Governors' Institute on Community Design

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GOVERNORS'
INSTITUTE

on community design

Helping Leaders Shape the Future

The Governors' Institute on Community Design is a national, nonpartisan
program created specifically to assist governors, their cabinet, and top staff as
they make investments in their communities and guide growth and development
in their states.

By harnessing the expertise of leading practitioners and academicians in key
fields, including land use policy, design, transportation, energy, development,
and regional economics, the Governors' Institute helps each state's executive
team as it makes choices that can shape the future of communities
throughout their state.

Why Governors?

state-level decisions impact growth and development throughout the state in
crucial ways. States can set the rules of the game, provide significant funding, and
can also provide direction, guidance, and support to local communities as they
address the opportunities and challenges presented by growth and development.

State leaders and citizens alike increasingly view quality of life and quality of
place as key to the long-term economic competitiveness of their communities.
Recognizing the critical role state policies can play in achieving this end, gover-
nors around the country are now grappling with often intertwined issues related
to transportation, energy, air quality, housing, parks and open space, watershed
protection, availability of drinking water, sustainability, economic development,
and competitiveness.

le rules oi

game that make a difference in Inow oca
communities grow. $.

Governor Parris N. Glendening

It makes sense to try to encourage action
at tlie state level, because states can do so
much to enable better design, better
planning, better development, and ultimately
better communities.

Governor Christine Todd Whitman

Sharing Knowledge & Experience

The Governors' Institute recognizes that each
state faces its own particular challenges related
to growth and development. Working with a
governor's cabinet and staff, the Institute
develops workshops tailored to address the
specific priorities of a governor and the unique
needs of his or her state. Each workshop brings
together one governor and his or her cabinet and
staff to work with nationally renowned experts
and practitioners on specific issues identified by
the governor prior to the workshop.

Governor Carcieri (Rhode Island)
addresses participants at the first
Governors' Institute workshop in
Providence, March, 2006.

Governors' Institute workshops are designed to:

Provide state leaders with practical,
action-oriented strategies to create vibrant,
economically competitive communities;
Highlight the connections between economic
development, transportation, land use,
housing, energy and the environment;
Bring together a broad range of
decision-makers and create the basis for
coordinated action among state agencies;
Encourage increased cooperation between state
and local governments.

How the Governors' Institute Works

Just as no two states are alike, no two workshops are alike. Each workshop is
designed to address the specific priorities of the host governor. Nevertheless,
there are common elements.

• Governors' Institute workshops are developed individually for one governor and his
or her cabinet and staff and held at a convenient location in the host r*-^*'^

• The host governor identifies the challenge; the Institute provides the national
experts who can offer potential solutions.

• All workshops are preceded by at least one pre-workshop reconnaissance trip by
Governors' Institute staff.

with the governor's cabinet and staff.

Workshops take place over two days, with the first day consisting of expert

Workshops are generally small, top-level meetings, with all discussions confidential,

but they can be structured differently at each governor's request.

Each governor agrees to be personally present to welcome the experts and

on the second day. Further participation by the governor is encouraged. Other
designated participants, including cabinet secretaries and staff, are present for the
entire workshop.

The Institute's work does not end when the workshop concludes. A final set of written
recommendations is delivered to the governor following the session and additional
follow-up assistance and information are made available.

The host state may be asked to make an in-kind contribution, such as providing the
venue for the event.

Expertise

The Governors' Institute brings together experts from a variety of fields,
providing governors with a wealth of knowledge and experience.
The Institute's cadre of experts includes groundbreaking practitioners and
researchers in government, smart growth, planning, design, transportation,
and land use. The team of experts for each workshop is specifically tailored
to the topic and to the priorities and needs of the host state.

Governors Council

Executive Comnnittee

Governor Parris N. Glendening

Former Governor of Maryland; President
of the Smart Growth Leadership Institute

Tamar Shapiro

Director, Governors' Institute on

Community Design

Governor Christine Todd Whitman

Former Administrator of the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency;
former Governor of New Jersey

John W. Frece

Associate Director, National Center for
Smart Growth Research and Education,
University of Maryland, College Park

Governors' Institute
on Community Design

1707 L Street, NW, Suite 1050
Washington, DC 20036
www.govinstitute.org

B 202-207-3355 ext. 24

0 202-207-3349

[¥] info@govinstitute.org

The Governors' Institute on Community Design receives
major funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and is managed
by the Smart Growth Leadership Institute, a program of Smart
Growth America, in cooperation with the National Center for
Smart Growth Research and Education at the University of
Maryland, College Park.

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