a shared vision for a thriving region

A SHARED VISION FOR A THRIVING REGION
A SHARED
VISION FOR
A THRIVING
REGION
Power of 32 is a regional visioning initiative designed to leverage
the potential of the region and compete as a region to increase
our financial, political, and intellectual power.
By bridging borders and recognizing shared challenges and
opportunities, Power of 32 is committed to improving the future
of the 32+ counties in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West
Virginia, which are the economic region centered on Pittsburgh.
Power of 32 was created by the Allegheny Conference
on Community Development, Greater Pittsburgh
Nonprofit Partnership, and Southwestern
Pennsylvania Commission. After working
together to study regional visioning efforts
from across the country and around
the world, the following Steering
Committee was recruited to lead
the community visioning and
agenda development phases
of the Power of 32 effort.
Mercer
Mahoning
Lawrence
Butler
Columbiana
Armstrong
Beaver
Hancock
Indiana
Allegheny
Cambria
Blair
Jefferson
Westmoreland
Brooke
Ohio
Washington
Belmont
Marshall
Greene
Monroe
Somerset
Marion
Harrison
Bedford
Allegany
Monongalia
Wetzel
Tyler
Fayette
Preston
Garrett
POWER OF 32
CO-CHAIRS
EXECUTIVE AND STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS, 2008 – 2011
Georgia Berner*
Berner International Corporation,
Lawrence County, PA
Ron Aldom
Somerset County Chamber of Commerce, Somerset County, PA
William P. Getty
Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation,
PA & WV
(affiliation as of time of service)
Jerry Andree
Cranberry Township, Butler County, PA
Heather Arnet
The Women and Girls Foundation of SWPA, Allegheny County, PA
Louis P. Astorino
Astorino, Allegheny County, PA
Honorable Tom Balya
Westmoreland County Commissioner, PA
David Barensfeld
Ellwood Group Inc., Lawrence County, PA
Gregg Behr*
The Grable Foundation, Allegheny County, PA
Dr. JoAnne Boyle
Seton Hill University, Westmoreland County, PA
Diana Bucco
The Forbes Funds, Allegheny County, PA
Honorable J. Bracken Burns*
Washington County Commissioner, PA
Stan Caldwell
Carnegie Mellon University, Allegheny County, PA
Doris Carson Williams
African American Chamber of Commerce
of WPA, Allegheny County, PA
Candi Castleberry-Singleton*
UPMC Center for Inclusion in Health Care, Allegheny County, PA
Dr. Diego Chaves-Gnecco
Chaves-Gnecco General Academic Pediatrics, Allegheny County, PA
G. Reynolds Clark*
ex officio, University of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, PA
Aradhna Dhanda
Leadership Pittsburgh Inc., Allegheny County, PA
Mike Dunleavy
IBEW, Allegheny County, PA
Aliya Durham
YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, PA
Joy Eggleston*
Southwest Regional Medical Center, Greene County, PA
Laura Ellsworth
Jones Day, Allegheny County, PA
Evan Frazier
Highmark, Allegheny County, PA
Honorable Donna Gority
Blair County Commissioner, PA
Court Gould*
Sustainable Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, PA
Colleen Peterson*
The Greater Cumberland Committee, Allegany County, MD
Dan Guida
Downtown Business Civic Association, Hancock County, WV
Nancy Railey
Railey Realty, Garrett County, MD
Ashley Hardesty
Bowles Rice McDavid Graff & Love, LLC, Monongalia County, WV
Mayor Luke Ravenstahl
Office of Mayor Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, PA
Dr. Tori Haring-Smith
Washington & Jefferson College, Washington County, PA
James E. Rohr
PNC Financial Services Group, Allegheny County, PA
Amy Hart*
Center for Hearing & Deaf Services Inc., Allegheny County, PA
Scott Rotruck*
Chesapeake Energy, Monongalia County, WV
James Hassinger
Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, Allegheny County, PA
Audrey Russo*
Pittsburgh Technology Council, Allegheny County, PA
James C. Hunt
Sunnyside Up Campus, Harrison County, WV
