ABSTRACT
Virtually all metropolitan regions have one or more formal organizations that have been created to address common problems and issues facing the region. The question is no longer whether such organizations exist, but the degree to which they play a meaningful role in their respective regions. We associate the term “proto” with something that is in its early or first version and the term “quasi” with something that resembles something else. Whether an organization will turn out to be the prototype for a fully functioning regional governing institution or forever be something that resembles such an institution, but without the ability to play a meaningful role in regional affairs remains to be seen. With that caveat, we use the term regional governing organization (RGO) to describe these institutions.
