The California Economic Summit: The Convergence of Leadership, Participation and Expertise
Over the past 20 years, numerous studies have been conducted that diagnose the many challenges facing the California economy. We are blessed with experts on every aspect of the economy from all regions of the state. We also have leaders who care deeply about the future of California and want to make a contribution to improve our economy and quality of life. We also have many forums for groups to work on different elements of our economy.
What has been missing is a process that brings together these different leaders from regions across the state with their unique expertise in a purposeful way that allows them to actively participate in developing signature impacts that will create a better economic future for all Californians. That is what the California Economic Summit is all about.
The Summit provides a platform for regional stewards from all walks of life to join together to identify common issues and opportunities to promote a jobs and competitiveness agenda for California. The California Economic Summit is based on the results from 14 regional forums where leaders from business, labor, environmental and non-profit communities develop their own priorities for regional and state action in critical areas of workforce, infrastructure, innovation and regulations – the building blocks for a strong economy. The theme of this first California Economic Summit is “Thriving Regions lead to a Thriving State” because California is an economy of regions and any statewide strategy must be built from the bottom up.
But leadership, participation and expertise are the key ingredients for the Summit—all three. Framing documents based on years of research have been reviewed by leaders participating in their regional forums to help define new directions.
Please join a regional forum, add your expertise, follow the process on caeconomy.org and join us at the Summit on May 11 as a regional champion.
The future is in your hands.
Doug Henton is Chairman and CEO of Collaborative Economics and a member of the California Economic Summit Management Team
