We are planning to organize a 4-day regional/community economic strategic planning workshop. I hope to involve consultations with local residents along with key social, environmental and business leaders. I would also like to draw upon the expertise of some successful and influential community development people from outside the region who could share success stories and provide objective analysis. The intent will be to not simply hold a four-day conference but to have four intensive days of real work that will culminate with enough information for a team of local residents and consultants to write a strategic plan for the future development of the region. Any volunteers or suggestions of who to invite?
Phil Ferraro and Nancy Willis
Institute for Bioregional Studies Ltd. Fortune
RR#4 Souris, Prince Edward Island Canada C0A 2B0
Permaculture, Organic Agriculture Production and Leadership Training,
Food Quality and Safety Audits and HACCP Planning,
Independent Organic Certification Inspections, Organic Farm Tours.
Regional Strategic Planning
Sign in or Sign up to comment
Andy Lipkis from TreePeople is doing some interesting work integrating public works infrastructure using eco-system management. http://www.treepeople.org/vfp.dll?OakTree~getPage~&PNPK=32 He has worked with Patrick Condon from Vancouver (who also might be worth inviting.)
Jeff Hohensee
Deep Lake
...
Phil and Nancy
If that is your goal, you are going to need to make it a facilitated meeting with a very structured agenda. You will need to provide your audience with alternating sessions of basic information with facilitated discussions on the regional goals around that information. The whole process will be an exercise in adaptive management. For instance on the first day first information session, you will need to do an over view of sustainability, with specific aspects which the group will need to address, such as energy, agriculture, waste, social justice, social equity and so on. The first facilitated session would be to set the regions priorities for those aspects and do adopt a definition of sustainability which reflects that priority. Then next information session is on the top priority as determined by the group, it outlines the challenges for that priority. For instance, if that priority is energy, then it looks at what the area needs to do to achieve energy sustainability. The facilitated session afterwards looks at how to allocate resources to do that, it might mean developing a local wind generator company, leasing to a national vendor, or structuring local taxes to make wind development attractive, but part of the facilitators job it to remind everyone about other priorities, like economic development and social equity, because those sessions are going to come later. Each day you will write more of the outline for the plan and at the end of the four days, they will have an outline of priorities and strategies to meet those priorities. Then they just have to flesh it out to have a work plan. I have to say that it would be a blast to be involved with that kind of a workshop! You are going to have a great time.
Good Luck.
Richard Knaub
Sustainable Community Development Consultant
Boulder, CO 80303