with nine other regional organizations to help answer the question: how shall we grow?  A 50-year vision of growth was developed centering on the themes of conservation, centers, countryside and corridors as critical to a sustainable and vibrant future.  The Congress of Regional Leaders was formed, consisting of 16 elected officials, to develop regional policies and actions necessary for plan implementation, cities and counties are working to incorporate the four themes into future land use, transportation and environmental planning, and myregion.org is working on keeping business leaders informed and developing a regional “report card.”  Among the lessons learned are that partnership across sectors are critical to success, one-on-one and group communications are necessary to build trust and shared knowledge, and “learning from the best” means the best from around the world.

Building Organizational and Community Capacity for Sustainable Prosperity, Mark Eagan, CCE, IOM, formerly with the Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County (IN)

Like many of his program peers, Mark was looking at how his chamber's role might evolve as a collaborator in the community to accelerate regional prosperity.  With board support to focus on leveraging the Chamber to ensure the next wave of economic progress, Mark worked both internally and externally to bridge organizational and political boundaries and foster a collaborative environment.   Moving away from the Chamber's primary role as a business membership organization, the Chamber developed a new mission statement ("To be a catalyst for growth and prosperity for our members and community"), a new vision ("To be a vibrant region in a competitive world") and a new brand positioning ("Advancing Regional Economic Prosperity"). Among the actions taken by the Chamber under this new framework are a 21^st century local government initiative to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of local governmental services, forging new relationships with the building trades (unions), spearheading a coalition to identify and recruit quality school board members, developing a seven-chamber state legislative agenda, and beginning work on an eight-county, bi-state economic development marketing initiative.

Leading without Authority: Tackling Regional Issues, Todd L. Shimkus, CCE, Adirondack (NY) Regional Chamber of Commerce

After evaluating the Adirondack region's opportunities and challenges, the Chamber decided to take the lead on a number of timely issues to better position the region for growth.  With AMD (now called Global Foundaries) scheduled to open a $1.2 billion chip manufacturing facility, the chamber lead an intercity visit to Hillsboro, Oregon to learn how they had capitalized on tech-sector growth while maintaining their high quality of life.   The chamber also got out in front of various costs sharing measures that could help reduce the tax burden of residents, while also better utilizing regional assets such as the Glen Falls Civic Center.  As the leader of a small chamber, Todd found that he needed to build relationships with and rely on other community-civic organizations within the region to help staff and lead initiatives with long-term, region-wide impact. Among the numerous "aha" moments gleaned from the peer-learning segments as well as the presentations from expert practitioners and consultants, Todd noted that the idea of expanding public participation in policy forums lead to the chamber hosting a successful "Town Meeting" where residents from the region, and not just Glen Falls, could participate in the decision-making that led to a change in the operations of a regional asset.

  Bay Biz: Creating A Bay Area Business Coalition, James Lazarus, San Francisco (CA) Chamber of Commerce

The San Francisco Bay Area lacked a strong regional "voice" on public policy issues, such as housing, transportation, water, economic development, with the business community seldom responding to these issues in regional fashion.  Smaller chambers had not been included in the policy group, the Bay Area Council, and there was no ownership of critical policy issues.  The goal of the RAP was to institutionalize a now informal process for identifying regional issues impacting business and developing policy positions.  The chamber began reaching out to a broad base of business organizations in the region to test their support of such an approach.  Still on the task list though, were developing an issue-identification process, finding funding support, agreeing on staff/workload responsibilities and launching a research initiative using business or public policy graduate students.  As with other Fellows, Jim found that a lack of understanding among other business organization of the importance of a regional approach to public policy issues is a challenge that needs to be addressed early.

Expanding Regional Cooperation around BRAC activity, Devon L. Dodson, formerly with the Greater Baltimore (MD) Committee

As a result of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) action, the Baltimore metro area would see almost 35,000 new jobs coming with an additional 30,000 jobs created or "induced" in Maryland into 2015.  Cross-jurisdictional cooperation would be necessary to accommodate the growth in population, transportation needs, education requirements at both K-12 and higher education levels, utility infrastructure, and affordable housing as part of the BRAC implementation process. GBC began working with local governments to prioritize transportation needs, initiated creation of a legislative commission on BRAC and expanded an existing local government group to include diverse stakeholders such as GBC which can work together to support rational growth patterns that maintain a high quality of life and solid business climate.

