|
Experts & Speakers
Designing and implementing an
integrated restoration project--or an integrated revitalization
program--requires both generalists and experts. The
generalists from Revitalization Institute's staff can help you create a vision of socioeconomic renewal that
encompasses all of an area's restorable assets: built, natural, and
social.
However, turning your vision into a strategy--and
turning those strategies into plans--requires a broad spectrum of
specialists. You need experts in the restoration of all
twelve sectors of restorable assets, as
well as revitalization experts from disciplines such as sociology,
public policy, law, tax, finance, economics, etc. That's where our
Experts & Speakers database comes in.
The specialists enrolled in this
database are primarily used as Guest Experts in our
Workshops. Drawn from the dozens of academic,
non-profit, and business organizations belonging to our
3 Networks, these specialists volunteer
their time to help communities, regions, and other public/private
landowners learn how to design integrated restoration projects and
integrated revitalization programs. They are paid no fees or
honoraria, and their own organization usually pays their travel
expenses. Note: In some cases--such as when a desired Guest Expert
works for a non-profit or educational institution that's on a tight
budget--the community or organization that is sponsoring the
Revitalization Institute workshop will pay
their travel expenses.
Why do they serve? One reason
shared by all of our experts is
the personal satisfaction inherent to restoring and revitalizing our
world. But they've got a practical motivation as well: Being a
Guest Expert is a great way for them to receive
leading-edge training and experience in integrated techniques free of charge.
They can have a number of other motivations for volunteering, depending on the
nature of their organization:
-
Academic Network: Faculty
(and students in advanced degree programs) volunteer for our Guest Expert
program to stay in
touch with real-world applications of the skills they teach in
the classroom. They might also be involved in a
leading-edge research project, and wish to gain a better feel
for real-world needs and applications.
-
Many colleges and universities are
realizing that restoration and revitalization now comprises a
large portion--sometimes the majority--of their graduates' job
opportunities. But their curricula and degree programs are
often still primarily oriented towards the old "pioneer-style"
economy--based on conquering new land and extracting virgin
resources--rather than on this global "restoration
economy."
-
For instance: The engineering skills
needed to restore a bridge are very different from the skills
were needed to build that bridge in the first place.
Likewise, the skills needed to restore a river's natural flows
and ecology are very different from the skills that were needed
to dam and channelize that river a century ago.
-
Partner Network: Staff and
members of non-profit organizations volunteer for our Guest
Expert program to help ensure that their organization's programs
are addressing their members' needs, as relates to the global
trend towards restorative development.
-
Problem: Many professional
societies, technical societies, NGOs, and advocacy groups are
realizing that restoration and revitalization now comprises a
large portion--sometimes the majority--of their members'
activities. But their organization's programs might still
be primarily oriented towards the old "new development" (sprawl)
economy, rather than this new, trillion-dollar "restoration
economy."
-
Solution: Volunteering their
staff as Guest Experts is the perfect way to increase their
company's expertise in integrated approaches without the hassle
and expense of organizing company-wide training sessions.
-
Affiliate Network: This
network primarily comprises companies whose services and/or
products are used in restoration projects or economic
redevelopment programs. [Note: Some educational
institutions/non-profits become Affiliates if they offer
revitalization-related technical or community services for which
they are compensated.] Becoming an Affiliate authorizes a firm
to incorporate the tools developed by our
Integrated Revitalization Initiative into their professional
services.
-
Problem: Large firms (such as
international engineering, planning, architecture, law firms,
etc.) often have many of the component disciplines needed to
restore assets in all twelve sectors.
But, they lack the ability to effectively integrate them
internally, so they can't design and implement leading-edge
integrated restoration projects and integrated revitalization
programs. It's also difficult for them to assemble staff
members from far-flung branch offices for centralized training
activities.
-
Solution: Volunteering their
staff as Guest Experts is the perfect way to increase their
company's expertise in integrated approaches without the hassle
and expense of organizing company-wide training sessions. It's a
great way to build goodwill with communities and regional
agencies. By getting involved during the visioning process
of a restoration project or redevelopment program, it also
positions the firm very early in the "deal flow" (long before
any RFP/RFQs are written) as a source of expertise on integrated
strategies and techniques, .
Presently, this database is for
Revitalization Institute's internal use only. As of July,
2006, it will become publicly accessible online, serving as a
restoration economy speakers'
bureau. You'll be able to quickly find those experts in our
database who wish to be contacted for presentations at seminars,
technical conferences, and other public speaking engagements around
the world (both paid and unpaid.)
For more information on our Guest
Experts program, call Storm Cunningham at 703-348-7878, or email him
at storm@revitalization.org
|
