Sustaining a Regional Organization

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Sustaining a Regional Organization

• Presented at the
• ACCRA 46th Annual Conference
• June 9, 2006
• Presented by
• Ronnie L. Bryant, CEcD, FM
• President and Chief Executive Officer
• Charlotte Regional Partnership

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Sustaining a Regional Organization

• Regionalism Defined
• Why Necessary
• Challenges
• The Neutral Broker
• Regional Partners
• Case Study Presentation
• Questions/Discussion

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Sustaining a Regional Organization

• Regionalism
• The acceptance of and loyalty to a distinct area,
  with a developed protocol for generating and
  serving wealth creation

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Sustaining a Regional Organization
Maximize Resources Improve ROI
Reverses The Impact of the Zero-Sum Game
Why Is Regionalism Important?
Searches Start with Regions
Strengthens Collaboration
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Sustaining a Regional Organization

• Why is Regionalism important?
• Regional cooperative efforts have the potential
  to reduce wasteful competition, promote more
  productive spending of public resources, and
  allow cities to achieve results collectively that
  they could not accomplish individually.
• Linda McCarthy
• Competitive Regionalism Beyond Individual
  Competition

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Sustaining a Regional Organization
Challenges
Mismatched Resources
Ego
Un-level Playing Field
Parochialism
Unwillingness to Cooperate
Partisan Politics
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Sustaining a Regional Organization

• Champions Regional Efforts
• Prioritizes Issues
• Maintains Atmosphere of Trust
• Coordinator of Partnership
• Pulse of the Region

The Neutral Broker
Role
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Sustaining a Regional Organization

• Single Point of Entry
• Unbiased Information
• Ease of Navigation
• Commitment to Confidentiality

The Neutral Broker
Benefits
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Sustaining a Regional Organization

• Is Not Self-Appointed
• Is Not a Regional Sheriff
• Is Not an Enforcer
• Is Not a Manipulator

The Neutral Broker
Limitations
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Sustaining a Regional Organization

• Created with Consensus of Partners
• Board Led with Members from Partner Organizations
• Not Reliant on Conditional Funds
• Well-funded by a Variety of Sources

The Neutral Broker
Ideal
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Sustaining a Regional Organization
Regional Partners
Local Economic Developers
Utilities
Local Elected Officials
Port Authority
State Department of Commerce
Airport Authority
Colleges and Universities
Railroads
Workforce Development Organizations
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Sustaining a Regional Organization
Questions / Discussion