Honorable Pam Snyder
Greene County Commissioner, PA
Ron Justice
West Virginia University Mountainlair, Monongalia County, WV
Rob Stephany
Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh,
Allegheny County, PA
Mike Kane
Community Foundation for the Alleghenies, Cambria County, WV
Honorable Patricia Kirkpatrick
Armstrong County Commissioner, PA
Allen G. Kukovich
SmartGrowth Partnership, Westmoreland County, PA
Sean Logan
UPMC, Allegheny County, PA
Ed Looman
Progress Alliance, Jefferson County, OH
Chris Masciantonio
US Steel Corporation, Allegheny County, PA
Kathy McKenzie
West Penn Allegheny Health System, Allegheny County, PA
Hersh Merenstein
Student Taylor Allderdice High School, Allegheny County, PA
Larry Merry
Belmont County Port Authority, Belmont County, OH
Susie Nelson
Community Foundation for the Ohio Valley, Ohio County, WV
The Right Reverend Douglas Nowicki
Saint Vincent College, Westmoreland County, PA
Chief Executive Dan Onorato
Allegheny County, PA
Clara Pascoe
Community Foundation of Fayette County, Fayette County, PA
Eric Peters
Tyler County Development Authority, Tyler County, WV
John Surma
US Steel Corporation, Allegheny County, PA
Mitch Swain
Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, Allegheny County, PA
Steven Tritch*
Westinghouse, Allegheny County, PA
Honorable John Vatavuk
Somerset County Commissioner, PA
Sunil Wadhwani
iGate Corporation, Allegheny County, PA
Mayor Jay Williams
City of Youngstown, Mahoning County, OH
William D. Wilmoth
Steptoe & Johnson, Ohio County, WV
Abby Wilson
LUMA Institute, Allegheny County, PA
Dennis Yablonsky*
Allegheny Conference on Community Development,
Allegheny County, PA
* Executive Committee
TURNING VISION
TO ACTION
The first two phases of the visioning initiative
were facilitated by the Institute of Politics. First,
in 156 community conversations in every one
of the 32 counties, the Power of 32 collected
more than 15,000 comments from diverse
people who offered their perspectives on our
strengths and challenges, their hopes for our
brightest future, and how best to ensure it.
The message was clear: if the region is to
thrive, the citizens, our leaders, and business,
education, and government must work
together on common issues and not be
stymied by political and parochial boundaries.
Six Issue Teams—Economy, Education, Environment, Government, People and Community,
and Transportation and Infrastructure—
led by regional leaders knowledgeable
in these areas then worked together to
develop projects which met three criteria:
•T
he project addresses a regional challenge
or opportunity.
•R
egional action plausibly can be more
effective than action state-by-state.
•A
n entity or group was willing to accept
responsibility for implementation of the
project.
The Six Issue Teams recommended 14 initiatives
meeting these criteria, which became the
Regional Agenda, published in the fall of 2011.
MOVING FROM VISIONS TO ACTIONS: THE 14 INITIATIVES
The third phase of Power of 32 involved a transition to distributed project leadership.
ECONOMY
EDUCATION
Create a Regional Venture Fund
Create a Regional STEAM Network
Create a regional ‘Early Stage Fund of Funds’
to support start-ups, stimulate entrepreneurial
environment, and create high quality jobs across
diverse industries.
Improve academic achievement and mastery of
21st century skills (such as the abilities to deconstruct
problems, think flexibly, and work with others to
design solutions) through the cultivation of student
creativity and inspired learning.
Lead Organization: Allegheny Conference
Lead Organization: Sprout Fund
ECONOMY
Create Better Sites for Business Growth
in the Region
EDUCATION
Match Education Programs to Jobs
Launch a fund to assist development of high-quality
sites, emphasizing redevelopment of brownfields,
to support business relocations and expansions to
the region.
