Regionalism – This Trend is No Fad

Early in 2006 Boomtown Institute published the 2006 Top Ten Trends for the Agurbs®. The list is compiled of issues and initiatives that have had an impact on economic and community development this past year. Many of them will continue to be strong drivers in 2007.

Regionalism was number six on the trend list for 2006 and as the year has progressed, has continued to grow in importance.

6. Regionalism— Progressive communities are realizing that artificial borders set by surveyors in the 19th Century are not how people are running businesses or deciding on where to live. A regional focus on job creation and retention will continue to be pivotal to many agurbs®. Competition will have to subside and communities will have to leave behind their silo mentalities.

As the global economy shifts away from a boundary economy system, regionalism will become imperative to the success of the agurbs®.

Why more regionalism?

Entrepreneurs and companies looking to move to an area don't care about boundaries, whether they are city, county or even state borders. They are looking for quality of life for themselves and their employees and cooperation and collaboration from the various entities in an area. Not to mention:

Your economy is dependent on regional growth, demonstrated by labor and trade patterns
Industries/tourists tend to cluster in a region
Regions can better promote their assets, maximize their resources and collectively have a larger voice than individuals
Businesses, entrepreneurs and travelers tend to start their consideration by looking at regions versus specific communities

From a business perspective, why should we work regionally?

To utilize and leverage economic development resources to achieve efficiencies and to increase results
To present and aggressively market the economic region as a single product
To streamline and strengthen the delivery of services and to enhance competitiveness of the region

Challenges

There are undeniable challenges of working regionally. Following are steps you can take to overcome the most common barriers.

Strong leaders. It is imperative that you have strong leaders embracing the regional approach. It's the first thing you need, or regionalism will be the last thing you get. This is pretty self-explanatory. If the person writing the checks, or okaying the budget, or appointing the committees isn't onboard with a regional collaboration, there will be no regional collaboration. If your leaders don't support your regional efforts you either need to educate your current leaders until they see the benefits or you need new leaders.

Trust. The number one barrier and ongoing challenge of regional economic development efforts is trust, or lack thereof. The key is to ensure that the alliance is mutually beneficial, giving all parties an equal vested interest in the success of the region. All concerned entities have to realize that the big deals aren't always going to be in their backyard, but that what is done is done for the good of the group and in the end all benefit.

Cooperation. Cooperation is the most important asset a regional approach must possess in order to succeed. Perhaps the biggest challenge of working regionally is converting the mind set from "Competition" to "Cooperation," but if the endeavor is to move forward and not in circles or sit stalled the competition must cease and all must work together for the common good of the region. Here are some ways to increase cooperation:

Define roles of partners
Establish operational and collaboration protocol
Establish an open, transparent communication process
Communicate frequently (This is the critical component!)

Will You Join the Trend?

Communities are quickly realizing that they get lost in the clutter of 15,000 other towns around the country. Many realize working together with their neighbors more effectively leverages their resources. Working regionally is important from an economic development perspective and from a business perspective. In short the benefits for working regionally abound and cannot be ignored if you want your community to prosper.

Next month look for the 2007 Top Ten Trends for the Agurbs®. You can count on regionalism making the list.