Building a Business Consortium, Kristi Ray, IOM, Columbia (MO) Chamber of Commerce

With almost 30 business related organizations in the area, Kristi’s chamber decided that to develop a unified voice, they would need to create a consortium of economic development related partners and begin to identify specific goals and objectives to move Columbia, and the mid-Missouri region, toward a more prosperous future. The chamber started by convening informal monthly lunches with the professional staff leaders of these groups to share information and develop/deepen their relationships with each other. A survey then helped identify gaps in services and areas of overlap where organizations could collaborate. The group also looked outward to other communities that had successfully leveraged a large research university as a community asset, less as competitors and more as “coaches.”  The chamber was also willing to get involved in much larger regional efforts around the state, proving that the definition of a region needs to be flexible.  The chamber will continue to work with regional stakeholders to develop a greater understanding and identification of sustainable development goals that they can then implement.

Creating a Regional Development Entity, Laura St. Pierre Smith, Buffalo Niagara (NY) Partnership

The greater Buffalo region faced a steadily shrinking population while continuing to sprawl out physically.  One major challenge to growth and prosperity was getting both the public and private sectors to think and act regionally, leveraging existing plans and organizations to see where their missions might align.  The Chamber worked on gaining supporters from various organizations, including other chambers, and found that trust was a huge factor in building support for efforts that would cross sectors and municipal boundaries.  Among the strategies employed to build a regional entity, the Chamber “followed the money” to find the right focus of this initiative and using data and visuals to “sell” the need to act and think regionally.

Outline of a Community Economic Development Sales Tax Campaign, Lou Ann Nisbett, Economic Development Alliance of Jefferson County (AR)

Lou Ann chose to highlight how an organization can campaign for a ½ percent sales tax increase to fund long-term community economic development goals. She advised to keep the message simple by focusing on jobs and growth for the future and making sure your organization has information on current tax codes and laws, as well as data from other communities that have adopted such a sales tax. Armed with the right information, organizational leaders need to educate stakeholders such as elected leaders, community leaders and even college student leaders, whose constituents have a vested interest in creating long-term prosperity for the region. Lou Ann also suggested creating a diverse steering committee that represents various economic, social, racial, and religious sectors, with a smaller executive committee, to guide passage of such a tax. While an initial campaign failed in the first month of the Fellowship, Lou Ann chose to incorporate all of her learning from the fellowship in a renewed effort to work on passage of such funding in the future.

Plan to Expand Business Input in Regional Economic Development Policies, Jerry Mallot, CCE, IOM, Jacksonville (FL) Regional Chamber of Commerce

Businesses are responsible for much of the growth in the region, yet business leaders had become disengaged from the long-term planning for the region. After a ULI Reality Check exercise in Jacksonville, a new Cornerstone Regional Business Council emerged with diverse representation from seven counties.  Jerry worked to identify, engage and foster involvement of private sector leaders in sustainable regional economic development.The first of three annual forums to engage and connect regional leaders has already occurred and a regular “Kiplinger’s” style newsletter will help brief leaders on long-term issues which require business involvement.

Initiative to Market Region and Foster Economic Development Collaboration, David McKeehan, North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce

In 2006, the North Central Massachusetts Economic Development Council was created by the North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation and two local colleges"to plan and implement programs to create jobs and increase economic opportunity in the region."  The Council has grown to more than 120 members, including five chambers of commerce, regional planning and development organizations, and local and state elected officials.  The NCM Development Corporation, which is controlled by the NCM Chamber, provides staff support for the Council.  To carry out the work of the Council, the Development Corporation would need to get funding and support to conduct a study of current regional economic and demographic conditions and trends, and then contract with consultants in the field to analyze the data and draft a regional strategy plan. The group would also need to incorporate input from the Council and implement key elements of the plan.

Optimizing Regional Impact, Todd Letts, formerly with the Greater Kitchener Waterloo (ONT) Chamber of Commerce

The goal of this RAP was to build the chamber's capacity as a regional business forum that can effectively enable economic development solutions.  The chamber had partnered with other regional stakeholders on a number of other successful initiatives in the past, including the Prosperity Council, the Waterloo Region Immigrant Employment Network, and the Chamber Health Care Recruitment Council.  To determine where the chamber should build capacity, Todd asked his Board a series of strategic questions centering around leadership capacity and organizational character.  His Chamber decided to look more closely at building stronger alliances and perhaps an "umbrella organization" or co-habitation model with other economic development organizations in the region, benchmarking the evolution of organizations in Lexington, Pittsburgh, Louisville and Chicago.   At the conclusion of the fellowship, the Chamber was considering the umbrella organization or a reconstituted Prosperity Council as the leading models for optimizing the chamber's regional impact.

