What is the Regional Agenda?

In 1989 the Georgia Planning Act was passed which established a coordinated planning program for the State of Georgia.  As a part of this program, each Regional Development Center is to compile comprehensive regional plan for its area.  There are two phases to this program, the Technical Staff Report and the Regional Agenda. 

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The Technical Staff Report of the Southwest Georgia Regional Development Center was submitted to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs in July of 1997.  In order to obtain a full understanding of the Regional Agenda, an executive summary of each element of the Technical Staff Report is stated first.  This is followed by the components of the Regional Agenda for each element.

 

The first phase is the Technical Staff Report, which included the two steps of inventory and analysis and the identification of needs of the region.  This first phase address the following six planning elements required by the Minimum Regional Planning Standards: Population, Economic Development, Natural and Historic Resources, Public Facilities and Infrastructure, Housing, and Land Use.  In addition, the optional element of Human Services was included in the Technical Staff Report.

The Regional Agenda or the second phase of the planning process includes two steps.  The first was the establishment of long-term goals and objectives for each of the seven elements in the Technical Staff Report.  In order to complete this step, the Center's staff focused on several needs that were identified in each element of the Technical Staff Report.  For each of these needs a goal and objective is expressed.  A goal can be defined as the result of a desire outcome of a particular plan or program.  An objective is the procedure taken toward the accomplishment of a goal.  The expressed goal and objective of each need in each element states what the region would like to accomplish in fulfilling the need.  Each goal and objective contains beneficial characteristics that already exist within the region.  The statement of each goal and objective contains the values and aspirations that are present throughout the region.  In addition, the future well-being of the region is acknowledged by addressing the social and economic needs within the expression of the goals and objectives.

Now that the goals and objectives of each need are expressed, the second step of the Regional Agenda is shown.  The second step is the expression of an implementation strategy by which the goals and objectives can be accomplished.  The implementation strategy involves the formulation of an overall plan that integrates each goal and objective from the different regional needs.  Each implementation strategy contains two items required by the Minimum Regional Planning Standards.  rdclogoThe first item is a policy statement that expresses regional values and defining priorities for addressing the goals and objectives in the regional plan.  Each of the policy statements includes the proper direction that should be taken by the Regional Development Center, local governments, public agencies, and other entities in the implementation of the plan. The second item is a regional work program that schedules specific actions that the Regional Development Center, local governments, public agencies, and other entities intend to take during the upcoming five-year period to address the goals and objectives expressed in the plan.  Each program

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describes the ongoing activities to be implemented; the identification of the entity responsible for carrying out of each activity, the identification of the general time-frame for the implementation of each activity, and the identification of the resources needed to accomplish each activity.

 

This Regional Agenda contains some goals and objectives, which some readers will think it impossible to accomplish.  In the end, they may be proved right.  However the region of Southwest Georgia must adhere to the advice of the old adage, "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail."  It is the intention of the Southwest Georgia region to plan to succeed in the accomplishment of all the goals, objectives, and implementation strategies set forth in this Regional Agenda.