A group of leaders representing an array of interests and expertise from nine counties in New York ?s Hudson Valley last month signed a formal agreement, , to work together for the good of the region as a whole.

Over 175 regional leaders from the public, private and civic sectors attended the Hudson Valley Convention organized and held on May 17th by the Newburgh, NY-based Pattern for Progress, a nonprofit public policy research institute dedicated to enhancing the economic competitiveness of the Hudson Valley/Catskills region.  Many issues for collaboration were discussed at the convention, including affordable housing, tourism promotion, environmental quality and job creation. 

The Hudson Valley Convention represents a milestone in Pattern for Progress?s Global Hudson Valley Initiative (GHVI), which was launched in 2005.  The GHVI is a collaboration of 21 leaders representing the four spheres of regional stewardship: social inclusion, collaborative governance, livable communities and innovative economy. Since February the GHVI speakers' bureau has spoken to more than 50 organizations throughout the region about what can be achieved in the Hudson River Valley if its residents work together in new ways.

Convention attendees from local governments, chambers of commerce, SUNY institutions, conservation organizations and private businesses like IBM signed the Articles of Alliance, a document memorializing their commitment to serve as regional stewards of the Hudson River Valley.  Pattern for Progress President and CEO Michael DiTullo said the agreement will form a framework for how the group will tackle regional problems.

?As the forces of globalization act on the Hudson Valley , we need a regional frameworka common understanding of the region as a single, interrelated, functional wholeto help us comprehend the phenomena of the 21st century,? said DiTullo.

The timing of the convention seemed to strike a chord with the Hudson Valley community.  ?We suspect,? wrote the editorial board of the Times Herald-Record after the convention, ?that enough residents of this region are fed up with political, geographic and cultural boundaries that keep us from living and working together more harmoniously.?

Outgoing ARS president and CEO John Parr gave the convention?s keynote address.  Parr told attendees that they need to create a shared vision of the region's future if it is to be achieved. ?It really becomes a campaign for the region,? he said.  Parr cited Long Island ?s problems with heavy traffic and difficulty in recruiting and keeping the needed workforce as examples of the unintended consequences that can happen when a region does not pay attention to its future.

?Too often,? Parr observed, ?in regions you have groups that are operate in stove pipes, working on economic development strategies, environmental strategies, social issues, but don?t realize for the region to be overall healthy, they have to be working collaboratively both multi-sectorally and multi-jurisdictionally.?

After the convention, Parr reflected on the effort, ?More regions in the country need to be taking this kind of action.  The Central Hudson River Valley is way ahead of many places in understanding the forces that are shaping its future and then agreeing to work together to create a livable, sustainable and productive region.  As with any initiative like this the real challenge is for residents to figure out what the most important threats and opportunities are and then develop specific strategies to take them on.?

Convention attendees were invigorated about regional stewardship?s potential to ensure the long-term well-being of the Hudson River Valley. ?We?re not going to rest,? DiTullo said at the convention?s end.

For more information about the Hudson Valley Convention Articles of Alliance, Global Hudson Valley Initiative, and Pattern for Progress, visit http://www.pfprogress.org/.