The Lehigh Valley faces new challenges as the region rapidly develops and diversifies. Understanding these changes and their effects on the region is vital to the advancement of the quality of life of residents of the Lehigh Valley. The Lehigh Valley Reseach Consortium (LVRC) is a collaboration among academic researchers, public officials, non-profits and business groups throughout the Lehigh Valley, which has come together to examine social, political, economic, health and environmental issues and solutions in a regional context. Recognizing our growing regional identity, our vision of the LVRC is to create a nationally recognized regional research collaboration that provides empirical data and analysis to Lehigh Valley governments, non-profits, businesses, citizens, and scholars, fostering resilience in the entire region, while enhancing the quality of teaching and the classroom learning experience for all regional colleges and universities.