Positioning the Chamber as a Sub-Regional Leader, David W. Graybill, CCE, CEcD, Tacoma-Pierce County (WA) Chamber

On the southern end of the greater Puget Sound region, just a 35-minute drive from Seattle, lies Tacoma, home to a major military installation - Joint Base Lewis- McChord, one of the nation's busiest deepwater ports and a workforce of nearly 300,000.  Among the challenges to this "sub-region" were a lack of adequate infrastructure, including transportation links, access to higher education, and pressure on the port and bases from regional growth and encroachment.  Initiatives undertaken by the Chamber were participation in a regional economic development strategy (Prosperity Partnership), programs to enhance livability and attractiveness to the creative sector and creation of a transportation advocacy coalition, RAMP  (Regional Access and Mobility Partnership), to which the chamber facilitated broader participation among public and private groups.  One of the key obstacles faced by David, as well as his peers, is how to surmount traditional municipal boundaries and the territorial thinking that goes with those artificial barriers.  While a chamber needs to think regionally, it also needs to be mindful of the parochial interests of its members, and find ways to connect the dots between current chamber actions and long-range regional initiatives. 

Create a “Bright Futures” Regional Visioning Process , Dennis Andrews, Richmond-Wayne County Indiana Chamber of Commerce

Dennis’ chamber led the creation of “Bright Futures,” a regional vision for the eight county region of East Central Indiana and West Central Ohio, including and immediately surrounding Richmond Wayne County Indiana.  The vision would serve as a foundation and catalyst for shared strategic planning and collective action for the region and for local planning and action.  One of the starkest lessons learned was that board members need to be adequately prepared to answer questions about the region’s future, and this preparation may take a significant amount of time.  Endorsement and support do not always translate into the understanding necessary to lead an initiative.  The RAP outlined the visioning initiative, immediate and longer-term objectives, progress to date, where help is needed and planned next steps.  Among the other lessons learned are the need to establish communication with other area chambers early and the need for timely and detailed economic data.  Because many of Dennis’ colleagues in his region have seen the impact of the economic crisis, it was easier for them to agree that collaboration and a new approach to doing things would be necessary.

World Class Greater Philadelphia, Steven Wray, Economy League of Greater Philadelphia (PA) 

To celebrate its 100th anniversary, the Economy League launched a comprehensive research and engagement initiative, which would help the region develop a shared vision and actionable plan for a prosperous, sustainable and unique future for Greater Philadelphia.  Steven’s organization developed a prospectus that outlines the goals and plan for the initiative, began meeting with stakeholders/potential supporters, hired a scenario planning group to help leaders understand what is possible for the region, started fund-raising, and staffed the first-ever metro caucus of local government leaders.  The process made it clear that Philadelphia’s leaders, including the Economy League’s board, are committed to developing a shared regional vision and plan for growth.  Although tough economic times makes it harder to launch and raise funds for new initiatives, tying the current economic crisis to strategic planning for the future is an effective way to frame this initiative.

Creating a Regional Perspective for a Sustainable, Thriving Madison Region, Rafael Carbonell, formerly at Thrive (WI)

Rafael sought to develop an aspirational, sustainable vision and position to provide direction to implement that vision for the 8-county Madison Region. The vision and positions will focus on one key priority issues, transportation, but connect to a regional framework.  Developing and communicating the transportation policy will be done via a variety of tools (white papers, position pieces, website, editorial board visits, etc) to decision makers throughout the Madison Region.  This work led to Thrive's position helping on the successful passage of Regional Transit Authority (RTA) legislation and positioned Thrive to be an influential voice on policy issues with a regional impact.

The Milwaukee Seven: Competing in a Global Economy, Tim Sheehy, IOM, Metropolitan Milwaukee (WI) Association of Commerce

The goals of Tim's RAP were to improve prosperity through a broader, more connected economy, develop a strategy that would assess assets, gaps and needed action, put a dedicated team in place focused on results, and work on improving the regional "product."  The seven counties that make up the region united around a regional agenda to grow, expand and attract global businesses and talent.  More than $6.3 million dollars were pledged over a five year period to fund efforts which would include addressing the talent pipeline, critical infrastructure issues and the cost of doing business.  Among the lessons learned over the course of the RAP development were the need to get the message out (who we are, what we do, how we do it), how to avoid getting caught up in inevitable turf wars, and how to financially sustain such an effort.

