Domestic policy

News

Ford school faculty available to weigh in on 2024 elections

Jan 28, 2024

The University of Michigan has published an experts guide to the 2024 elections. Ford School faculty are available to offer insights on relevant issues impacting the elections, including the following: Economics Betsey Stevenson, professor of...

Ford school faculty available to weigh in on 2024 elections

News

Challenges continue for state-local relations, according to Michigan local government leaders

Nov 10, 2023

Over half of Michigan local officials currently rate their jurisdiction’s overall relationship with the State government as just fair or even poor, while 34% of local officials say it is either good or excellent. It is an important relationship...

Challenges continue for state-local relations, according to Michigan local government leaders

News

Michigan’s smaller local governments need help accessing state and federal grants

Oct 11, 2023

As unprecedented state and federal funding opportunities have emerged over the past 18 months with the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, Michigan local government leaders have expressed their concern...

Michigan’s smaller local governments need help accessing state and federal grants

Publication

Housing shortages across Michigan alarming local leaders - Michigan survey

Sep 14, 2023

Michigan local officials are reporting alarm at the lack of housing options across the state. Those concerns include single-family homes and multi-family units, and cut across affordable, entry-level and mid-level housing availability. The results...

Housing shortages across Michigan alarming local leaders - Michigan survey

News

PPIA students reflect on their summer of study and social life

Aug 2, 2023

What are the dynamics of inequity in labor markets? How do we determine appropriate categories for people in a multicultural society? How is the U.S. approach to ethnicity and nationality different from what they are doing in Europe? These were...

PPIA students reflect on their summer of study and social life

News

Michigan local government leaders’ views on their employee unions: few changes in relationships or impacts as Right-to-Work comes and goes

Jul 26, 2023

Pluralities of local government leaders across Michigan say the state’s recently repealed "Right-to-Work" law had no impact on issues such as community business growth, the ability of their local government to lure or keep public sector employees,...

News

CLOSUP and Poverty Solutions to examine Michigan’s approach to criminal justice reform

Jul 20, 2023

In the wake of racial justice movements across the country, the State of Michigan and some of its communities have been implementing new public safety and criminal justice policies. The perspective of Michigan's local government, public safety, and...

CLOSUP and Poverty Solutions to examine Michigan’s approach to criminal justice reform

News

Leiser and Shaefer comment on Detroit bankruptcy anniversary

Jul 18, 2023

As the city of Detroit marked the 10th anniversary of its declaration of bankruptcy, publications took stock of the progress the city has made. Bloomberg quoted the Center for Local, State and Urban Policy’s (CLOSUP) Stephanie Leiser, who leads the...

Leiser and Shaefer comment on Detroit bankruptcy anniversary

MPPS in the news

Conservative Michigan lawyer uses extremism, God to find policy wins, critics say

Jul 7, 2023 Detroit Free Press

Amid a chaotic time for Michigan Republicans, a small group of lawyers and activists are beckoning conservatives back to their roots: local control and God. Lawyers Dave Kallman, William Wagner and several colleagues think they might have a...

News

Engaged Learning Student Projects Catalog: Preparing Ford School students for leadership

Jun 29, 2023

During the Winter Term 2023, Ford School students were involved in projects with federal, state, county, city, and township governments, school districts, non-profit organizations, and commissions. They worked with the school’s numerous research...

Engaged Learning Student Projects Catalog: Preparing Ford School students for leadership

News

Ford School welcomes PPIA 2023 cohort

Jun 19, 2023

The 2023 Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) Junior Summer Institute (JSI) has welcomed 23 students from 11 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. This year’s cohort will spend seven weeks taking classes, participating in...

In the Media

Horner analyzes use of social media by local governments

Apr 9, 2023 Daily Telegram

Debra Horner, The Daily Telegram: "Back in 2012, only about 18 percent of local officials told us their governments used social media (including 48 percent of jurisdictions with more than 30,000 residents). In 2021, that was up to 29 percent...

Horner analyzes use of social media by local governments

News

Michigan environmental leaders analyze CLOSUP recycling report

Apr 9, 2023

The Center for Local, State and Urban Policy released a new report that polled local officials on issues related to recycling as part of the Michigan Local Recycling Policy Project. The Capital News Service gathered reactions from across the...

Michigan local leaders report widespread support for community recycling programs

In the Media

Leiser makes case for Financial Data Transparency Act

Mar 28, 2023 Accounting Today

Stephanie Leiser, Accounting Today: "There's an enormous amount of municipal government financial data locked up in PDF documents. Unlocking that data has the potential to radically improve transparency and dramatically enhance our ability to...

Leiser shares expertise on government financial reporting in webinar

In the Media

Ivacko reveals factors behind threats to local officials

Mar 24, 2023 Wisconsin Public Radio

Tom Ivacko, Wisconsin Public Radio: "There's been a very concerted, ongoing effort with very strong media behind it to convince people that there are enemies in the public sector, undercutting their own democracy and working against the interests of...