Create a standardized and seamless career education
system that coordinates curricula between high school
and higher education, based on employer hiring needs
and job qualifications in regional growth industries.
Lead Organization: Allegheny Conference
Lead Organization: Allegheny Conference
ENVIRONMENT
GOVERNMENT
Promote Sustainable Use and Conservation
of the Region’s Water
Establish a Power of 32 Caucus
Create an Ohio River Headwaters Committee to
promote policies and resources to protect our region’s
water, including with respect to diversions and
withdrawals from the watershed.
Lead Organization: Headwaters Resource Committee
staffed by CMU
ENVIRONMENT
Develop strategic state and federal collaborations
including the formation of a caucus of the
region’s representatives.
Lead Organization: Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce
GOVERNMENT
Develop a Government Best Practices
Collaborative
Implement a Regional Air Quality
Improvement Strategy
Create a “Best Practices Bank” to share ideas
and proven concepts to help governments be as
cost-effective as possible.
Develop a regional air quality improvement strategy
and promote the coordination of efforts across the
Power of 32 region.
Lead Organization: Local Government Academy
Lead Organization: Heinz Endowments
ENVIRONMENT
Create a Shale Initiative
Develop a comprehensive cross-sector initiative to
promote environmentally responsible development
of shale gas. This became two initiatives:
Three-state strategy to attract downstream
manufacturing activity.
Lead Organization: Allegheny Conference
Regional energy strategy built upon energy
sources and uses analysis.
Lead Organization: Sustainable Pittsburgh
PEOPLE & COMMUNITY
Connect the Regional Trail System
Create a comprehensive regional trail network.
Lead Organizations: Pennsylvania Environmental
Council, The Progress Fund, and the Rails-to-Trails
Conservancy
TRANSPORTATION & INFRASTRUCTURE
Maximize Use of Alternative Fuels
Maximize the transition to alternative fuels for all
forms of transportation, prioritizing fleet vehicles
and river tugs.
Lead Organization: Port of Pittsburgh
TRANSPORTATION & INFRASTRUCTURE
Create a Real-time Traveler Information
System
Create a regional traveler information system to
provide real-time information to enable modal and
route choices for people and freight.
Lead Organization: Traffic 21 Center at CMU
TRANSPORTATION & INFRASTRUCTURE
Increase Commerce Through Improved
Freight Transportation
Develop and maintain a sustainable, multi-modal,
interconnected freight transportation system that
enables the region to compete globally.
Lead Organization: Allegheny Conference
TRANSPORTATION & INFRASTRUCTURE
Maximize Success at Competing for Funding
Maximize regional success in competing for private
sector, government, and foundation funding for
transportation and infrastructure.
Lead Organization: Fourth Economy
IMPLEMENTATION OVERSIGHT
While each of the Power of 32 projects
is led by an entity or group committed
to implementation, ongoing efforts are
encouraged by an Implementation
Committee:
Chair, Greg Babe
Liquid X Printed Metals, Inc., PA
Georgia Berner
Berner International Corporation, PA
Steve Craig
Lawrence County Commissioner, PA
Gordon Gee
West Virginia University, WV
William P. Getty
Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, PA
Court Gould
Sustainable Pittsburgh, PA
Thomas Humphries
Youngstown-Warren Regional Chamber, OH
James Hunt
Amazing Cities, Inc., WV
Ed Looman
Appalachian Partnership for Economic Growth, OH
Colleen Peterson
Formerly the Greater Cumberland Committee, MD
Scott Rotruck
Spillman, Thomas, and Battle, Morgantown, WV
Audrey Russo
Pittsburgh Technology Council, PA
Rick Stafford
Heinz School Carnegie Mellon University, PA
Richard Taylor
Imbue Technology Solutions, Inc. (ImbuTec)
Bill Wilmoth
Steptoe and Johnson, WV
Dennis Yablonsky
Allegheny Conference on Community
Development, PA
PROGRESS
REPORT
The 14 initiatives are being implemented
by teams of leaders from business,
government and nonprofits—working
together to connect across places and
perspectives in the region to inspire new
ways of thinking, build strong relationships, and generate the commitment
required for the region to thrive. Here are
some highlights of recent milestones.
