Leading the Planning Effort

Module 2
Module Objectives

Describing a Collaborative
Regional Economic
Development Framework *Developing a regional
call to action

*Identifying regional partners

Leading the Planning Effort
*Building the governing
organization
*Sustaining momentum &
participation
Detecting Regional Advantage

Formulating Strategies

Executing Your Plan

 Objectives

I. Identify what constitutes a “Call for Action” and why it

is important for successful economic development
planning

II. Provide effective criteria for identifying regional leaders

III. Illustrate how to effectively lead a planning effort from a

collaborative regional perspective

IV. Offer mechanisms for sustaining momentum and

overcoming obstacles
 To Begin….

Take a few minutes and think about how your

organization identifies and engages regional leaders for
development initiatives in your area.

Discuss these characteristics with the folks at your table:

• What characteristics do you have in common?
• What characteristics are different?
 Before You Start a New Effort……
Take an internal assessment of your current resources and
consider the future demands.

• Time Commitment
• Funding
• Staffing
• Facilities
• Research Capabilities
• Regional Media Access
• Possible Regional Allies and Partners
• Other regional programs, activities, and commitments
 I.
Develop A
Regional Call To Action
 What is a Regional Call to Action?

Some Key Components:

• Articulates a regional challenge

• Links to a global or national change with a regional
impact
• Based upon a logical premise
• Something the region can have the power to effect
 What is a Regional Call to Action?

Some Key Components:

• Provides a clear rationale for action

• Emphasizes a sense of urgency, not panic
• Uses common language the region can understand
• Makes an emotional appeal or personal connection
 Shouldn’t You Conduct an Economic
Assessment Before the Regional Call to
Action?
Care should be taken that your organization does not
conduct an in-depth assessment or regional analysis
before the call to action.

This risks the appearance that you have already done

the work, made the decisions, and are only looking for
a rubber-stamp approval of your own plan.
 Why Make a Regional Call to Action?

• Present efforts don’t reflect regional economic

realities
• Leadership has lost inertia, direction, or motivation
• Traditional funding support is ineffective
 A Regional Call to Action Can:

• Offer the chance to invigorate, educate, and inspire

leadership
• Give an occasion to re-involve the community
• Stimulate new funding sources and opportunities
• Provide an opening to expand regional participation
• Lend credibility and community support to the effort
• Allow new ideas to come into play
• Provide an opportunity to educate the community about the
issue
 II.
Identify Regional
Participants
Key Regional Leadership Team

General Public

Paid
“Professional”
Stakeholders Conveners

Informal
Leaders
Steering or
Advisory
Implementation Committee
Champions
 Identifying Stakeholders:
Steering Committee Leadership
Organizations to Consider
• Leading private industries
•Economic and business development
•Public sector (state, regional & local officials)
•Education and workforce development
•Community-based organizations
•Traditionally disadvantaged groups
 When Making Your Regional
Leadership Team……
Things to Consider:
•New Perspectives
•Life Experience Diversity
•Your Changing Region
 When Making Your Regional
Leadership Team….
Ask:
• Who will have the most important roles in making the
needed changes to implement the strategy?
• Who is directly affected by implementation of the
strategy?
• Who can influence the success or failure of the strategy?
• Who has special skills that implementation may require,
such as an intimate knowledge of the region, a particular
industry, or the ability to help with measurement?
 When Making Your Regional
Leadership Team….
Ask:
• Who has the resources to actively participate?
• Who does the region regard, accept, or expect as its
leaders?
• Who will help to spread the message and encourage buy-in
throughout their organization and the region?
• Who represents emerging industry sectors?
 How to Invite Participation
• Consider from whom the invitation is coming
– Engage multiple organizations in nominating
participants
– Identify a high profile chair
• Use “networks” to identify a broader list of
participants
– Ask organizations to nominate participants
– Balance diversity of opinions (include likely
“supporters” with “detractors”)
 How to Invite Participation (cont.)
• Target a group of 30 to 40 people to participate on
steering committee
• Empower wide feedback
– Conduct an initial “economic summit” to
provide an opportunity for broader community
input
– Communicate outputs via the web as the
process evolves
 How Will You Approach Your
Stakeholders?
It will depend on your region, the situation, and the challenge you present.

• Inform
– Clearly defined one-way educational presentation
– Brochures, press releases, websites, newsletters, public presentations
• Consult
– Communication with solicitation of feedback
– Surveys, polls, meetings
• Consensus
– Two way dialogue
– Workshops, deliberative dialogue sessions, visioning
 III.
Building the Governing
Organization for Your
Planning Process
 Defining Collaborative Governance
Collaborative governance combines two basic
concepts:

• Collaborative: To co-labor, to cooperate to achieve

common goals working across boundaries in multi-
sector relationships. Cooperation is based on the
value of reciprocity.

