When Congress passed the Financial Data and Transparency Act (FDTA) in 2022, it required all municipalities in the U.S. to modernize and digitize their financial reports. This is a heavy lift for small towns and school districts, most of which still...
Susan M. Collins, former dean of the Ford School and now president & CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, made a welcome return to Weill Hall in November for a public event and lunch with students. During her visit, she shared insights into...
Moynihan: "State capacity” is hard to define and measure, and is perhaps seen as boring, but capacity is the hidden glue that holds public policy together, or, when debased, causes public policy to fall apart. If you care about the quality of...
Dean Watkins-Hayes, at the Congressional Breakfast in DC, with Michigan in Washington undergraduates Ajay Morelli, Malinda Brunk, Rachel Ellisen, and Isaac Davis, and Riecker Fellow Hope Wang (MPP...
The Michigan Public Policy Survey, conducted last spring by U-M’s Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy, found most officials are unsure about the accuracy of public safety risk assessments made by automated tools such as AI. However, sheriffs...
The American Economic Association named Susan M. Collins, former Joan and Sanford Weill Dean of the Ford School and current Boston Federal Reserve Bank President and CEO, as one of four Distinguished Fellows for 2025. The award recognizes the...
Christina Weiland, co-director of the Education Policy Initiative and professor at the Ford School, delivered her inaugural lecture as the Karl and Martha Kohn Professor of Social Policy. Weiland, who is also a professor at the Marsal Family School...
"Whether by purchasing equipment, hiring contractors or training early career researchers, universities are a source of everyday economic and social benefits to communities in every congressional district in the country," said Jason Owen-Smith, from...
Through an executive order, President Trump intends to reclassify hundreds of thousands of federal civil servants' job titles as "schedule policy/career" positions. Don Moynihan from the Ford School told Reuters,"By deeming anyone involved in...
As low-cost sources of renewable energy transform the U.S. electricity grid, the transmission grid is increasingly strained. New solar and wind generation resources are not built in areas of high demand. Better geographic integration would result in...
“The government gets to basically treat a generally decentralized national system of universities as a pay-as-you-go resource to get problems solved,” the Ford School's Jason Owen-Smith told the Associated Press. Owen-Smith discussed ways that the...
Seeking insight on climate and energy policy, Thumbwind interviewed Dr. Jennifer Haverkamp, from the Ford School, to ask about recent support for clean energy initiatives. “This isn’t just about climate anymore,” said Dr. Haverkamp. She added that...
“I genuinely have never been this concerned about the ability of that agency [Social Security Administration] to function,” said Pamela Herd, professor at the Ford School, in an interview cited by FactCheck.org. “Yes, I think people are right to be...
The Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan has once again been recognized as one of the nation’s leading graduate programs in public affairs, securing the #3 spot overall in the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings....
A major policy change in early education in the Philippines led to an unexpected drop in test scores and academic achievement—revealing the challenges that even well-intentioned reforms can have and the importance of wisely investing in the first...
Jason Owen-Smith, Ford School professor (by courtesy) and director of Institute for Research on Innovation and Science, in a piece for The Chronicle of Higher Education, explained the illogic of cutting indirect-cost (IDC) rates. Owen-Smith wrote,...
Empowered bureaucrats can make decisions that will lead to better and more efficient service for citizens, according to Dan Honig, author of “Mission Driven Bureaucrats: Empowering People To Help Government Do Better.” In a Policy Talk at the Ford...
“Executive orders can't overrule statutes, so that’s a mystery legally,” according to Michigan Law Professor Margo Schlanger. She was addressing the legal and rhetorical attacks the Trump administration has made against birthright citizenship....
Javed Ali, Ford School professor, discussed with USA Today the signal groupchat that was publicly released. He said, "you certainly don't want those details being revealed in any kind of public form because you are putting the force at risk." More...
States have varying approaches to boosting government efficiency. Route 50 turned to the Ford School's Don Moynihan to analyze Pennsylvania's method of increasing efficiency after they recognized their state's processing systems fell behind other...
In March, CLOSUP released its second annual report analyzing the fiscal health of local Michigan governments. Using financial data reported to the State of Michigan in 2023, the researchers developed a set of indicators to look at cash, budgetary,...
In a recent article from TIME Magazine, the Ford School's Pamela Herd was quoted as an expert on public policy as the network searched for an explanation on delayed Social Security benefits. Herd stated, "People are waiting for hours to get through...
The Trump administration appears particularly focused on “the president having absolute power and control over where money goes regardless of laws on impoundment or statutes on agencies... It’s a consolidation of power in the name of efficiency,"...
The Ford School's Jeff Morenoff advocated for legislation that would reduce long sentences for incarcerated people in Michigan. In an opinion piece published in the Detroit Free Press, Morenoff explained that Michigan's average prison sentence...
Current government operations under the Trump administration are pointing to signs of democratic backsliding. The Ford School's Don Moynihan has stated that Americans have put too much faith in the law. Quoted in an article from the Financial Times,...
The Ford School's Don Moynihan spoke with The Daily Beast and commented on the removal of government history from various agency websites, specifically targeting topics involving DEI or POC and members of the LGBTQIA+ community. "It's this sort of...
Research shows that high-quality preschool education has the power to positively impact a child’s growth and development, even far into adulthood. However, as costs increase and high demand creates long wait times, many children across the country...
Following the recent executive order designed to dismantle the Department of Education, the Ford School's Kevin Stange spoke with Bridge Michigan about what this means for education research. Strange shared that his biggest concern is the fate of...