REGIONAL SITE
DEVELOPMENT FUND
DEVELOP A GOVERNMENT
BEST PRACTICES COLLABORATIVE
To create better sites for business
growth in the region, a fund has
been formed and is ready to begin
making below-market-rate loans
primarily to brownfield sites.
Development of these sites will
have a positive regional hiring
and economic impact. Under
the leadership of the Allegheny
Conference, a committee has
begun to review sites nominated
from across the region.
Of particular interest to elected
officials, the Local Government
Academy (LGA) is leading a
project to create a “learning site”
to promote best practices across
local governments in the region.
LGA retained Five Star Development, Inc. to survey regional
elected officials as to their
prospective interest in using such
a site. They have reported that
there is strong interest in a site
that provides access to sound
information about ways and
means being used to address
common problems, as well as a
place to interact informally on-line
with other elected officials facing
similar challenges. Nonprofit
entities such as the Pennsylvania
Housing Alliance and Sustainable
Pittsburgh have expressed a
willingness to use the site to
provide educational materials.
CREATE A STEAM NETWORK
This project, led by the Sprout
Fund and Kids+Creativity Network, focuses on collaborative
work across the region to develop
educational technology. It has
drawn funding from the MacArthur Foundation in Chicago, which
has recognized the Pittsburgh
region as a national leader in this
field. Efforts within this project
include the nationally-recognized
“Makeshop” at the Children’s
Museum of Pittsburgh, and a
collaboration between the
CREATE Lab at Carnegie Mellon
University and satellites at
Marshall University, West Liberty
University, West Virginia University, and Carlow University.
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
With federal funding grants known
as ShaleNet I and ShaleNet II —
and the leadership of the
Allegheny Conference—community colleges and Workforce
Investment Boards in Ohio,
Pennsylvania, and West Virginia
have worked together to create
training that better matches
education to jobs in the energy
sector and the manufacturing
sector, which hopefully will be
revitalized through efforts based
on the shale opportunity.
DEVELOPMENT OF REGIONAL
ENERGY STRATEGIES
Two projects are underway.
The first, led by the Allegheny
Conference, is a three-state effort
to develop a strategy to permit
the region to take advantage of
the opportunities for downstream
manufacturing activity related to
the shale. The second, headed
by Sustainable Pittsburgh, is a
regional energy sources and uses
baseline being developed as the
formative step to develop a broad
regional energy strategy. This
effort is being advised by a
committee of experts recruited
from across the region and
the country.
SUPPORT FOR NETL
The “Friends of NETL,” a regional
collaboration led by the Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce, has
been effective in not only protecting but also increasing the federal
budget for the National Energy
Technology Lab co-located in
Morgantown and South Park.
REGIONAL TRAIL NETWORK
Under the leadership of the
Pennsylvania Environmental
Council, the Progress Fund in
Greensburg, and representatives
of the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
in Cleveland, a collaboration of
regional trail groups, regional
government planning authorities
and economic development
entities is developing a plan for
creation of a world-class trail
network throughout the region.
Since starting in 2012, the regional
trail network has been expanded
to 53 counties in five states, and
nearly 1,600 miles of trails—about
53% are already complete. The
Regional Trail Network is using
technology to promote the trails
and trail towns. They continuously
update GIS trail data and present
the data on www.gototrails.com, a
site used by project partners and
other trail planners. Pennsylvania
Environmental Council is additionally developing a wayfinding app
(now in beta form) that guides
trail users to area trails and trail
town amenities.
To learn more, contact the Power of 32 at:
c/o The Pittsburgh Foundation
Five PPG Place, Suite 250
Pittsburgh, PA 15222-5401
412-246-3200
p32agenda@powerof32.org
www.powerof32.org