Ivacko on federal infrastructure dollars in Michigan

In the Media

CLOSUP partnership with XBRL US, City of Flint highlighted

Mar 23, 2023 The Bond Buyer

CLOSUP, The Bond Buyer: "Flint is also at the forefront of the development of XBRL for financial reporting. Flint participated in a pilot project with the University of Michigan's Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy at the school's Ford School...

News

Michigan local government leaders report increased problems with workforce recruitment and retention

Feb 22, 2023

The number of Michigan local government leaders reporting problems retaining their jurisdictions’ workers nearly doubled in 2022 compared with five years earlier. In addition, jurisdictions of all types and sizes have faced increased difficulty...

News

Ford School welcomes local and state elected officials to boost collaborative work

Feb 16, 2023

Elected officials from local, county, and state government came to the Ford School to hear about the potential for collaborations with their offices and the School’s faculty, research centers, and students. Fifteen members of the Michigan State...

Ford School welcomes local and state elected officials to boost collaborative work

News

Leiser shares expertise on government financial reporting in webinar

Jan 29, 2023

The Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) has been partnering with XBRL US, to work with the City of Flint to explore whether a new fiscal reporting mechanism for governmental entities can help create transparency—and prevent future...

News

Research centers give U-M students hands-on, practical policy experiences

Jan 27, 2023

With the guidance and support of the Ford School’s research centers, graduate and undergraduate students are creating a real-life impact in a range of areas by working with external partners. The Ford School is deeply integrated with a wide range of...

Research centers give U-M students hands-on, practical policy experiences

In the Media

Leiser applauds Financial Data Transparency Act

Dec 26, 2022 XBRL US

Stephanie Leiser, XBRL US: "Making government financial data open and accessible to all is the right thing to do, and it is long overdue. Financial transparency is absolutely essential to maintaining trust between governments and the public. Equally...

Leiser on building a better local government financial reporting system

Publication

New law on data transparency will improve governance - Leiser

Dec 20, 2022

Increasing transparency in how local government works got a boost when the U.S. Congress passed the Financial Data Transparency Act (FDTA) on December 15, 2022. The act requires the Securities and Exchange Commission to adopt data standards related...

New law on data transparency will improve governance - Leiser

In the Media

CLOSUP redistricting event featured in Detroit Free Press

Dec 5, 2022 Detroit Free Press

Detroit Free Press: "'I think Michigan is going to play a very important poster child role moving forward,' said Moon Duchin, a mathematician at Tufts University who helped Michigan's commission review mapping input during the redistricting...

CLOSUP redistricting event featured in Detroit Free Press

News

Michigan local leaders give high marks on the state of local democracy while federal outlook remains grim

Nov 16, 2022

Michigan local leaders are generally optimistic about how democracy is functioning in their jurisdictions, but are far less praiseworthy about the national picture, according to a new University of Michigan report. When asked to rate the...

News

Ford School experts available for Michigan election 2022 analysis

Nov 3, 2022

The eyes of the country are on Michigan, as voters consider ballot initiatives on whether to enshrine abortion rights into the swing state's constitution and expand opportunities to vote. The highest offices in the state are also up for grabs, with...

News

Former Michigan legislators overwhelmingly favor reforming or abolishing term limits

Nov 1, 2022

As voters in Michigan consider a ballot measure to change the state's legislative term limits, a survey of former legislators shows overwhelming support for reforming or abolishing the limits. The survey, conducted in 2020 and 2021 by Rusty Hills,...

In the Media

Fair elections on the ballot - Ivacko

Oct 31, 2022 CBC

CBC: Tom Ivacko at the University of Michigan says the fair administration of elections is absolutely an election issue this fall. Yet it's unclear how many Americans care: Ivacko noted polls indicating that 70 per cent view democracy as under...

In the Media

Ivacko breaks down Michigan Public Policy Survey for MLive

Oct 27, 2022 MLive

Tom Ivacko, MLive: "We released a report recently that found over half of Michigan local governments reporting their personnel have been harassed or abused by the public in the last few years, and much of what passes for public discourse on national...

Publication

Local government officials offer mixed reviews to Michigan's new approach to redistricting

Oct 26, 2022

Local officials in Michigan have rendered a mixed verdict on the state's new constitutionally mandated approach to redrawing electoral maps with the goal of reducing gerrymandering and promoting fairer elections. Only 24% of local officials are...

U-M survey finds early lack of awareness among local leaders with state’s new approach to redraw legislative districts

News

Michigan local government officials cite good rapport with each other and public, despite divisive discourse

Oct 13, 2022

Michigan’s local government leaders report generally good relationships among officials and residents, despite well-documented examples of coarsening discourse and antagonism in public gatherings, according to a new University of Michigan...