ERA OF COLLABORATION & PARTNERSHIP - AREWA Center for Regional Development (ACRD) believes that this is the era of multilateralism, an era of collaboration and partnership between public and private sectors, the civil society and other non-government organization to promote economic growth and opportunity; to invest in the well-being of people from all walks of life; and to make democracy serve every citizen more effectively and justly, a partnership based on risk-sharing and value creation to advance mutual regional goals.

Engage Talent at the Periphery
Research has consistently shown that diverse teams produce better results, provided they are well led. The ability to bring together people from different backgrounds, disciplines, cultures, and generations and leverage all they have to offer, therefore, is a must-have for leaders. Yet many public and private companies spend inordinate amounts of time, money, and energy attracting talented employees only to subject them to homogenizing processes that kill creativity. In a lot of multinational companies, for example, non-native English speakers in the US are at a disadvantage. To senior management, they don’t sound as “leader-like” as the Anglophones, and they end up getting passed over for promotions. At a time when innovations are increasingly originating in emerging markets, companies that allow this to happen lose out.

"Left to their own devices, people will choose to collaborate with others they know well, which can be deadly for innovation”. Collaborative leaders ensure that teams stay fresh via periodic infusions of new players, diverse and resourcefulness, this is what we need in the north.

	Arewa regional decision makers   Arewa demographic profiles Untapped economic potentials Small & medium enterprises Information technology	Stronger economies together Arewa strategic doing Arewa center of excellence Era of collaboration & partnership Economic gardening

 These partnerships include collaborate to address the regional and nation’s cyber-security challenges as well as:

• Co-created solutions to shared problems that advance the core goals of each of the partners;

• Shared risk, investment (direct or indirect), and potential reward for all partners; and

• Leveraging unique partner skills and assets, producing outcomes with greater impact than could be achieved independently and sustainably, that take cognizance to:

1. Strengthen Arewa Regional Collaboration and Innovation Networks
The mainstay of the ACRD Center of Excellence’s collaboration work centers on its Strategic Doing initiative. This program will focus on the use of States within the regional networks to accelerate innovation, partnership and collaboration. Strategic Doing quickly develops sophisticated collaborations that help advance open innovation across organizational and political boundaries within the entire region. Strategic Doing ignites the spark of regional innovation, partnership and collaboration enabling people in loosely-joined, open networks to think and act strategically. In partnership with Small Business Development Center’s across the World, this program showcases the pivotal role of second-stage firms to employment growth and prosperity and development growth strategies, with the goal of making Arewa region an investment destination.

2. Building Capacity of Local and State Governments to effectively Address Economic and Environmental issues
The mainstay of the ACRD environmental considerations in the overall policy-making, planning, and development process at local and regional level are: 

• Building capacity of local and States governments within the region to effectively address specific environmental issues, concerns, and strategic measures in areas like agriculture, transport, waste management, and freshwater availability that have significant relevance and implications in the context of sustainable regional development;

• 
  Responding to emerging issues of concern, such as climate change and human health impacts; and
  Fostering community-based natural resource/environment management to achieve the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

• 
  Partner with other non-government organizations (NGOs)to to compliment the efforts of the government in bringing support to the public health, flood, deforestation, bush burning, environmental sanitation and waste management including toxic waste disposal.

“Given the emergence of new regional dynamics in development policy and practice, Arewa region MUST fine-tune current regional development perspectives and to develop new ones that are not only more in sync with the present and future global context but with the governance systems being currently adopted that are becoming more and more decentralized and grassroots oriented. States Governors within the Arewa region must come together to create and adopt the Arewa Regional Economic Plan with emphasis on a balanced approach to development and opportunity for all diversity irrespective of one’s tribe, social class, religious belief and even political affiliation; and establish targets for economic growth of the entire region taking advantage of our Demographic Shifts, which will fuel the growth of new sectors, markets, and service lines in our communities. The ability of our diversity to build strength and unity is the power that will propel the region and consequently, the Nigerian industry, into new dimensions of performance and inclusive growth. Catalyzing Inclusive Growth Through ICT-enabled solutions in healthcare, education, financial services and public services can drive socio-economic development and inclusion of more than 30 million citizens each year, faster, cheaper and more effectively than traditional models. The economic plan should be built on current regional opportunities, collaboration and innovation linking States macroeconomic models with regional development and economic plan termed: Regional Econometric Model”…President ACRD