By Eric Rabe, Fels Sr. Advisor By 11:16 election night, President Obama called it. He happily tweeted “Four more years” and sent along a celebratory photo. Yet it was another two hours before Mitt Romney conceded and the end-of-the-campaign speeches were finally over. Romney’s polls were showing Ohio and Florida, two critical states, still couldRead… Read more »
The confetti has fallen, the balloons have been released and the adoring crowds are gone. The moment that every candidate hopes to face is here—victory. Yet, this the point at which successful candidates must pivot from election year warrior to genteel statesman or woman. The challenge for so many elected officials is that they rarelyRead… Read more »
By Sam Williford, Associate Consultant Starting last week, and into the forseeable future, every level of government was called upon to work together to prepare for and clean up after Hurricane Sandy, which struck the area this past week. The recent disagreements between New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Atlantic City Mayor Lorenzo Langford highlightRead… Read more »
First, the came for the statisticians, and I said nothing because I was not a statistician One of the things I noticed was an increasing amount of attacks on Nate Silver’s 538 blog and his methodology. Some range from concern trolling from Politico to downright name calling by the man behind Unskewed polls. What NateRead… Read more »
Fels Research & Consulting released Building Common Ground, a report which focuses on proven strategies that produce effective results and positive public engagement. This report is part of the Promising Practices series, a compilation of briefs that provide public sector leaders and managers with effective, practical, and innovative information on a broad range of publicRead… Read more »
By Sam Williford, Associate Consultant While last week’s drop in unemployment was the first substantial good news for the economy in months (if not years), it underscores the work still that needs to be done to help the 12 million Americans unemployed as of last month. I have had the opportunity at Fels Research andRead… Read more »
By Tess Mullen, Associate Consultant When I worked in Congress prior to coming to Fels, I quickly learned that debates over taxes dominate the House and Senate floor on a near weekly basis. As such, I came to graduate school with a desire to dig into the details of how different tax policies actually playRead… Read more »
By Eric Rabe, Fels Senior Advisor Recently, I wrote that bloggers who practice journalism cannot accept favors from those they cover. To do so destroys the writer’s credibility. When not disclosed is dishonest to readers. What about those who work in government? Of course, most towns, states and agencies draw clear ethics guidelines, and manyRead… Read more »
I found a story on American Public Media’s Marketplace fascinating. The interview discussed a recent paper by researchers at Stanford and Harvard that reveal that employers are more interested in what you may accomplish that what you already have. Essentially, people want to believe in the promise of what someone has to offer more thanRead… Read more »
Ultimately the efficacy of a leader depends on his motivation. The intention one brings to the work they are doing directly correlates to the quality of the outcome he is producing. We have reached unprecedented unhappiness with the quality of political leadership in our country because the intention of most candidates is not to serveRead… Read more »