Debra Horner

Nearly half of Michigan’s largest local governments feel they have little staff capacity for land use planning and zoning, according to a survey from University of Michigan researchers. This survey is the first statewide attempt to explore which...

In January, the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) published a report and hosted a webinar on the views of Michigan local government officials regarding workforce issues and challenges. The results come from the Spring 2017...

Voter turnout is abysmally poor," says Joe Schwarz, a Ford School lecturer and former U.S. Congressional representative (R-MI-7). "In general elections, you're lucky to get 50 to 60 percent of eligible voters—that just shows an embarrassing level of...

Overall, the fiscal health of Michigan's local governments appears to have improved slightly since last year, according to a new survey by University of Michigan researchers. Across the state, 35 percent of the local government leaders surveyed...

ANN ARBOR—Statewide, 70 percent of Michigan's local government officials believe the state government is taking too much decision-making authority away from local governments, according to a new survey by University of Michigan researchers.The data...

It's been eight years since the Ford School launched the Michigan Public Policy Survey, which collects data and opinions about a broad range of state and local policy challenges from local government leaders across the state. After 16 surveys, 60...

The Ford School has a long history of emphasizing engaged learning. Many of the big-ticket experiences, like the Integrated Policy Exercise (IPE), Applied Policy Seminar (APS) now called Strategic Public Policy Consulting (SPPC), International...

The Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) is offering a new undergraduate course for students looking for opportunities to work with survey research...