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Regional Leadership

The Critical Role of Trust in Regional Sustainable Development, Judith Prince, University of South Carolina Upstate

After interviewing six experts in regional development, Prince developed an article that supports why trust is essential to building a region and how trust can be built among stakeholders in both the private and public sectors (article published in the Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson Business Journal and the Summer 2010 issue of Chamber Executive magazine).  Specifically, Prince used Envision Utah and Envision Central Texas as examples of successful regional collaborative efforts, highlighting that the success of these regional organizations was based on the development of trust by their leaders and through their processes. A closer look revealed the following factors as contributing to the development of trust: trusted leadership, time to build new relationships, clear and frequent communication, inclusion of "brass roots" and "grass roots" supporters, transparency in all processes, and shared understanding and expectations.  Upstate South Carolina was presented as a regionalism work-in-progress. Upstate Together and the Urban Land Institute jointly partnered to engage citizens from 10 Upstate counties in Upstate Reality Check in April 2009. The day-long dialogue resulted in agreement on three guiding principles which serve as the foundation for trust among those who took part. Recognizing that knowledge of and insight into building trust are fundamental for development of regions, Upstate South Carolina is up to the task of building a sustainable region!

A Program Module on Regional Sustainable Development for The Vancouver Board of Trade’s Engaged Leadership Certificate program, Jack Wong, CMA, Vancouver (BC) Board of Trade

For his RAP, Jack created a module for the Board of Trade’s Company of Young Professionals (CYP) Engaged Leadership Certificate Program.  Adding regional sustainable development policies, practices and tolls to the program will help Vancouver’s next generation of business-civic leaders develop an understanding of regional strategies and their long-term impact on communities and economies. Using the readings, research and models compiled from the Ford Regional and Sustainable Development Fellowship as the foundation, Jack crafted a model of regional sustainable development learning that can be incorporated into the existing leadership certification program. 

Ames, Iowa Intercity Visit & Leadership Conference, Daniel Culhane, Ames (IA) Chamber of Commerce  

Communities willing to learn from others are better positioned to deal with change.  That was the basic premise behind getting the Ames community organized to take a visit to a similarly-sized city with a land-grant institution similar to Iowa State University.  Dan used his time in the Fellowship to learn from other chamber leaders to develop a plan for a successful intercity visit in the Fall of 2010.  An intercity visitation program would help build cooperation and collaboration and help the community developed a shared vision.  Dan continued to work on identifying and engaging local leaders, even those from organizations that had previously clashed with the chamber, and getting their input on the issues to be profiled and examined in the host community.  Among the possible issues that the visit could focus on were how to get leaders to be more engaged and contribute to the regional economy, how the chamber might play a coordinating/lead role in economic development for the county, and how the region can capitalize on sustainable energy development such as wind power.

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Urban/Community Development

Minority Business Accelerator, Shana F. Marbury, Esq., Greater Cleveland (OH) Partnership

For her RAP, Shana developed a regional economic inclusion model.  "Economic inclusion" is defined as the meaningful incorporation of minorities into the economic engines that drive our region. The Greater Cleveland Partnership's Commission on Economic Inclusion is now focusing greater attention on a regional inclusion model in an effort to further develop minority businesses in Northeast Ohio through a collaborative Minority Business Accelerator for which the Commission manages. Funding was expected to be $1 million a year, and possibly renewed at $1 million for a year for an additional 3 years.

Maximizing Underutilized Assets:  An Inner City Revitalization Strategy, DeVone Holt, formerly at Greater Louisville (KY) Inc.

The area west of downtown Louisville had long been a development challenge for the region, but to grow the region's economic development prospects, a strategy to re-integrate the area into the larger regional fortunes would be necessary.  In addition to lobbying for targeted state incentives and favorable utility rates for businesses locating or expanding in West Louisville, the city and chamber gathered corporate and federal dollars to develop a master plan for a 2,100 acre corridor in the area.  The University of Louisville also agreed to make a major investment in the area and a community marketing committee was established to promote social and economic growth.  Among the lessons learned are: political will is crucial to successful inner-city revitalization efforts, development in inner-city neighborhoods needs to be "as painless as possible" to be attractive to investors, and development inducements are required to overcome the stigma often associated with these areas.

