News & Events

WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY, MICHIGAN SUBURBS ALLIANCE TEAM UP FOR REGIONAL COOPERATION

Creating Collaborative Communities Conference offers solutions for local goverment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OCTOBER 28, 2005

CONTACT: CONAN SMITH
248-546-2380

DETROIT – Wayne State University’s Department of Political Science and the Michigan Suburbs Alliance are preparing to host a breakthrough event in regional collaboration, the Creating Collaborative Communities conference, which will take place October 31 and November 1. The two-day conference commemorates the 70th anniversary of Wayne State University’s Graduate Program in Public Administration.

“Researchers from across the country are examining the political trend toward regional collaboration,” said Wayne State Professor Jered Carr. “The models are prolific, and this event will provide one of the first national opportunities to examine them side by side.”

Day one of the conference, Monday, has an academic focus and provides a forum for local government officials, state policymakers, and community leaders to discuss theoretical approaches to inter-local cooperation with leading researchers. Thirteen local and national academic experts will discuss the latest research and trends in resource sharing.

Tuesday’s agenda concentrates on practical application and brings together local government officials, state policymakers, community leaders, and academics for interactive workshops on a variety of issues associated with resource sharing partnerships.

With cities around the region in dire financial situations as a result of the state’s broken municipal finance system, collaborative partnerships offer an opportunity for cities to alleviate financial stress. Working cooperatively and consolidating services in the areas of police, fire, Community Development Block Grants, staff pooling and insurance enables local governments to maximize limited resources and maintain city services. The Creating Collaborative Communities conference provides local leaders with knowledge to take advantage of these partnerships.

The Michigan Suburbs Alliance is a nonprofit organization comprising a coalition of mature, built-out suburbs that works to promote regional collaboration, economic development, and policy reform. Creating Collaborative Communities will kick off the Suburbs Alliance’s series of half day workshops on inter-local partnerships, the first which is scheduled for November 16.

“In these hard economic times, city leaders feel an obligation to maintain high quality services but are undermined by decreasing revenues,” says Conan Smith, Executive Director of the Michigan Suburbs Alliance. “Collaboration is one way to beat the system – it binds us as a community, provides greater service stability and often costs less.”

Tickets for the Practitioner Day, Tuesday, are still available. Anyone interested in attending should contact Melanie Brown at (248) 546-2380 or register online at www.creatingcollaborativecommunties.com.

Management Networks, Services Cooperation and Metropolitan Governance
Academic Day – SOLD OUT
Monday, October 31. 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
McGregor Memorial Conference Center at Wayne State University 

Building Inter-local Cooperation
Practitioner Day – SEATING STILL AVAILABLE
Tuesday, November 1. 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
McGregor Memorial Conference Center at Wayne State University                                                               

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