• Governance: To steer the process that influences

decisions and actions within the private, public, and
civic sectors.
Principles of Effective Regional
Leadership

Key Components:
• Collaborative
• Mutual Trust
• Shared Power
• Flexible
• Entrepreneurial
 Principles of Effective Regional
Leadership
• Problem & results oriented
• Open, and inclusive, with the opportunity for everyone
to be involved
• Avoids the traditional hierarchical relationships
• Rather than legitimacy coming from closely observed
protocol, it is gained from the openness and
opportunities for everyone in the process
• To be meaningful, participants must feel their input is
receiving equal weight
 Principles of Effective Regional
Leadership
• Leadership skills needed:
– Ability to facilitate meetings
– Can promote and lead discussions
– Organize ideas
– Mediate and mitigate conflicts
 Principles of Effective Regional
Leadership (cont.)
• Leadership skills needed:
– Create a neutral playing field
– Keep participants informed and engaged
– Keep the discussion relevant
– Push to collective effort towards resolution
 Principles of Effective Regional
Leadership
Common Obstacles:
• Competition
• Conflicting goals
• Power imbalance
 Principles of Effective Regional
Leadership
Strategies to Overcome:
• Encourage open communication
• Concentrate on common shared goals
• Identify shared benefits
• Spread costs equitably
• Continually educate about regionalism
• KEEP EVERYONE EQUALLY INFORMED
 Structure

Regional Steering Committee

A group of high-level stakeholders who are responsible for
providing guidance on the overall strategic direction. They will
meet periodically to evaluate the progress and success of the
implementation plan.

Regional Advisory Boards

A group of high-level stakeholders who will meet periodically
to offer advice, information, or notification on the overall
strategic direction.
 Creating the Structure
For Effective Regional Leadership

• A Steering Role?
Persons in a steering role navigate the course of the
planning process, establish work groups, determine
input processes, and make decisions about the
content of the plan.

Or…
 Creating the Structure
For Effective Regional Leadership

• An Advisory Role?
Persons in an advisory role may provide informed
input on topics such as the planning process, priority
or focal areas, scope of objectives, marketing, and
other aspects of the initiative.
 Creating the Structure
For Effective Regional Leadership
Leadership Options:
• Chaired by a local government official or his/her designee
• Chaired by an official or appointed by local government
council
• Chair elected by the group
• Chaired or co-chaired by regional community leaders
(appointed or elected)
• Rotating chair
• No chair– group received direction and guidance from staff
 Creating the Structure
For Effective Regional Leadership
Distributing the Leadership Options:
• The steering committee does all the work in steering committee
meetings
• The steering committee divides its members into work groups,
subcommittees or task force groups
• The steering committee establishes work groups to be chaired by a
steering committee member, with work group membership open to
non-steering committee members who have expertise or interest
• The steering committee charges the local economic development
agency with forming work groups as needed
 IV.
Sustaining Momentum and
Participation
 Sustaining Participation
• Stakeholders must “own” the process
• Active participation is sought, not just tolerated
• Stakeholders must see benefits and good reasons to
participate
• Acknowledge the “shadow of adversarialism”
– Gets the participants to the table
– Creates incentive to participate
 Practical Ways to Sustain
Momentum and Participation
• Create a work plan and timeline
• Coordinate expertise and staff support
• Assign development tasks to teams and individuals
• Integrate plan into ongoing activities and processes
• Develop a multi-year monitoring and implementation
plan
 Tangible Ways to Sustain
Momentum and Participation (cont.)
• Identify a single point of contact to manage the
process and make sure things get done
• Let everyone know the final destination and stops
along the way
• Schedule internal, interagency, and public reviews
• Celebrate milestones, recognize groups and
individuals for their contributions
 Assessing These Techniques for Your
Region….

At you table, answer these questions:

1. Has your organization defined a call to action to attract the

attention of leaders, stakeholders and the general public? Is it
effective?

2. Does your organization currently use any of the principles of

collaborative governance? Are they effective?
Review, Questions and
Discussions
 Review

I. Identify what constitutes a “Call for Action” and why it

is important for successful economic development
planning

II. Provide effective criteria for identifying regional leaders

III. Illustrate how to effectively lead a planning effort from a

collaborative regional perspective

IV. Offer mechanisms for sustaining momentum and

overcoming obstacles