Building Community Prosperity in the Washington Metropolitan Area, Margaret Singleton, DC Chamber of Commerce Foundation

When the DC Chamber issued its state of business report on the D.C. economy and infrastructure, an opportunity to create a workforce and economic development business plan emerged.  Among the initiatives that Margaret was working on were an industry sector development plan, and supporting efforts to provide technical assistance and access to capital for local small and minority businesses and entrepreneurs in conjunction with partners in the public and private sectors.  Work still ahead included prioritizing advocacy efforts to maintain a competitive business climate, creating an action agenda around the industry sector study, and realigning human and financial resources internally to realize impact in these areas.

Cultivating Technology Transfer to Accelerate Regional Economic Development, Laurie Actman, formerly with Select Greater Philadelphia (PA)

The Venture Capital Working Group for Philadelphia’s CEO Council wanted to enhance commercialization potential throughout the region.  This project included a literature search, benchmarking against other regions, and interviews with key stakeholders.  Among the strategies the CEO Council will pursue are developing a regional proof-of-concept fund for translational research, creating a real or virtual space for entrepreneurial networking, promoting awareness of commercialization strengths internally and externally, advocating at state and Federal level for funding and support of research and commercialization efforts, and providing general support for entrepreneurial development.

Embracing a Sustainable Growth Ethic: An Initiative by the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce, Mary Graham, CCE, Charleston (SC) Metro Chamber of Commerce

By taking an existing but outdated Growth Ethic developed for the community, Mary re-created a set of defined measurements, updated the Growth Ethic and renamed it the “Sustainable Growth Ethic.”  The Chamber’s Board of Directors re-adopted the newly updated Sustainable Growth Ethic and an effort was launched to get other organizations to embrace it.  To date, the Charleston Trident Association of Realtors and South Carolina Coastal Conservation League have adopted the Sustainable Growth Ethic.  The first report, which will annually assess the region’s support of regional sustainable development, will be released this fall.  The indicators are based upon the guiding principles that were an outcome of the ULI Reality Check event held in December 2007 and upon the three principles of the Sustainable Growth Ethic: choice, balance and stewardship. 

Downtown Redevelopment: An Opportunity to Build upon the Heart of your Region, Kristofer Johnson, IOM, formerly with the St. Paul (MN) Area Chamber of Commerce

With growth occurring in other areas of the Twin Cities region, the chamber convened a group of stakeholders to address the opportunity of redeveloping downtown St. Paul. As head of the chamber, Kris helped stakeholders identify four priority areas for downtown redevelopment: leadership and governance, business attraction, communication and branding, and infrastructure support.  The group looked at other river-based downtown efforts around the country to determine why they were successful and also engaged outside consultants to help guide and facilitate discussions.  The group decided to create small focus groups to work on specific areas of need, such as parking ordinances and restrictions, to move efforts forward.

Workforce Housing for Palm Beach County, Kathleen “Casey” Steinbacher, CCE, formerly at the North Palm Beach Chamber

The West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach MSA had seen steady job and population growth in the 1990s and early 2000s, and the cost of living, particularly housing costs, were beginning to make it harder for new-comers to afford homes in Palm Beach County.  Ninety percent of the workforce could not afford a median-priced property in the County while half of renters were spending half of their paychecks on housing.  A Housing Leadership Council made up of eight business organizations was formed and was leading baseline research, benchmarking and best practice identification efforts to increase the availability of workforce housing.  While the slow-down in the housing market seemed to dissipate the urgency of this issue, some of the learning that came out of this RAP is that regions need to be aware of the leading indexes that help assess the health of the housing market, and that chambers need to understand the inter-connections and be involved with other issues that impact housing, such as transportation and land use/zoning.

Craft Brockton’s Community Priorities to Complement the Massachusetts Gateway Cities Initiative, Chris Cooney, CCE, IOM, Metro South (MA) Chamber of Commerce

Brockton is one of the state’s 11 “gateway cities,” and Chris’ RAP sought to help his region lead efforts to produce greater prosperity and a sustainable urban center by capitalizing on shifts in energy, environmental and demographic considerations. The Gateway Cities Initiative aims to allow small struggling cities to push beyond their past to claim a new mantle of sustainable cities by building upon their workforce, infrastructure and geographic advantages.  Under Chris’ leadership, the Metro South Chamber worked with the mayor to help position Brockton, coordinated with state Gateway Cities officials, and worked with the Pioneer Institute to develop benchmarks on the state’s “middle cities.”  Working with other regional stakeholders, the Chamber hoped to identify distinct advantages of the region that can be used to promote the region and spur collaboration with other communities for mutual gain.

