The James Irvine Foundation's program of Collaborative Regional Initiatives (CRI) recognizes that these Initiatives potentially represent an important new model for public action that can lead to more sustainable regions. The researchers will design and implement an evaluation of this program for the Foundation, which currently supports 14 CRIs. Evaluating these will be a challenging task because the CRIs are evolving and experimental. There are no textbooks or even rough guidelines for their work. Each was developed for a particular place and set of problems. They have different stakeholders, purposes, and activities. What is most important about them and what they have in common is that they join together players, often for the first time, to collaboratively address regional concerns which are not being addressed through traditional decision making institutions.
Changing conditions such as globalization, rapid change, development of communication and information technology, and a loss of shared, place-based values have meant that active collaboration is increasingly critical to accomplishing non-routine tasks and resolving controversial questions. Nonetheless, not a great deal is known generally about how such processes work, what strategies are most effective under what conditions, nor what the range of outcomes is. While there is substantial documentation of short-term and direct effects of collaborative processes, relatively little is known about the long-term outcomes of such processes and about many of the less measurable effects. Although the researchers believe that regional collaborative efforts can make a substantial contribution to creating sustainable regions, knowing precisely what that contribution is and how it can be improved requires systematic assessment. Ultimately, the Foundation needs to know how the CRIs they fund are working, what they are accomplishing, how they can be more effective, and whether and exactly how they are contributing to the goal of sustainable regions.
Additional Information:
Innes, Judith, and Jane Rongerude. 2005. Collaborative Regional Initiatives: Civic Entrepreneurs Work to Fill the Governance Gap. San Francisco: James Irvine Foundation.
Chapple, Karen. 2005. Promising Futures: Workforce Development and Upward Mobility in Information Technology. Monograph 2005-01. Berkeley, CA: Institute of Urban and Regional Development, University of California.
Chapple, Karen. 2005. Building Institutions from the Region Up: Regional Workforce Development Collaboratives in California. Working Paper 2005-01. Berkeley, CA: Institute of Urban and Regional Development, University of California.
Innes, Judith. 2004. Taking the Three 'E's Seriously: The Bay Area Alliance for Sustainable Communities. Working Paper 2004-07. Berkeley, CA: Institute of Urban and Regional Development, University of California.
Innes, Judith. 2004. Turning Businesspeople into Environmentalists: The Sierra Business Council. Working Paper 2004-06. Berkeley, CA: Institute of Urban and Regional Development, University of California.
Saxenian, AnnaLee, and Nadya Chinoy Dabby. 2004. Creating and Sustaining Regional Collaboration in Silicon Valley? The Case of Joint Venture: Silicon Valley. Working Paper 2004-05. Berkeley, CA: Institute of Urban and Regional Development, University of California.
Christensen, Karen, and Jane Rongerude. 2004. The San Diego Dialogue: Reshaping the San Diego Region. Working Paper 2004-04. Berkeley, CA: Institute of Urban and Regional Development, University of California.
Funding Information:
James Irvine Foundation: http://www.irvine.org
Start Date: 3/2/06
