"For Better doing and strengthening the middle layer of leadership"

The initial inquiry for Providence & Beyond 2007 was sustainability, to open our thinking by questioning the very idea of Sustainable Cities? Sustainable Suburbs? The definition of sustainability we took up in prior years' conversation is the idea of: parallel care and respect for the ecosystem and for the people within; what is required to hold up the species. Though the environment is a first priority, sustainability is not just about the environment! Sustainability is a systemic concept that embraces a variety of diverse and synergistic elements from the human and non-human environment. These include the elements of social, economic, ecological, cultural and built environments – in the end sustainability must be about making a whole place. Holding up the species and whole places are two elements of sustainability we will carry over into 08.

Yet, the questions for 2008 has become: "Resilient Cities? Resilient Suburbs?"

Resilience has been defined as the ability of a system to absorb shocks and to regenerate after a disturbance. For an organization or person it may mean the ability to quickly recover from misfortune. For a community, it may mean the ability to flow with ever changing conditions and prosper.

Resilience is a common trait in natural systems. Nature is very good at resiliency, but people who are the current stewards of nature have become quite poor at it. Just look at our current conditions: global warming, sea level rise, gated communities, and an evaporating middle class, projected state deficit in Rhode Island for 08/09 of 450 million dollars, and of course the list goes on.

As was the case in 2007, again in 2008, we will engage with a range of thinkers/visionary practitioners who will lead us through questions, provocations and insights toward clarity on the conditions surrounding sustainability and resiliency and the capabilities required to be sustainable and resilient.

The concluding message of 2007 from members: “we have our arms around great thinking and good linking”. In 2008, let’s enhance the linking and get to “better doing” and strengthening the middle of our regions leadership cadre. Thus “better doing” will force us to zero in on the outcomes we need to focus on and the catalytic action we need to take to ensure a strategically aligned response by all key players.

The 2008 Program Overview and Benefit:

1. Eight morning sessions: four (4) with external visionary practitioners and four (4) as opportunities to build the community through reflection in practice.

2. Member passions, capabilities, interests and projects posted and available online. See profile categories for members to complete.

3. People within the group would form project groups as subsets of the whole group among those that want to pursue a project. Projects proposed by members – more can be added:

• Re-invent state government (Kip Bergstrom as organizer)
• Create a “Relaxed Regulatory Zone” with a process focus for developing our next places (Fred Presley as organizer)
• Transform Providence City Council from 15 ward seats to 5 at large and 10 ward seats (Barbara Fields as organizer)

4. External thinker input will be greatly enhanced by member access to online interviews with ten of the world experts answering questions submitted by you. Targets for interviews include international thinkers like David Suzuki (www.davidsuzuki.org/ - internationally recognized environmentalist), Rob Adams (Director of Planning, City of Melbourne – a key agent in the transformation of Melbourne), and Charlie Leadbeater (www.charlesleadbeater.net - UK based leading authority on innovation and creativity.

5. Online access to the A Year in Providence and the Region(the predecessor to P&B) and Providence & Beyond archive of Café recordings and papers.

6. Notes from each of the Café sessions.

7. Access to research papers on resilience and sustainability.

8. Membership in a leadership network of decision-makers in RI and the region.

9. Your name listed as a member on the Providence & Beyond website.

10. Wildcard…we will add some surprises!