What to do on Monday: Find the Regional Players

The first place to start to get the regional ball rolling is to find out who is doing what. Here are a few places to begin your journey: 1) Chambers of Commerce (many have expanded their roles beyond cities and are now regional); grantmakers are often part of regional groups call RAGS (regional grantmakers); regional economic organizations; and the United Way.

I would ask these three questions: 1) Do you work regionally?; 2) How do you define our region?; and 3) What are examples of your regional work and its results? Likely these organizations will point you to other people and places who are doing regional work. What is needed is a regional map that literally connects the dots. For example, you need to know how nonprofits are working together to meet needs across the region. You need to know if economies of scale could be realized if county and city had a joint purchasing plan? and You need to know who and how economic recruiting is being done for maximum effectiveness. When you know all this you will have a better idea how well your area is doing developing a regional strategy. You should have a busy Monday!