Final report released – click here!

The Metropolitan Washington Region is comprised of 24 independent municipal jurisdictions spread across Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. The region spans over 6,000 square miles and is home to over 5 million people and over 3 million jobs.

A strong region depends on the collaboration of local public and private sector leaders to make the regional economy competitive with other metropolitan areas. ULI Washington is dedicated to playing a key role in maintaining and sustaining the strength of the region, which is why ULI Washington hosted in 2017 its Regional Fellows Program for Public Leadership, and recently released a Report documenting this unique regional program.

ULI Washington selected three jurisdictions in the Metropolitan Washington Region to participate – Montgomery County, Maryland; Fairfax County, Virginia; and the City of Alexandria, Virginia. The cohort of Fellows was comprised of four fellows and a program coordinator from each jurisdiction. Each fellowship team was composed of an honorary fellow – an elected or appointed chief executive, who served as the symbolic head of each team; three senior leaders in planning, economic development, or transportation, who actively engaged in the program; and a program coordinator – a midlevel career official who supported the fellows and managed their work.  A full list of participants is available in the Regional Fellows Directory.

Between February and September 2017, each Fellowship team selected an intractable challenge and hosted a Panel of experts to study and make recommendations on that challenge through a two-day Technical Assistance Panel, or TAP.

Throughout the TAP process, each Fellowship Team was aided by two faculty members – prestigious real estate experts and active ULI Washington members – who volunteered their time over nine months to scope the challenge, assemble the panel, guide the panel’s work over the two-day TAP by serving as co-Chairs of the group, and provide follow-up to the Fellowship team after the Panel’s conclusion.

In addition to hosting a TAP, each Regional Fellow served as a Panelist for a TAP in a different Fellowship jurisdiction. This cross-fertilization of talent allowed Fellowship teams to receive targeted, practical technical assistance, and to engage in multiple opportunities for knowledge-sharing among peers in neighboring fellowship jurisdictions.

ULI Washington has released its report, Documenting the Regional Fellows Program, which can be found here.

For more information, please contact Lisa Rother, Executive Director, [email protected].

Thank you to our sponsors: