Rockefeller Institute of Government
Encyclopedia
The Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government is a public policy research institute that conducts studies and related projects on state and local government and finance, American federalism, public management, and New York State issues. The Institute is located in Albany, New York
, and is part of the University at Albany, State University of New York
.
, University at Albany, as a proposal by then-SUNY chancellor Clifton Wharton to acknowledge the role that Governor Rockefeller played in building up the State and City universities.
Warren Ilchman was the first director of the Institute until 1987, at which time David Andersen was named interim director. In 1989, Richard Nathan
became the Institute’s second director. Prior to coming to Albany, Nathan was a professor at Princeton University
, worked at the Brookings Institution
, and served in the first Nixon administration
. From 2005 to 2009, the Institute had two co-directors, Richard Nathan and Thomas Gais. On October 23, 2009, Richard Nathan retired, after successfully leading the Institute for 20 years. On July 1, 2010, Thomas Gais became the third director. Robert B. Ward, appointed in 2007, is the deputy director. Researchers who have worked at the Institute have included Gerald Benjamin, Donald Boyd, Joseph C. Burke
, James Fossett, Steven Gold, T. Norman Hurd, Irene Lurie, Michael Malbin, Mark Ragan, Frank Thompson, and David Wright.
Areas of study include:
Implementation Studies. The Institute has conducted studies of the Implementation of major national initiatives at the state and local levels.
Government Capacity and Political Responsiveness.
New York State and Local Government Studies. One of the Institute's major purposes is to assist governments and government officials throughout New York State. It does so by bringing expertise and data-analysis skills to bear in ways that aid government officials.
Community and Urban and Community Organization Studies. Since 1995, the Institute has conducted community studies such as:
Data have been collected on state spending for children, a project funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation
. This is the third year of the project. Analyses of the new data on federal and state spending under welfare reform are under way.
Health Care
The New York State Health Policy Research Center (HPRC), is conducting research on the following issues:
Improving Access to Health Insurance Coverage in the Small Group Insurance Market. This paper, on options for financing state coverage initiatives will be the first of three deliverables under a grant from the New York State Health Foundation.
Variation in State Long-Term Care Policies Spending. The Center released a comparative analysis report of long-term care data, and a paper that analyzes assets transfers of people applying for Medicaid-funded long-term care. This work also is supported by the New York State Health Foundation.
Disaster Response and Recovery
For three years, the Rockefeller Institute and the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana
conducted a study of state and local government responses to the 2005 Katrina and Rita hurricanes. Eight reports were published.
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
, and is part of the University at Albany, State University of New York
State University of New York
The State University of New York, abbreviated SUNY , is a system of public institutions of higher education in New York, United States. It is the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States, with a total enrollment of 465,000 students, plus...
.
History
The Institute was founded in 1981 in conjunction with the Nelson A. Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and PolicyRockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy
The Nelson A. Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy is a public policy school composed of the Departments of Public Administration & Policy and Political Science at the University at Albany, SUNY, USA...
, University at Albany, as a proposal by then-SUNY chancellor Clifton Wharton to acknowledge the role that Governor Rockefeller played in building up the State and City universities.
Warren Ilchman was the first director of the Institute until 1987, at which time David Andersen was named interim director. In 1989, Richard Nathan
Richard Nathan
Richard P. Nathan is the former director of the Rockefeller Institute of Government and the Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Public Policy at the State University of New York at Albany. Nathan has written and edited books on the implementation of domestic public program in the...
became the Institute’s second director. Prior to coming to Albany, Nathan was a professor at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, worked at the Brookings Institution
Brookings Institution
The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C., in the United States. One of Washington's oldest think tanks, Brookings conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics, metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, and...
, and served in the first Nixon administration
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
. From 2005 to 2009, the Institute had two co-directors, Richard Nathan and Thomas Gais. On October 23, 2009, Richard Nathan retired, after successfully leading the Institute for 20 years. On July 1, 2010, Thomas Gais became the third director. Robert B. Ward, appointed in 2007, is the deputy director. Researchers who have worked at the Institute have included Gerald Benjamin, Donald Boyd, Joseph C. Burke
Joseph C. Burke
Joseph C. Burke is an American educator who is most notable for having served as President of the State University of New York at Plattsburgh and Acting Chancellor of the State University of New York....
, James Fossett, Steven Gold, T. Norman Hurd, Irene Lurie, Michael Malbin, Mark Ragan, Frank Thompson, and David Wright.
Study areas
The Institute's mission is to provide independent information on the finances, programs, and operations of state and local government. It has often used a field network methodology in analyzing whether and how national and state policies are implemented.Areas of study include:
- State and Local Finance
- Federalism
- New York State Government
- Health Care
- Education
- Disaster Response and Recovery
- Faith-Based Social Services
- Welfare, Workforce, and Social Services
- Cities and Urban Neighborhoods
Past research
State Finance.- State Revenue Reports. Since 1990, the Institute has published quarterly analyses of tax revenue collection in the 50 states, based on the Institute's survey.
