When it comes to learning about Florida, the Sunshine State has a wealth of information resources, a fact that has proven to be significant in the information gathering phase of the www.myregion.org initiative.

Consultant Michael Gallis and his team of researchers continue to identify pertinent information about the region as well as the state. Accessing the great quantity of existing research related to myregion.org’s 13 topics of study and the ever-changing local and global economies enables researchers to formulate an accurate portrayal of the region’s economic status and existing infrastructures.

“It’s amazing what this state has to offer in terms of how Florida functions,” said Jeff Jones, planning director for the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council. Florida’s abundance of available information as well as its strong track record of planning contribute to myregion.org’s information gathering and analysis phase. When the project is completed, it is this strong statistical foundation that will have contributed to the Gallis team’s ability to present an accurate and detailed assessment of the region, which will ultimately be integrated into a comprehensive knowledge base. Through this knowledge base, myregion.org will help individual communities better understand their role in the region and their relationship to and interaction with other metro centers across the country and the globe.

More than 600 reports, studies, magazine articles, planning reports, maps, and statistical resources have been collected and can be viewed on the project’s website at www.myregion.org under the “Documents” section in the “Research and Information” category. The databank is a sampling of what has actually been made available to the consultants.