 

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Environmental Sustainability

Energy Efficient Streetlights, Robert T. Grow, Greater Washington (D.C.) Board of Trade

Can the Greater DC area reduce the amount of money spent to light its streets while at the same time reducing the region's carbon footprint? This RAP looked at two tactics that the region could employ to do just that: use LED (light emitting diodes) lights and monitor/control streetlights. DC proper would save an estimated $1.82 million a year in electricity, with surrounding local governments saving a total estimated $4.18 million annually. To upgrade the approximately 300,000 streetlights in the greater DC area with "smart" high-intensity discharge lamps and segment controllers would cost an estimated $70 million with an approximate total savings of $9.75 million which includes the reduced cost of electricity, reduction in personnel needs to monitor streetlight failures, and extension of the life of existing lamps.

Creating a Watershed Stewardship Organization in Northwest Arkansas, Michael Malone, Northwest Arkansas Council

Growth in the region is threatening the water quality of Beaver Lake so the Northwest Arkansas Council decided to proactively identify and lead water quality protection efforts. Mike met with experts and activists to create a core working group, helped develop legislation to create tools for watershed preservation groups, helped with grant proposals to get funding for a watershed group and facilitated the development of a watershed plan that could be used in the future. The council is moving forward with the creation of a watershed organization, finalizing funding commitments, and looking for professional leadership.

Link Local Tourism Industry to Providers of Sustainable Best Practices through 2009 Mountain Green Sustainability Conference, Kelly Miller, Asheville (NC) Area Chamber of Commerce

The Asheville Area Chamber partnered with Warren Wilson College's Environmental Leadership Center and the WNC's regional economic development entity, Advantage West, to produce the 3rd Annual Mountain Green Sustainability Conference, June 24, 2009, in Asheville, NC. The conference brought the tourism industry of Western North Carolina (hotels, attractions, restaurants, festival organizers) together with providers of sustainable green services such as architects, land use planners, energy providers, organic farmers, soft and hard good manufactures, among others. Despite the economic downturn, the conference attracted 260 participants, 52 vendors, $25,000 in sponsorship dollars and strong media coverage.

The Living Building, The Heinz Endowments Fellows (Sally Haas, IOM, Pittsburgh (PA) Airport Area Chamber of Commerce, Kathryn Zuberbuhler Klaber, formerly with the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, Jeff M. Kotula, Washington County (PA) Chamber of Commerce, Linda D. Nitch, Lawrence County (PA) Economic Development Corporation, Dewitt Peart, Allegheny Conference on Community Development, & Doris Carson Williams, African American Chamber of Commerce of Western Pennsylvania)

The six, Heinz Endowments-funded Fellows from the southwestern Pennsylvania region focused their RAP on the long-term opportunities associated with the conversion of the 100-year old Phipps Conservatory into a green garden. This so-called “living building” would be a zero-waste, zero-energy facility, helping boost Pittsburgh’s reputation as a center of excellence in green building technology and building. The project could be used to showcase the latest in green building technology, to support a workforce training initiative in the green building trades, and to build awareness within the region and beyond of what “green” means. The project provided both the urban and rural counties the opportunity to educate their communities and leaders and spur sustainable building practices in land planning and zoning updates. Education was through a strategic outreach plan that included a site visit by attendees at the American Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Convention in Pittsburgh in 2008 and the State Dinner hosted by President Obama during the Pittsburgh G-20 Summit in September 2009.

