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The ARS National Forum on Regional Stewardship is just a week away! You can still register for the Forum and the "Lessons from Merger' Workshop. The Forum and Workshop agendas and online registration are available at: regionalstewardship.org/register4forum.html.
Program Highlights
This Forum?s theme is ?Collaborative Governance--Is Your Community Ready?? This Fall meeting will examine successful models of collaboration involving governments in the U.S. , including examples from rural areas. New ideas in building regional identity and in academic research on regionalism also will be explored.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, November 8 and 9, Louisville Metro government will host a pre-Forum ?Lessons from Merger Workshop? for representatives of communities that want to explore the Louisville-Jefferson County merger experience in depth.
Forum plenary sessions will introduce the Greater Louisville Region and highlight the merger between Louisville and Jefferson County in 2003. In addition, breakout sessions will focus on new ideas in collaborative governance, creating an identity for and marketing your region, and rural regional stewardship, among others.
The Forum will kick off with a tour of the Greater Louisville region. Join experts from Louisville and Southern Indiana on Wednesday, November 9th to hear aboutand seedowntown housing options, public housing transformation, and Louisville?s award-winning waterfront.
?Lessons from Merger? Workshop Sessions & Events
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40 Years of Debate: A business leader, state legislator, merger opponent and merger advisor discuss the pros and cons of merger, debated for more than four decades in Louisville.
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Alternatives to Merger: A look at other government collaboration initiatives in Louisville, that might be instructive for other communities, including merged city-county departments, countywide service districts, and a revenue-sharing Compact.
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Convincing the Voters: Hear from the experts who ran the successful 2000 campaign for city-county merger, after three earlier campaigns lost at the ballot box.
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Taste of Louisville at Metro Hall: Louisville Mayor Abramson hosts a reception at the downtown government center featuring a tasting of local wines and beers.
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Reinventing Government: How the new Louisville-Jefferson County Metro is striving to innovate and economize based on the Best Practices of successful local governments in the U.S.
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Case Studies: Two of the toughest challenges of consolidation merging Louisville and Jefferson County Police Departments, and launching a new 26-member Metro Council will be explored by the Metro Police Chief and Council members.
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Q&A with the Mayor: The first Mayor of Louisville Metro, Jerry Abramson, is also the longest-serving Mayor in the City of Louisville?s history. He?ll reflect on his experiences and answer participant questions at a closing lunch.
Forum Sessions
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Louisville?s Lessons for Other Communities: In 2003 the city of Louisville and Jefferson County consolidated their operations, becoming the first large-scale city-county merger in the U.S. in more than 30 years. This session will highlight the challenges involved in the merger and the lessons learned since consolidation.
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Collaborative Governance Models in Greater Louisville: Unique cross-sector partnerships in Louisville are offering new approaches and collaboration for education, economic and workforce development, homeland security, and non-profit social service agencies.
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New Ideas in Collaborative Governance: Collaborative Governance finding new ways to govern is being explored in many settings across the country. This session explores some of the recent efforts at local, regional and state levels.
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The Power of Regional Exchanges: Leadership exchanges to other regions are proving a valuable way for regions to learn how similar communities have addressed their challenges. ARS?s Regional Stewardship Visitation Program (RSVP) will be highlighted, including a recent regional leadership visit to Chicago sponsored by The Pennsylvania Economy League.
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Creating an Identity: Marketing Your Region: Regions are increasingly working to create identitiesnot only for a better understanding internally of who they are, but also for external branding purposes. This session will explore why regional identity is importantand how to find it.
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Regionalism to the Max: The institutional boundaries in regions are often dramatically at odds with the reality of the problems people need to address. This session explores the work of four programs that have engaged in regional problem solving.
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Rural Regional Stewardship: How do the Principles of Regional Stewardship apply in rural settings? Can the lessons learned in metropolitan regions be transferred to rural regions?
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ARS Regional Stewardship Award Panel: This session will highlight recipients of ARS?s 2005 Regional Stewardship Awards. The Award is given annually to recognize regions that demonstrate progress in all four elements of the Principles for Regional Stewardship and that have achieved tangible results, increased regional capacity, and shown the potential for sustainability.
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Collaborative GovernanceIs Your Community Ready? ARS has developed a Collaborative Governance Checklist for use as a diagnostic tool by communities exploring how to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their local governments.
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Luncheon Program: The Geography of Opportunity : Building coalitions to bridge the gap
To register for the Forum, please visit the ARS website at regionalstewardship.org/register4forum.html. For additional information, please contact Amy Carrier, Alliance Manager, at or .
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