Regional Collaboration: Learning to Think and Act Like a Region March 16-17, 2006 – Seattle, WA

1. YELLOWSTONE BUSINESS PARTNERSHIP A Business Voice for Regional Stewardship Regional Collaboration: Learning to Think and Act Like a Region March 16-17, 2006 – Seattle, WA Janice Brown, Executive Director www.yellowstonebusiness.org

2. Yellowstone Business PartnershipOur Mission The Yellowstone Business Partnership unites businesses dedicated to preserving a healthy environment and shaping a prosperous and sustainable future for communities in the Yellowstone-Teton region. We promote scientific understanding, informed dialogue, and collaborative approaches to resolving our region’s most complex socio-economic and natural resource challenges.

3. The Yellowstone-Teton Region:A Vast Geography with Few People • 25 counties in three states that surround and identify with Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks – 35-40M acres • 679,000 total population with only four counties in excess of 50,000 • Est. 28,000 businesses with employees • Growing seasonal population, esp. 45-65 year olds with non-labor income (39% average across region)

4. Y B P R E G I O N

5. Yellowstone Business Partnership How and Why Was It Created? • Neither chambers nor conservation groups represented founders’ interests • Desire to be better informed and to contribute to local and regional decisions • Interest in operating more sustainably and cooperating across state boundaries • Desire for more collaborative versus confrontational approaches • Nonprofit membership organization est. in 2001; first members recruited Oct. 2003

6. YBP: A Diverse and Increasingly Engaged Membership • 165 businesses & affiliated persons • 40 organizations & individual donors • Half from MT; ¼ ea. ID & WY • From all industry and business sectors • 16-member board of directors; 6 on advisory board • Four advisory teams (40 people) • 14 businesses in UnCommon Sense • Little interest in local chapter structure

7. Yellowstone Business Partnership What We Seek We envision a region that is revered for its unique landscapes, dynamic communities and prosperous economies…

8. And We Seek a Future Where… • Integrity of environment & experience is preserved • Growth is managed and monitored • Sustainability is the operating principle • A civil and caring society results

9. The Business Community Has the Power to Shape the Region’s Future • Respect the region’s traditional conservatism • Shape incentives to complement needed laws and regulations • Seek alternatives, not just positions • Act upon accurate and meaningful information

10. Strategy: Our Region NeedsCooperative, Integrated Approaches • Social capital and governance structures too weak to withstand onslaught of unmanaged growth and its consequences • Human and fiscal resources too limited to miss out on collaborative opportunities • Trend is toward consolidation of individual wealth and an increasing income gap • Collaboration contrasts with region’s history of independence and self-reliance

11. Uncommon Sense: Business Leadership for a Sustainable Future • Reduce waste and pollutants; increase energy efficiency • Expand purchases of nontoxic & locally produced goods • Strengthen each community’s social fabric • Annually measure and report results • 14 businesses enrolled in two-year peer-support program

12. Sustainable Development InitiativeResponse to Growth-Related Concerns • 2005: Assessed regional attitudes on growth • 2006: Voluntary design standards to integrate green building and community development; land and biodiversity preservation; transportation • 2007: Demonstration projects across the region

13. Outdoor Recreation Prospectus:The Case for Collaborative Investment Four investment areas: Respecting Resource Capacity Celebrating Our Wildlife Enhancing Regional Mobility Securing Sustainable Support

14. Respecting the Resource Capacity of Federally Managed Public Lands • Recreation Stewardship Agreements • Recreation Monitoring Consortium • Collaboration in Recreation Decision Making

15. Regional Projects to Involve Local, State and Federal Entities • John Colter Trail Network • Regional Fishing License

16. Collaborative Projects to Require Innovative Private-Public Partnerships • Regional Wildlife Guidebook • Interpretive Services Clearinghouse • Yellowstone-Teton Transportation Services • Greater Yellowstone Recreation Trust

17. Regional Asset Profile:Off-Season Assets and Opportunities • Two-year collaborative research focused on regional seasonality • Shared study design and project investment • Objective: to identify cross-boundary assets, trends and economies • Will culminate in Fall 2007 event at Buffalo Bill Historical Center

18. Third Annual ConferenceDimensions of Regional Leadership • Key learning and networking opportunity • May 22-24 - Jackson Lake Lodge in Grand Teton NP • Building leadership capacity to guide a single business or lead regional collaborations • Rotating themes of sustainability, resource conservation and regional leadership

19. Member and Community Outreach:A Major Cross-Boundary Challenge • Quarterly newsletters, website, online directory, biweekly eGrams • Regular gatherings and speaking appearances • Relationship needed with 15 newspapers, many media outlets • Cooperative business advertising and program-oriented stories • No current staff presence in ID, WY • Attraction rather than promotion the key

20. A Diversity of Funding Sources with Too Little Development Effort Foundation/Govt. grants: $50,600 Corporate Gifts (over 1K): $42,000 Major Donors & Members: $63,000 Event/Training Revenue: $37,500 Other fees, income : $ 3,000 • 2005 - $196.1K in revenue against $203K in expenses • Staffing level: 2.1 FTE + contracts • Almost all funding has been annual

21. Outcomes Are Yet to Be Realized • YBP identified as “natural” way to connect with responsible businesses • NPS Winter Use Plan • Greater Yellowstone-Teton Clean Cities • Ease in accessing agency personnel • GY Coordinating Committee • Regional emphasis is understood internally, but not as well externally • Local advocates want YBP to be ally

22. The Vulnerabilities of Collaboration:Adjusting to Regional Realities • Few of us know our regional geography • Constantly adjusting project scope and timelines to accommodate partners • Not a proven approach; those with resources are not risking significant $$ • High variability in trust, group agendas, work quality and accountability • Distance matters, yet stereotypes must be overcome face to face where possible

23. YBP Regional Collaboration:Our Successes and Frustrations to Date • Achieved the 200-member mark with a diversity of businesses; 80% retention • Constructive agency relationships • Gradually strengthening our governance • UnCommon Sense program launch • We are not widely understood • Too green versus not green enough • Local versus state/regional platform • Obstacle to fundraising, recruitment, media

24. What Lessons Are Transferable? • YBP based on Sierra Business Council model – but mission drift & false start happened anyway • Our strategic planning process was essential early on, but was not regionally informed • Start with real regional representation • Avoid one state-dominated board, membership • Balance composition of all committees • Operate on a regional platform from the outset • Invest in communication and development