Creating a Business-Labor Water Coalition: Partnering for solutions to California’s water crisis, Samuel Garrison, Los Angeles (CA) Area Chamber of Commerce

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Transportation/Infrastructure

Greater Toronto Transportation System, Cecil Bradley, formerly with the Toronto (Ont) Board of Trade

The need to inject business concerns into the transportation planning process was the impetus for this RAP, as the transportation system was becoming a competitive disadvantage to the region.  An advisory board composed of regional business organizations could advise the Greater Toronto Transportation Authority (GTTA) and provincial, municipal or federal governments on regional transportation needs, priorities and investment program implementation.  Internal and external (among regional business organizations) support was secured to help focus attention on regional transportation as a policy priority.  The creation of an advisory board led to five research reports, on issues such as the proposal of a new regional transportation agency, financing tools this agency would use, the possibility of public-private partnerships delivering some local services and infrastructure, recommendations for an alternative governance structure for the Toronto Transit Commission, and evaluation of the proposed $6 billion light rail transit plan.  Among the lessons learned are two common themes: regional challenges require regional structures to implement solutions and political will is hard to muster and maintain, but accurate "framing" can generate public interest to create political will.

Public support for jail facility tax, James “Jay” Chesshir, Jr., CCE, IOM, Little Rock (AR) Regional Chamber of Commerce

The focus of this RAP was a sales tax campaign to expand local jail facility and fund increased treatment, prevention and intervention services for Pulaski County, which encompasses five local government bodies. The public referendum voted against it, at 57%. The Little Rock Chamber of Commerce engaged the University of Arkansas at Little Rock to conduct an independent study of the crime situation in the area and make recommendations; 17 were made. Among the next steps: work with major sectors of the region to educate and build consensus for necessary infrastructure changes; educate voters on crime prevention and solution opportunities; manage voter campaign to fund needed changes; continue monitoring county government implementation to provide accountability and credibility.

Regional Transportation Planning and Funding Strategies, Richard Dayoub, Greater El Paso (TX) Chamber of Commerce

The goals of this RAP included addressing mobility needs and traffic congestion, identifying and prioritizing transportation projects, identifying funding sources and garnering state transportation approval (TXDOT).  The Mayor and City Council, the state delegation, state transportation department, the El Paso Metropolitan Planning Organization, the Regional Mobility Authority and the Chamber finalized a comprehensive mobility plan in early 2009 and secured approval of the plan by each of the local transportation authorities.  This plan represents $1.1 billion in highway and surface road improvements over the next five years.  The Chamber has become the de facto marketing, communications and education leader concerning transportation needs and identified solutions for the community.  One of most ambitious projects is the building of the largest private/public highway project in the state's history.  It is an 8-mile highway that passes through Ft. Bliss and connects U.S. Highway 54 and the City's outer loop (Loop 375) at a cost of $375 million.  While differences of opinions concerning highway funding solutions continue to be a challenge, our stakeholders are working together in a much more effective and Collaborative manner than in the past.   

A Community Process for a Successful Local Option Voter Referendum, Jodi Ann LaFreniere, CCE, IOM, formerly at the Wake Forest (NC) Area Chamber of Commerce and Andrew Moretz, IOM, Greater Raleigh (NC) Chamber of Commerce

Drew Moretz in Raleigh and Jodi Ann LaFreniere in Wake Forest partnered on their RAP, outlining how to craft a voter referendum for a sales tax increase to help build a regional rail system.The originally proposed 28-miles fixed rail system would connect Raleigh and Durham to locations within Research Triangle Park, thereby reducing congestion on roads and improving air quality.  Over the course of the Fellowship, these two Fellows drew upon past lessons learned as well as explored examples of other successful referenda initiatives to create a community process to get a sales tax referendum on the ballot and hopefully passed by voters.By making the sales tax option statewide, instead of local, the legislation to allow localities to place a ½ cent of ¼ cent tax on sales passed after the fellowship ended, and the issue is expected to go to voters in October 2011.

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Workforce Development/Education

WIRED – Talent for Growth, Marsha Gordon, Ph.D., Business Council of Westchester (NY)

Integrating education, workforce and economic development system partners into a seamless collaboration with regional employers was the goal of Marsha's regional action project. Collaboration across sectors and state boundaries (New York and Connecticut) would be necessary to create a pipeline of qualified workers for both core and innovation-intensive industry sectors. A $5 million WIRED grant for the bi-state region provided the impetus for regional business leaders to meet for the first time, around the common issue of workforce, but also opened the door on discussions on other region critical issues, such as health care, transportation, immigration and development.  Among the challenges faced were the need to create a common language and culture, how to surmount different governance structures and the role of social equity.  The Business Council took on the role of facilitating partnerships, and helped get the structure for the WIRED program off the ground. Future challenges included how to keep Westchester County engaged and the need for on-going leadership from the Business Council.

