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 The next National Stewardship Forum, to be held November 6-7 in Boston, Massachusetts, is rapidly approaching, as are deadlines for early bird Forum and hotel registration rates. Kicking off with a case study of large-scale, cross-sectoral collaboration in the Boston metropolitan region, the upcoming Forum will feature workshops on two new ARS monographs, a plenary discussion around the just-published book Civic Revolutionaries, a working session on regional indicators projects, the introduction of our National Stewardship Awards Program, and a rollout of an ongoing process to refine and document the principles of pragmatic regionalism, which will serve as a framework for advocacy and action for boundary-crossing collaborators. Additionally, individuals arriving early on Wednesday, November 5th will have the opportunity to take an optional tour culminating with a visit to Boston Harbor Islands National Park.
The historic Omni Parker House hotel is offering a special conference rate of $149/night for single rooms and $179/night for double rooms to Forum attendees who make reservations by Sunday, October 12th. Contact the Omni Parker House at or 1-800-THE-OMNI, or online at https://regionalstewardship.org/ARS_forums/boston/hotel.html to arrange lodging. ARS Individual Stewards receive a $50 discount on Forum registration fees and Organizational Stewards receive up to two free Forum registrations per year, but a $50 surcharge will be assessed after October 15th.
Program Highlights
All participants in the Boston Forum will receive complimentary copies of two new ARS monographs one on Inclusive Stewardship and the other on Metropolitan Regional Grantmaking which will be featured in separate concurrent sessions on Friday, November 7th. The Inclusive Stewardship workshop will focus on the process and practices of regional and community leaders taking shared responsibility for a long-term commitment to place. Participants will be introduced to a diagnostic tool for assessing a regions readiness and initial focus for this unique form of collaboration. The workshop on Metropolitan Regional Grantmaking will examine patterns of foundation support of regional and smart-growth initiatives, programs and activities, demonstrating that metropolitan regional grantmaking is a distinctive and coherent style of philanthropy that embodies stewardship of place. Findings of ARS research will show how issues, values and foundation objectives not ideology necessitate that the region be selected as the logical scale of work for a range of activities and initiatives.
Additionally, the Boston Forum will feature an unveiling of the Regional Stewardship Awards program, which will be presented for the first time at the next Forum, to be held in Austin, Texas in May of 2004. The ARS Regional Stewardship awards are designed to recognize the work of innovative regions that (1) have made measurable progress toward implementing the Principles of Pragmatic Regionalism (discussed below) and (2) demonstrate effective cross-jurisdictional and cross-sectoral action. Development of the Regional Stewardship Awards was made possible by the generous support of the Morgan Family Foundation.
Among the topics to be considered in a workshop format at the Forum will be the Principles of Pragmatic Regionalism, under development by the ARS board as the foundation for the Alliances ongoing activities. A working draft of the Principles will be distributed for consideration on the morning of Friday, November 7th. The results of this discussion will be integrated with others and become a major focus of the 2004 Spring Forum in Austin, Texas. The Principles of Pragmatic Regionalism, together with the Regional Stewardship Awards program, are the nucleus of ARSs philosophic and strategic path forward.
Each registrant for the Boston Forum will receive a complimentary copy of a new book by Douglas Henton, John Melville, and Kim Walesh, titled Civic Revolutionaries: Igniting the Passion for Change in Americas Communities. The concepts discussed in Civic Revolutionaries will form the basis of a Friday luncheon plenary session on multi-sector regional initiatives moderated by syndicated columnist Neal Peirce and featuring Robert Grow of Envision Utah and Deborah Nankivell of the Fresno Business Council.
A special working session for participants in ARSs Regional Indicators Affinity Group will be held from 10:30 to noon on Friday, November 7th. The Affinity Group, which meets monthly via teleconference, is co-sponsored by the California Center for Regional Leadership and the Catanese Center for Urban and Environmental Solutions at Florida Atlantic University and supported by a grant from the MacArthur Foundation.
Finally, participants arriving early on Wednesday, November 5th will have the opportunity to take an optional tour of the Boston region, including the Boston metro area, suburbs, and surrounding rural area. The tour will begin at 2:30pm on Wednesday. For more information about this tour or any other aspect of the Forum, contact Amy Carrier at or online at
[REGISTER FOR THE FORUM] [VIEW DRAFT AGENDA]
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