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 Dear ARS Network:
As a relative newcomer to the ARS Board, I have been impressed with the emphasis on practical tools that regional leaders can use to bring ideas to life. There is abundant research on why regionalism is important, and lots of policy recommendations on regional ?best practices?; ARS brings the ideal and the real together in a way that?s unique among organizations in this field.
The best way to fill up on great ideas and workable tools is to attend an ARS National Forum on Regional Stewardship. The May 4-6 Forum in Washington, D.C. is going to be a winner, focusing on ?The Next Generation in Collaboration Linking Economic and Social Issues.? Confirmed speakers include Alice Rivlin of the Brookings Institution, Former Maryland Governor Parris Glendening, David Sampson of the Economic Development Administration, and Cindy Burbank, Associate Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration.
Collaboration models among local governments is the focus of our Fall Forum, to be held in Louisville, Kentucky, November 8-11. As part of the Forum, Louisville Metro government is hosting a special ?Lessons from Merger Workshop? Nov. 8-9, in response to dozens of cities that have expressed interest in the historic merger of Louisville-Jefferson County governments two years ago. ARS will present at the Workshop a diagnostic tool participants can use to analyze merger and consolidation for their communities.
ARS sees an emerging movement across the U.S. toward a new level of civic engagement, with citizens using sophisticated tools of dialogue and communication as well as consultation and negotiation to shape public decisions. Successful examples of this ?collaborative governance? have been pioneered for land-use decisions in Utah, neighborhood planning in Rochester, and the rebuilding of lower Manhattan after 9/11. Watch for an exciting new ARS initiative that proposes to work intensively with a pioneering group of regional leaders to implement innovative collaboration, and then cultivate a network of practitioners who will diffuse these new techniques in regions around the country.
With the polarized ?red/blue? politics in our states and nation right now, I can?t think of a more welcome balm for our divided citizens than an organization that?s committed to helping people find better ways to talk together and work together across the many lines political, economic, social that too often keep us apart. ARS for me is a great example of the motto of my home state of Kentucky: ?United We Stand, Divided We Fall?.
Sincerely,
Joan Riehm
Deputy Mayor, Louisville Metro
Vice-Chair for Development, ARS Board of Directors
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