President's Message
It was at my first meeting with the Forum's search committee in the fall of 2007 that I learned the Forum had a 100th anniversary approaching in 2013, and that I would be responsible for planning the celebration should I be selected as the next president. While I was awed by that potential responsibility, I must admit it was hard to get too excited about it at the time. After all, 2013 was years away, as distant as the time when my kids would go off to college and the Packers might again contend for the Super Bowl.
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Upcoming Reports...
January - Snapshot of Year One of Wisconsin's YoungStar Program
Jan./Feb. - Analysis of Milwaukee Voucher Schools |
New Members
City of Oak Creek
Community Advocates, Inc.
George Franco
The Richard & Ethel Herzfeld Foundation
ManpowerGroup
David R. Snyder
Whitnall School District
Wisconsin Women's Business Initiative Corporation |
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Forum's top five research findings of 2011
Last December, the Forum initiated a new annual tradition of identifying our top five research findings of the previous year. The 2010 list included findings on Milwaukee's skilled workforce, Milwaukee Area Technical College spending habits, and the imbalanced state of Milwaukee County's adult mental health system. Here is this year's list in chronological order:
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Forum's work on shared services going strong
The second quarter edition of e-Footnotes described the Forum's budding efforts to work with Milwaukee County municipalities on shared services and consolidation activities. Readers were informed of a new grant from the Helen Bader Foundation to support those efforts, and of plans to "step them up" in the months ahead. Since that time, Forum staff have been engaged in a variety of shared services activities and research, including the following:
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2012 Milwaukee County Budget Preview |
Forum report spurs discussion about comprehensive economic development planning
In a highly publicized report released in mid-November that examines the activities of Milwaukee's major economic development players, the Forum commends City and private sector leaders for adding "strength and focus" to the community's economic development efforts, while suggesting that a strategic economic development plan is needed to "bring additional precision, cohesion and accountability" to ongoing efforts. |
Milwaukee's revenue toolbox |
Economic development Viewpoint draws large crowd, prompts calls for action
More than 200 people turned out for a Forum Viewpoint luncheon on December 12 at the Italian Conference Center to hear a panel of private and public sector economic development leaders discuss Milwaukee's economic development successes and challenges. The panel was moderated by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Editorial Page Editor David Haynes.
The focus of the discussion was the Forum's latest report on economic development, "Assembling the Parts," and its finding that the city could benefit from a strategic economic development plan and vision.
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Region's property tax levy growth |
Latest People Speak reveals citizens concerned about health care costs and reform
The latest People Speak survey, conducted by the Forum in partnership with UWM's Center for Urban Initiatives and Research and The Business Journal Serving Greater Milwaukee, finds that residents of southeast Wisconsin are concerned about health care costs in general, as well as the costs of the new health care reform law. The poll, conducted in early November, surveyed 436 adult residents of Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington, and Waukesha Counties.
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Maximizing the local economic benefits of academic research
The Forum explored the local economic impacts of technology transfer in a new report presented at an October 24 Viewpoint Luncheon at the Crowne Plaza in Wauwatosa.
"Southeast Wisconsin is home to several academic research institutions, each of which goes about technology transfer independently, for the most part," says Forum Research Director Anneliese Dickman. "Our report asks whether greater collaboration among the region's research institutions is needed to maximize the local economic impacts of technology transfer."
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Follow the Forum on Twitter and Facebook
The Forum is on both Facebook and Twitter.
We encourage you to "like" our Facebook page and "follow us" on Twitter @PPFMilwaukee. |
Forum in the News The Forum was frequently featured in different media outlets in the 4th quarter of 2011.
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Forum on the Streets Forum staff were busy disseminating research and sharing their policy insights with government and civic entities in the 4th quarter of 2011.
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Thanks for checking out the latest e-Footnotes and please don't hesitate to let us know what you think. Thanks also for your continued interest and support of the Public Policy Forum. |
Sincerely,
Jeff Schmidt Researcher/IT Director
Public Policy Forum |
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