COG Board Priorities

The Board of Directors is the Council of Governments’ governing body and is responsible for its overall policies. In recent years, the COG Board has focused on addressing several of metropolitan Washington's key, interconnected challenges by endorsing regional housing targets, a new regional greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal, and new transit and equity planning concepts to inform future growth and investment decisions.

• Taken together, these equity, transit, housing, and climate priorities form Region United, COG’s planning framework for 2030, which builds on COG’s Region Forward Vision.
• In 2023, the COG Board made Metro's long-term financial sustainability a top priority, and COG is currently convening area leaders to help develop solutions.
• The COG Board identified electric vehicle (EV) deployment as a priority in 2022, recognizing the need for increased collaboration to support EV plans, programs, and policies as necessary to meet regional climate goals.
• COG is weaving racial equity into its work through new professional development programs, planning tools, and a committee of Chief Equity Officers.  
• COG is prioritizing investment in regional infrastructure, helping members and partners pursue new federal grant funding opportunities.

Other recent priorities have included strengthening the region's economic competitiveness (COG supported jurisdictions’ Amazon HQ2 bids) and coordination related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Strengthening COG’s relationship with state and federal legislators and identifying opportunities for collaboration to advance COG’s legislative priorities is also a major focus for the board. COG and the region have benefited from a close relationship with its Congressional delegation, particularly in areas like Chesapeake Bay restoration, homeland security, and funding for Metro.

Watch our video to learn more about COG, our network of leaders, and our regional planning work and programs.