Regions are the geographic divisions in society. Sectors* will be the functional divisions.
*Keeping in mind that the sectors are government, education, human services, business, religion. “What’s Next” will include clarifications of these which includes: Why human services and what happened to non-profits? Isn’t there a “separation” regarding religion? Tune in.
So what is a region? The references are usually to county and city. Those are the regional jurisdictions which elect representative councils and govern constituents. That works for cities of a certain size and counties of a certain scope. Long ago, it would seem that counties covered the territory, regardless of size, including the cities along with lots of open territory.
There are important matters today that fit within the scope of portions of two counties, or are in the scope of a portion of one county. The same with cities. Sub-city and multi-city agreements provide services for constituents, some formal and some informal. Those do not always shift to county governance. There are important matters that are governed by agreements which encompass multi- or partial cities or counties.
An immediate example, although not necessarily consciously thought about in today’s reality, is when, Jordan, living in one city at the corner of, say, 7th and Main, is asked, “Who is your leader?” Is it the City Council representative, the major, the county supervisorial representative, the president of the County Board of Supervisors?
Jordon may not understand the answer to that question, as it relates to a particular aspect of his life.
When asked about the nature of that question, one person suggested Jordan might answer, “I don’t understand the question.” This suggests the lack of an individual perception that they have a leader.
For Jordan, options such as the Governor, State Legislators, Congressional Legislators all suggest the person they would turn to, or hear from, regarding the immediate issues they are facing in their lives. Does this actually stem from a personal sense that they are Jordan’s ” leader.”
What regions suggest is the geographic realm of their association. The lack of clarity of who would be their leader reflects a lack of knowledge of the (a) geographic jurisdictions and (b) who is responsible for Jordan’s, or any constituent’s, various concerns.
This is reflected in the three part dynamic of constituent engagement, the givens of how leaders engage constituents, how constituents engage leaders, as, most critically in actualizing SpectrumEngagement, how constituents engage with each other mutually.
The primary clarification related to Region is knowing which of the various jurisdictions in which I reside am I a constituent in relation to a specific need of mine.
In other words, Jordan is simultaneously a constituent of multiple jurisdictions within the Region. As a start, Jordan needs to know the layers of jurisdictions and the allocation of their responsibilities, as that will govern the specific, personally relevant, issues.
The blogs will further the exploration of each of these four categories.