2006 Summer Policy Series: Where Are We Headed? The Future for Policymaking in Minnesota
How will changes in the future – demographics, technology, access to resources – affect how we get civic work done? How will public policies be made in the future? Will the “public” in public policy be comprised of the same entities in the same ways in twenty years?
Effective long-term policy solutions demand insight into the forces that will shape the future, and anticipating the factors that we can shape through the right combination of decisions today means better tailored solutions for tomorrow.
Through the Citizens League 2006 Summer Policy Series, we will ask participants to think differently about making policy in the future.
The series will be moderated by Citizens League board member Jack Uldrich. President of The NanoVeritas Group, Jack is a frequent commentator in print and broadcast media such as The Futurist and The Futures Research Quarterly, Almanac, and CNN. He served as the director of the Minnesota Office of Strategic and Long Range Planning under Governor Jesse Ventura.
Morning events (July 12, July 25, August 8 and August 22) will be held at The Forum at Minnesota Public Radio. The evening wrap-up (September 7) will be held at the Varsity Theater.
The Citizens League 2006 Summer Policy Series is presented in partnership with The Forum at Minnesota Public Radio and with generous support from Best Buy, Comcast, Medtronic, Public Financial Management, US Bank and Weber Shandwick International.
The Future of Politics
The Future of Education
The Future of Health Care
The Future of the Web and Civic Engagement
The Future for Policymaking in Minnesota
Calendar of Events
The Future of Politics: Policymaking and the Coming Demographic Change
Wednesday, July 12, 7:30 a.m. The Forum at Minnesota Public RadioBy the year 2020, there will be more people over 65 than under 18 in Minnesota – it will be the first time in our history that there have been more retirees than schoolchildren. What questions does this demographic change raise for the way we do public work? How will they impact the politics of policymaking?
With: Chuck Denny (retired Chairman & CEO, ADC Telecommunications), Lorena Duarte (Gen Xer, Associate Editor, Latino Communications Network) and Pam Wheelock (baby boomer, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Minnesota Sports and Entertainment).
Click here for more information and background materials from The Future of Politics.
The Future of Education: Redefining Schooling
Tuesday, July 25, 7:30 a.m. The Forum at Minnesota Public RadioAmid all of the talk about standards and funding, what if we’re missing the most important question about the future of public education: what should schools be in the 21st century? Should the fundamental nature of “schooling” and education be radically changed? Is our current model (both K-12 and post-secondary) sustainable? Many experts believe that we need schools and education that are different in fundamental ways from what we have now.
With: Joe Graba (Senior Policy Fellow, Hamline University and Education Evolving) and Mike Offerman (President, Capella University).
Click here for more information and background materials from The Future of Education.
The Future of Health Care: Shifting the Focus from Treatment to Prevention
Tuesday, August 8, 7:30 a.m. The Forum at Minnesota Public RadioThe ability to predict diseases will shift the health care paradigm from treatment to prevention. This will be a monumental shift, and everyone in the health care industry needs to begin preparing for it now. Will predictive medicine soon get so good that the insurance industry’s pooled risk business model will no longer work? How do incentives in the current system -- which are based on individual treatment after disease is diagnosed -- need to adapt?
With: Stephen T. Parente (Assistant Professor of Finance, Carlson School of Management) and Jan Malcolm (CEO, Courage Center).
Click here for more information and background materials for The Future of Health Care.
The Future of the Web and Civic Engagement: What Happens When MySpace Meets Our Space?
Tuesday August, 22, 7:30 a.m. The Forum at Minnesota Public RadioTechnology is rapidly moving civic engagement from place-based to every place as users develop virtual communities on issues around the world. What is the connection between the new online social interaction applications and the broader civic space they will inhabit? Are we creating virtual communities to impact global issues at the expense of our local communities? How will these technologies transform civic engagement as we know it – and new generations of civic leaders? How should they transform the Citizens League!?
With: Tom Swain and Jean LeVander King (long-standing civic leaders), Jen Alstad (president, b-swing), Steve Borsch (CEO, Marketing Directions, Inc.), and Garrick Van Burren (president, Working Pathways, Inc.).
The Future for Policymaking in Minnesota: Series Wrap-up
Thursday, September 7, 5:00 p.m. The Varsity TheaterWe've spent the summer thinking about the forces at play in the future for policymaking; now we'll look at what we've learned from these conversations. Join moderator Jack Uldrich for an interactive session as we zero in on what we need to do now to achieve our public policy agenda for the future.
Click here for more information about The Future for Policymaking in Minnesota.