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Kathryn A. Foster is the new director of UB's Institute for Local Governance and Regional Growth
What is the mission of the Institute for Local Governance and
Regional Growth?
Since its founding in 1997, the institute's
mission has been to catalyze change on issues of relevance to the
binational Buffalo-Niagara region, an area we define as eight counties
in Western New York and the Niagara Peninsula of Southern Ontario. To do
that, we conduct research; provide timely and useful data; frame issues;
collaborate with private, public and nonprofit partners; and facilitate
conversations to move the region from understanding to action. There is
no shortage of material to work with, especially given current regional
challenges.
What are some of the projects and programs the
institute has been involved in?
Our efforts have ranged widely,
from a study on how the rural Village of Arcade can provide services
more efficiently to a strategy for developing the binational region into
a premier destination for cultural tourism. Ongoing projects include
State of the Region, an award-winning regional measurement project that
monitors Buffalo-Niagara's performance on more than 100 indicators of
the economy, environment, government, education, equity and health,
among other topics. We also built and now maintain the region's map- and
data-rich database for regional economic development. We're currently
working with the New York State Education Department to assess
reorganization options for cooperative education services in suburban
and rural areas. The institute is also helping the United Way of Buffalo
& Erie County and the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo to better
understand local patterns of charitable giving. Our Web site at http://regional-
institute.buffalo.edu tells more.
What about the Regional Information Network? When is it coming
back?
Hardly a day goes by without this query, so we're quite
aware that users miss the WNY Regional Information Network, our online
regional information resource. The WNYRIN currently is being transformed
into an expanded, enhanced and powerful Regional Knowledge Network
offering researchers, students, policymakers and the general public
dynamic mapping, data retrieval, charts, tables, lists and resources for
a range of topics at just about any geographic scope, from census tract
to the binational region. The build-out will be continual, with a first
phase online later this fall. We're very excited about it and working
hard.
You've just started as director, but have been involved with the
institute for some time. What are your plans?
The institute has
a strong record of working with regional partners and providing timely
and useful information and engagement on issues of regional relevance;
we plan to maintain that. We've been less aggressive about generating
new scholarship, however, despite our home in a major research
university. A key plan is to expand our scholarly activity and
reputation, and that means increasing faculty participation. I'm
drafting an invitation to faculty to affiliate with the institute in
various ways, from contributing to our inventory of regional scholarship
to authoring one of a new series of "regional intelligence" reports. We
also will encourage faculty to join us to explore—through research,
publications and conferences—such multifaceted topics as aging and
cross-border governance and policy.
What role should UB play in public policy issues around the
region?
UB should do for public policy what universities do
best overall: create, disseminate and liberally apply useful thinking,
data, insight, technologies and resources to shape outcomes. In this
light, every unit and group at UB has a role in public policy, and we
play it each time we talk with local media, meet with public officials,
work with professionals, train the next generation of leaders or host a
workshop. More generally, consider that UB is a major binational
employer and a premier public research university. It's thus good public
policy—and a boost to regional economic development and quality of
life—when UB thrives academically, attracts the highest-caliber
faculty, staff and students, and secures external support and renown.
Where do you stand on the regionalism debate? Should the City of
Buffalo and Erie County merge into a single "Metro Buffalo"
government?
The question reveals why we rarely use the word
"regionalism" anymore in our work. In this area, regionalism has become
synonymous with city-county consolidation, a radical, relatively rare
and typically divisive approach to achieving a regional outcome. In
writings and usage elsewhere, regionalism refers to a constellation of
ways places think and act regionally, such as cooperative agreements,
regional forums, joint purchasing, special-purpose governance, tax-base
sharing and regional planning. As for mergers, much scholarship finds
that bigger is not always better, which is also true in the private
sector. Potential gains in, say, economies of scale and one-stop
shopping may be offset by losses in competitive efficiency and civic
participation. Regions should take care before throwing out local babies
with regional bathwater. It's not automatic, but small can be beautiful,
too.
What question do you wish I'd asked and how would you answer it?
I wish you'd asked about how the institute has been able to
accomplish so much in such a short time. The answer is that we have a
simply excellent professional and support staff, as well as help from a
legion of terrific graduate assistants. In addition to founding
director, John B. Sheffer II, who I'm pleased to say is staying on as
Senior Fellow to help with projects and leadership transition, the
institute consists of a talented full-time band, each of whom deserves
credit and mention for our success: Olivia Arditi, Barb Birner, Karen
DePalma, Sharon Entress, Elle Heffner, Subbiah Mantharam, Brenda Stynes,
and Rachel Teaman.