Building a Skilled Workforce, Carol L. Barkow, Racine (WI) Area Manufacturers and Commerce

With the highest unemployment rate in Wisconsin, the Racine region needed to improve education and workforce training, while also increasing opportunities for low-income, disadvantaged and minority individuals.  Working in partnership with other community stakeholders, the RAMAC undertook a comparative analysis of the public school system, began development of an employer-driven, skills-based training program that also would include leadership and supervisory training, and pushed for linking business, education and municipal interests to county and regional economic development efforts.

Strengthening the Wichita Metro’s Talent Pipeline, Bryan S. Derreberry, IOM, Wichita (KS) Metro Chamber of Commerce

Wichita recognized that in order to grow and prosper in the 21^st Century, the region would need to find new ways to capture and develop talent.  Bryan's regional action project used a student assessment tool to gather data on future talent strengths, worked through a public-private partnership to match employer needs with employee assets, developed a professional "red carpet" to recruit professionals to the region, supported the national center for aviation training in response to the dominant aerospace cluster (with phase II expanding to include training in health care, IT and the construction trade), continued focus on young professional engagement in the community and linkage to the Chamber's leadership, and boosted citizen sales/marketing efforts of Wichita by helping to revamp and revise the region's visioning plan.  Work on all these fronts would continue and expand beyond the Fellowship.

Create and Distribute Accurate, Site Specific Data on Residential Skills Profile, Lyssa Jenkens, Ph.D., formerly with the Greater Dallas (TX) Chamber

Like many regions across the county, the Dallas-Fort Worth region lacked timely and accurate data on the skills profile of residents with access to specific employment centers or sites.  Much of the public data on the labor force was aggregated according to political boundaries. The Greater Dallas Chamber developed proprietary algorithms using Census 2000 data from the Summary File 3 (SF3) and Public Use Microsample (PUMS) to create small area, detailed occupational estimates of the residential labor force.  Lyssa combined this data set with the North Central Texas Council of Governments online GIS system to create on demand labor force profiles for any site in the region within 5-, 10- and 15- mile radii.

  Advancing Social Equity as a Strategy to Achieve Economic Prosperity, Michael Metzler, formerly with the Greater Santa Ana (CA) Business Alliance

The city of Santa Ana is the county seat of California's Orange County and while the county is one of the richest in the country, Santa Ana is one of the poorest of the 100 largest U.S. metros.  The chamber created a plan that would assimilate the poor in an effort to develop the regional economy by meeting marketplace demands, including: English language acquisition, technical training, workplace-specific education reforms and worker housing and first-time buyer programs.  Among the lessons learned that have been incorporated into the way the chamber operates are: commanding data, brokering solutions and executing authority.  The chamber references empirical data that suggests that business growth may be enhanced through investments in social equity; worker productivity can be linked to business profitability.

Sector Based Career Pathway Development, Melissa Rivers, formerly with the Memphis (TN) Regional Chamber

A 2006 regional labor study identified several challenges for the Memphis region, including a disconnect between business needs and education, a large percentage of the population living in poverty and a chaotic and disjointed regional workforce development system.  Among the solutions the Chamber chose to pursue were development of a career pathways and training programs, initiating sector-based employer roundtables to identify specific training needs, and incorporating economic development organizations, workforce investment boards, educators and businesses in a regional workforce alliance to address current and future challenges.  All these initiatives require a common vision, which current stakeholders did not initially share, and would take time to develop.  How to get on the same page as social services agencies and building relationships across sectors are among the larger challenges to developing career pathways for the region.

“Grow Our Own” Professional HealthCare Initiative, Mica Espinoza, Greater El Paso (TX) Chamber of Commerce

With the expansion of Fort Bliss, the El Paso region needed to prepare for the impact of 65,000 new residents.  Stakeholders from the community gathered in November 2008 to identify the major health care issues that could be addressed either legislatively or through policy initiatives. Health care professionals would need to be “imported” from other parts of the state or other states, as well as “grown” locally, to meet increasing demand.  Among the strategies that could be used to grow more health care professionals were increasing medical residency slots in Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) areas, creating scholarships for medical students who agree to practice in El Paso after graduation, identifying promising students as early as sixth grade for health-related professional development, and increasing funding for regional higher education institutions to graduate more nurses and allied health professionals.  The chamber would need to partner with other stakeholders to help move the concepts forward, including identifying financial resources to support these efforts.

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To learn more about a specific RAP, contact Ian Scott at ACCE: iscott@acce.org.