Goals
1. Foster proactive community thinking and decision-making.
2. Broaden the number of voices and perspectives.
3. Provide a deeper understanding of the wide range of issues affecting
quality of life.
4. Improve the community’s deliberative process – and in turn, public
policy.
5. Sponsor and promote forums for public dialogue.
6. Increase public involvement in policy-making.
7. Maintain a non-partisan, un-biased platform for sharing information and
ideas.

Loudoun County: Epicenter of Change
Facing a changing economic, social, cultural, and political environment, the citizens of Loudoun have few useful tools to help them make informeddecisions. Today, there are no local media organizations that explore Loudoun's future – no presentation of ideas and solutions to long-term problems. Current media focuses on the short term and is, by nature, reacting to events. This initiative will look forward and anticipate things that will affect those living in Loudoun.

Loudouners face an array of issues that include healthcare, housing,
growth, economic development, conservation, crime, and education – issues that face many communities in the country. But unique to Loudoun is the pace in which these issues present themselves and the need for thoughtful, long-term solutions. If Loudoun is reacting to problems instead of anticipating them – quality of life will suffer in the long-term.

Smart People versus Tough Problems
Loudoun has one of the most educated, thoughtful, and pluralistic
populations in the country. Loudoun is a place from which solutions can spring – if the citizens are informed and engaged. To make the best, most informed decisions, Loudouners need information that is understandable and relevant to their future, the ability to access it at their own pace, and the opportunity to pose their own questions.

The Model
A quick overview of how the pieces work together:

1. Loudoun Forward publishes a comprehensive article on a topic. All
articles would more fully explore a topic than traditional local media.
2. Once published and circulated, a topic-specific website allows the
public to comment, follow, and broaden the discussion.
3. Loudoun Forward then sponsors a forum on the topic, inviting the public, experts on the topic, and community leaders to engage in a moderated forum.
4. An optional topic-specific e-newsletter can be pushed to those who
opt-in for updates.
5. Conclusions and recommendations will be published in the following issue and pushed out via e-newsletter.

We are studying the frequency of the printing publication component of
Loudoun Forward. Currently, we believe publishing an issue every quarter is
feasible.

The Current Media Landscape
Current media in the county are news reporting organizations that provide a reporting on local issues, events, sports, features, and business. This blend of reporting plays a necessary role in our community, but reporting is a "post-event" activity. Loudoun Forward will be an educational tool that will better frame upcoming decisions through information and public dialogue.

What Loudoun Forward is Not
1. Loudoun Forward will not be a traditional reporting or news
organization.
2. Loudoun Forward will not take editorial positions.
3. Loudoun Forward is not a political organization and will not take
political positions.

Rules
All comments, ideas and thoughts on Loudoun Forward are property of their authors. Reasonable excerpts are permitted on other sites and blogs; otherwise reproduction without the author's permission is strictly prohibited.

Loudoun Forward has no obligations for the comments posted on its site. We reserve the right, however, to monitor all comments, and to move, edit, or delete any posting. We discourage comments that are off-topic, unintelligible, or inappropriate; comments that are unnecessarily antagonistic, defamatory, foul, abusive, or threatening; comments that are in violation of copyright, trademark, or intellectual property laws; comments promoting commercial products or services; in other words, comments which are determined, under the sole authority of the Loudoun Forward to be otherwise objectionable.

Loudoun Forward encourages comments to be short and to the point; as a
general rule, they should not run longer than the original post. Comments should show a courteous regard for the presence of other voices in the discussion. We reserve the right to edit or delete comments that do not adhere to this standard.