Spring 2010 – Policy Analysis

A new semester. It’s my fourth teaching our introductory course in policy analysis, cumbersomely titled PAPA 6224: Policy Design, Implementation, and Evaluation, or Policy Design for short. After a lot of experimentation, I’m back teaching from Weimer & Vining – perhaps the most widely adopted text (for a reason, it turns out), which is pretty traditional in its emphasis on economic analysis. I’ve sprinkled in  plenty of other stuff, of course. Today, we start off with Charles Lindblom’s 1959 classic “The Science of Muddling Through.” Anyway, if you’re interested, here’s a copy of the syllabus.

Charley Harper

Charley Harper, 1968

Rachel

the "shick" half of dullshick

(thank you Meera for the beautiful picture)

Charles Goodsell

Charles Goodsell discussing Alexandria's City Council Chamber

A quick photo from CPAP Professor Emeritus Charles Goodsell’s visit to Alexandria to discuss his book The Social Meaning of Civic Space: Studying Political Authority through Architecture (University Press of Kansas, 1988), a study of 75 city council chambers from around the U.S.. During Goodsell’s visit, CPAP MPA student and City of Alexandria budget analyst Morgan Routt gave us a quick tour of Alexandria’s city council chamber – a classic example of a midcentury chamber.

The chamber shows only small changes from the photo Goodsell took 25 years ago as he was doing the research. From the collection of Goodsell’s photos available online from the Virginia Tech archives:

Alexandria City Council Chamber, September 1982

Thanks Professor Goodsell!

Perspective of the Regular Solids

http://bibliodyssey.blogspot.com/2009/08/jamnitzer-perspectiva.html

Talks!

A busy week at CPAP Alexandria:

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Wednesday (11/18) – 6:45pm – Transparency Talks

Barend Jansen, Associate Legal Council, International Monetary Fund

Mr. Jansen will talk about financial institutions and the Fund’s policies on transparency in a context of crisis.

Location: 1021 Prince Street, Library Room (3rd Floor)

The Transparency Talks series is being coordinated by SPIA faculty members Matt Dull (CPAP) and Giselle Datz (GIA) to explore the dimensions of transparency as a reform imperative across a range of governmental and market settings. To learn more about the series – or to receive updates about future Transparency Talks, email: mdull@vt.edu.

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Thursday (11/19) – Professor Charles Goodsell

CPAP Professor Emeritus Charles Goodsell discusses his book The Social Meaning of Civic Space: Studying Political Authority through Architecture (University Press of Kansas, 1988).

• 2:00-4:00pm – Professor Goodsell available by appointment
• 5:15-6:00pm – Tour of Alexandria City Council Chamber
• 6:30-8:00pm – PAPA 6524: Discussion of Observation and Interpretation in The Social Meaning of Civic Space

A number of photos taken by Professor Goodsell during his research on city council chambers, statehouses, and parliamentary buildings are available through the Virginia Tech archives.

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Thursday (11/19) – 4:00-5:00pm – CPAP DMP

Transparency as a Recurring Reform Imperative: Information, Innovation, and Institutional Change

Giselle Datz, Government and International Affairs

Matt Dull, Center for Public Administration and Policy

Abstract

Financial crisis, political scandal, and declining trust in political and economic institutions have propelled transparency to the top of reform agendas worldwide. Transparency is among the central reform ideas in contemporary governance; yet, the concept’s broad appeal has prompted relatively little close scrutiny. In this essay, we aim to place the recent diffusion of transparency-based reforms in context. Reviewing the concept’s evolution in public administration and political economy, we observe that transparency builds on deeply rooted intellectual traditions and a richly turbulent history, a recurring pattern of reform that reveals an enduring logic of institutional change. Transparency is more than a bureaucratic standard, devoid of agency. Its parameters vary by context, and by the ideas that help shape and motivate how context is interpreted by actors. Drawing examples from a range of settings, we scrutinize the “who,” “what,” “when,” and “how” of transparency-based reform. In the contingent, unfinished realities of transparency we see both reform’s promise and its peril.

Halloween 2009

Statue of Liberty and Supergirl

I couldn’t make it to Cincinnati this week, but Julie’s picture is a reminder that my nieces Amanda (the Statue of Liberty) and Claire (Supergirl) are pretty cool. Since this picture, over the weekend, Lady Liberty suffered a broken wrist while rollerskating – fortunately not her torch wrist…

Transparency Talks: Louis Fisher (10/20)

On October 20th at 5:30pm, Dr. Louis Fisher, Specialist in Constitutional Law at the Law Library of the Library of Congress, will join us in Alexandria for the first in a series of “Transparency Talks” discussions addressing the role of transparency in governments and markets. Dr. Fisher is the author of 19 books , including The Constitution and 9/11: Recurring Threats to America’s Freedoms (2008), In the Name of National Security: Unchecked Presidential Power and the Reynolds Case (2006), Presidential War Power (2d ed. 2004), American Constitutional Law (with Katy J. Harriger, 8th ed. 2009), Constitutional Conflicts between Congress and the Presidency (5th ed. 2005), and Political Dynamics of Constitutional Law (with Neal Devins, 4th ed. 2006).

Dr. Fisher will discuss the role of secrecy in presidential power and his recent testimony before the Crime Subcommittee of the House Committee on the Judiciary on the “The Executive Accountability Act of 2009” (testimony available here: http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/pdf/Fisher090727.pdf.)

Time: Reception – 5:00-5:30, Discussion – 5:30-6:30

Location: 1021 Prince Street, 2nd Floor Common Area

Coffee and donuts will be served prior to the discussion.

We will link by Polycom to Thomas Conner House in Blacksburg.

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The Transparency Talks series is being coordinated by SPIA faculty members Matt Dull (CPAP) and Giselle Datz (GIA) to explore the dimensions of transparency as a reform imperative across a range of governmental and market settings. To learn more about the series – or to receive updates about future Transparency Talks, email: mdull@vt.edu.

Shepherd Street

1204 Shepherd Street

Rachel and I bought a house this week – 1204 Shepherd Street on the southern edge of the Petworth neighborhood in Washington, DC (technically it’s in Columbia Heights, but it’s a few blocks from the Petworth Metro). It needs a fair amount of work, so we’ll be doing a lot of cleaning/hauling/painting, but we’re super excited. Here’s a picture of the block (actually across the street) when the houses were going up in the 1920’s:

Shepherd Street

Rachel has heard me tell this story too many times, but Shepherd Street is named after Alexander “Boss” Shepherd, the “The Father of Modern Washington,” a truly fascinating figure in DC history. Among other things, Boss Shepherd planted 60,000 trees and bankrupted the city.

Boss Shepherd

Here’s a link to Shepherd’s bio on wikipedia and a short column from the Post. A decade ago, after years in exile, Shepherd’s statue was returned to prominence outside the Wilson Building at 14th and Pennsylvania.

In Roll Call: Obama’s Appointees

In Roll Call (9/29): Patrick Roberts and Matthew Dull, “Is Obama using his appointment power effectively?”

And, on the VT-NCR website (thanks to Barbara Micale!)