Florida held the nation?s first statewide Regional Stewardship Alliance Summit in October 2005, bringing together 10 organizations that have been working on regional approaches in own their parts of the state to coordinate their efforts and share resources and information. 

Attendees included the several regional chambers of commerce, the South Florida Regional Planning Council, Northeast Florida Regional Council, 1,000 Friends of Florida, Enterprise Florida, Tampa Bay Partnership, Florida Atlantic University, several state agencies, and Florida Secretary of State Glenda Hood.  Robert Grow, the founding chair of Envision Utah, inspired Florida?s regional partners with the story of how the Salt Lake City region has embraced regional visioning as the key to a quality future.  At the summit, the Florida Regional Stewardship Alliance (FRSA) also launched an online index and web discussion group.  (See the ?Innovative Ideas? article for more information about the Index.)

The seeds for this unprecedented event in the regional stewardship movement were planted by ?New Cornerstone,? an indicators report published by the Florida Chamber of Commerce Foundation in 2003.  This study sought to assess Florida?s economic performance over the past decade and provide a blueprint for the state?s economic future.  Key strategies in the report included:

• Economic Diversification: Emphasizing trade, tourism, technology and talent
• Economic Gardening: Focusing on the creation and growth of Florida-based businesses, particularly in the arenas of innovation and technology industries
• Intellectual Infrastructure: Developing, retaining and attracting a highly-skilled workforce
• Creative Communities: Enhancing community livability, attracting mobile workers, and shifting toward proactive growth leadership

The ?New Cornerstone? study was developed and conducted by the Florida Chamber Foundation, a research foundation founded by the chamber 37 years ago, and sponsored by private and public organizations.  Research for the report was conducted over three years by Cambridge Systematics Inc.

After a series of briefings about the report with other organizations throughout the state, the Chamber Foundation began discussing ideas for community engagement events.  ?As this discussion progressed, a decision was made to shift toward regional stewardship,? said Florida Chamber of Commerce President Frank Ryll.  As a result, the Florida Regional Stewardship Alliance (FRSA) was born in late 2004.

The FRSA will enable regional leadership teams across the state to work both within their own regions and across regions to promote innovative solutions to regional issues such as economic diversification, workforce development, and growth management.  In addition to partnering with regional teams, the Foundation will sponsor annual statewide meetings to support the development of this Alliance.  Activities in 2005 and planned for 2006 include:

• The Northeast Florida Regional Leadership Academy (Jacksonville region) held an opening retreat in April 2005 facilitated by ARS
• The Southwest Florida Regional Stewardship Alliance (Fort Myers region) will begin planning in January after Hurricane Wilma hit the region in October
• Greater Orlando?s myregion.org will hold a Gardner Academy in the spring of 2006

For more information about the ?New Cornerstone? report, visit http://www.newcornerstoneonline.com/.

For more information about the Florida Chamber Foundation, visit http://www.flchamber.com/flcchw/hw.dll?page&file=chamberfoundation.