Articles

Last week, 400 civic leaders in West Michigan to explore action steps they can take to build prosperity in their economy. The West Michigan Policy Conference -- the first of its ckind in the region - is patterned after that statewide Macinac Policy Conference held every spring.

The frustration, though, comes from the Macinac conference's lack of follow-up..an inability to convert talk into action. That's what spurred the West Michigan to launch their own.

The press coverage gives you some of the sense of urgency spurring on the folks in West Michigan:

• West Michigan Regional Policy Conference: 'Start taking action'
• W. Michigan group seeks daring fixes

• Let's bridge Michigan's divide - for real this time

• Educators: Region will benefit if businesses cultivate internships in West Michigan

Of course, no annual meeting is likely to develop much momentum toward action. What's needed in many regions is am integrated civic process, not more events. The mere fact that the event sold out with 400 attendees is impressive enough, though.

The West Michigan event is not unlike the Brookings meeting held a couple of weeks ago in Columbus.

Materials on the Brookings/Greater Ohio summit held this week are available here. In case you missed it, here's the PD story by Tom Breckenridge.

Here are couple of other articles that covered the Summit:

• Report: Competition holding back growth of Ohio’s major citieshttp://thejournal.epluribusmedia.net/index.php/state-news/ohio-news/165-ohio-conference-on-restoring-prosperity-calls-for-major-makeovers-on-state-role
• Ohio Conference Calls for Major Makeovers

Is time right to start planning a NEOhio policy conference? Could a consortium of chambers step forward?