A group made up of local organizations hopes to receive an $80,000 grant to investigate the most effective forms of governmental collaboration.

The group, comprised of several cities, Leadership Lorain County, the Public Service Institute at Lorain County Community College and Lorain County Community Alliance, will submit its proposal for the Ohio Department of Development grant sometime next month, according to Sheffield Lake Mayor John Piskura.

When Piskura heard about the grant, he said he knew immediately that it was something the county should seek.

After all, Lorain County is all about collaboration, he said.

“We’re ahead of our time in terms of working collectively,” he said.

The grant would advance the county’s intergovernmental collaboration and strengthen its reputation as a leader in partnership by examining things like shared resources and collective purchasing and has already garnered excitement from many corners of the county, he said.

County Commissioner Betty Blair, who also chairs the Lorain County Community Alliance, said that the grant “essentially embodies what the alliance is about.’’

“It’s exciting to be working with all of these other groups to help study collaboration. I think it’s a winning combination,”
she said.

Another important potential collaborator is the Public Service Institute, which will assist in research and serve as a neutral third-party facilitator, said Shara Davis, director.

“This is an excellent opportunity for everybody to learn where there are opportunities for collaboration,” she said.

Although many groups and individuals have invested time in seeking the grant for the study, the study originally was conceived as one of the projects for this year’s Leadership Lorain County class.

Piskura and the other 38 members of the 2008 Leadership class have been working for months to lay the study’s groundwork.

That preparation looks like it will vault Lorain County to near the top of the list for the grant, Piskura said.

In addition, he is asking local governments to pass resolutions to join in the study by April 4 — before the Department of Development has even officially released the requirements for the grant.

What has been released is that the Department of Development will give $900,000 to groups throughout the state, according to spokeswoman Melissa Ament.

Groups will receive $10,000 for each distinct municipality — up to eight — involved in the study.

“We’re really leaving a lot of room for the governments to be creative with the research,” Ament said.

Contact Michael Baker at 329-7128 or mbaker@chroniclet.com.

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