Posts By Lauren Hirshon

Drawing the Ethical Line in Government

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 »

Insights from Successful State Chief Administrators

By Kimberly Leichtner, Associate Consultant (MPA ’13) For the past several months, I’ve had the pleasure of getting an inside glimpse into the jobs of state chief administrators, the public officials who oversee the administrative and general services departments that provide critical business functions for their state. Over the last few years, Fels Research &Read… Read more »

Does Public Access to Government Prevent ‘Idiocracy’ or Limit Innovation?

By Sam Williford, Associate Consultant Recently, Governor Brown and the California legislature approved a bill that would allow local governments the option not to send out advance notice of public meetings, or provide minutes from closed sessions (known as the Brown Act, not related to the current governor), in an effort to stem the tideRead… Read more »

Seeing the Building Wave: Using Challenges to Spark Innovation in Government

By Joseph Semsar, Associate Consultant Last week, I had the pleasure of listening in on a joint conference call between the National Association of State Chief Administrators (NASCA) and the National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO). The call marked the first time these national organizations — which both work to make state governments moreRead… Read more »

Takeaways from Voter ID Discussion

By Kimberly Leichtner, Associate Consultant On Tuesday June 26th, Fels alum Talia Stinson, ’10, moderated a lively discussion on the new voter ID law between Carol Aichele, Secretary of the Commonwealth; Tony Payton, Jr., State Representative for the 179th Legislative District; and Al Schmidt, Philadelphia City Commissioner. Act 18 was signed into law by GovernorRead… Read more »

Site Visit with Penn Medicine to Learn About Employer Driven Training

By Joseph Semsar, Associate Consultant Five months ago, Associate Consultant Sam Williford and I began working on a study, funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, to identify truly effective employer-driven job training programs. Yesterday, June 18th — after consulting over 450 reports, articles, and case studies, interviewing over 20 workforce development experts, and, lastly,Read… Read more »

Greece and Philadelphia Prove the Importance of Revenue Collection

By Sam Williford, Associate Consultant As Greece holds elections this weekend that are chiefly framed around government spending, it is easy to forget about the other part of finance: tax collections. It’s an integral part of learning about finance at Fels, and today’s deal in Philadelphia to raise property taxes and postpone the Actual ValueRead… Read more »

New Bike Lanes Require City Council Approval

By Kimberly Leichtner, Associate Consultant Now that summer solstice is just around the corner (officially June 20, 2012), I figured it was time to brush the dust off that bike I got last summer and start riding to work. In fact, last month was National Bike Month sponsored by the League of American Bicyclists. AlthoughRead… Read more »

Roundtable Public Education Discussion: Featuring Mitt Romney and Fels Professor Nicholas Torres

By Joe Semsar, Associate Consultant On Thursday, May 24th, Fels Professor Nicholas Torres and Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney joined together with a few other Philadelphia educational leaders to discuss public education issues facing Philadelphia and the rest of the nation. All of the educational leaders were given an opportunity to ask specific questions of theRead… Read more »

State Department’s “Grassroots Democracy In the U.S.” Brings African Leaders to Penn

By Katie McCabe, Fels Graduate Fifteen leaders from over ten different African countries gathered at the Penn Graduate School of Education on Tuesday, May 29th for a conversation on public deliberation in the US and its applications to their communities and countries. They met with the two founders of the Penn Project for Civic Engagement,Read… Read more »