- Fiscal Trends. State reports are issued several times a year. They are periodic analyses of trends in state and local government spending and taxes.
Implementation Studies. The Institute has conducted studies of the Implementation of major national initiatives at the state and local levels.
- State Capacity Study of the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. To understand whether and how states would use the flexibility under the 1996 work-based time-limited welfare reform law, the Institute launched a study of twenty states and twenty-one localities.
- Front-Line Management and Practice Study. As a follow-up of the State Capacity Study, the Institute studied a random sample of 1,000 interactions between welfare workers and program clients.
- Workforce Investment Act. A study of the 1998 Act was conducted in 8 states for the U.S. Department of Labor.
- Medicaid. The Institute's Medicaid research has examined a variety of Medicaid issues. The role of Medicaid in financing the activities of faith-based organizations, state efforts to increase Medicaid enrollment, and he implementation of Medicaid managed care.
Government Capacity and Political Responsiveness.
- The Commission for the State and Local Public Service (a.k.a. Winter Commission). Established in 1990, this commission was chaired by former MississippiMississippiMississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
Governor William WinterWilliam Winter (politician)William Forrest Winter is an American politician from Mississippi. He served as the 58th Governor of Mississippi from 1980 to 1984 as a Democrat. He is known for his strong support of public education, racial reconciliation, and historic preservation. Winter is best remembered for the passage of...
. The Commission's report was presented to President Bill ClintonBill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
at the White HouseWhite HouseThe White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
.
- State Campaign Finance Reform. In 1998, the Institute published The Day After Reform, on the implementation of campaign finance reform in the states.
New York State and Local Government Studies. One of the Institute's major purposes is to assist governments and government officials throughout New York State. It does so by bringing expertise and data-analysis skills to bear in ways that aid government officials.
- The Institute published New York State Government and the annual New York State Statistical Yearbook.
Community and Urban and Community Organization Studies. Since 1995, the Institute has conducted community studies such as:
- The national evaluation of the Empowerment Zone Initiative, and an evaluation of the Neighborhood Preservation Initiative of The Pew Charitable TrustsThe Pew Charitable TrustsThe Pew Charitable Trusts is an independent non-profit, non-governmental organization , founded in 1948. With over US$5 billion in assets, its current mission is to serve the public interest by "improving public policy, informing the public, and stimulating civic life."-History:The Trusts, a single...
.
- The study of Urban Neighborhood and Community Capacity Building identified and studied minority neighborhoods with a majority of nonpoor inhabitants.
- Urban Hardship tracks social and economic conditions among the largest cities in the nation's most-populated metropolitan areas over the pat 30 years.
- Faith-based Organizations and the Delivery of Social Services. From 2002 to 2008, the Institute was home to the Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy. The Roundtable was created "to engage and inform government, religious and civic leaders about the role of faith-based organizations in the social welfare system by means of nonpartisan, evidence-based discussions on the potential and pitfalls of such involvement."
Recent and ongoing research
FederalismData have been collected on state spending for children, a project funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation
Annie E. Casey Foundation
The Annie E. Casey Foundation was started in 1948 in Seattle, Washington, by UPS founder James E. Casey and his siblings George, Harry and Marguerite. It was named in honor of their mother. The foundation moved to Baltimore in 1994....
. This is the third year of the project. Analyses of the new data on federal and state spending under welfare reform are under way.
Health Care
The New York State Health Policy Research Center (HPRC), is conducting research on the following issues:
Improving Access to Health Insurance Coverage in the Small Group Insurance Market. This paper, on options for financing state coverage initiatives will be the first of three deliverables under a grant from the New York State Health Foundation.
Variation in State Long-Term Care Policies Spending. The Center released a comparative analysis report of long-term care data, and a paper that analyzes assets transfers of people applying for Medicaid-funded long-term care. This work also is supported by the New York State Health Foundation.
Disaster Response and Recovery
For three years, the Rockefeller Institute and the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
conducted a study of state and local government responses to the 2005 Katrina and Rita hurricanes. Eight reports were published.
Central staff
- Thomas L. Gais, Director
- Robert B. Ward, Deputy Director
- Joseph Chamberlin, Director of Information Systems
- Michael Cooper, Director of Publications
Research staff
- Thomas Gais, Director
- Robert Ward, Deputy Director
- Donald J. Boyd, Senior Fellow
- Joseph Burke, Senior Fellow
- Lucy Dadayan, Senior Policy Analyst
- Irene Lurie, Senior Fellow
- Lisa M. Montiel, Research Scientist
- Richard Nathan, Former Director
- David Shaffer, Senior Fellow
- Frank Thompson, Associate
- David Wright, Director, Urban and Metropolitan Studies