ProGov21 Policy Library

America’s traditional economic development policy has raised important questions about equity, especially for new entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs and small businesses bring economic stability into communities. To encourage economic development brought, it is imperative that the impact...

Public-private partnerships (P3s) to build infrastructure, are increasingly structured around “availability payments,” which advocates argue are a better alternative than more traditional revenue-risk contracts. However, availability payments are long-term financial commitments that...

As local and state governments increasingly contract out public services that impact the well-being of their community, the need for robust contract oversight is increasing. A lack of oversight has detrimental impacts on the people served by a program or service, and for the public...

Almost everyone believes that afterschool programs are one of those good things for youngsters. And yet many kids are left out: Only 15 percent - 8.4 million - of the country's school children participate, according to a report, "America After 3 PM," by the advocacy organization Afterschool...

Water privatization has often proven to be harmful to communities, workers, and the environment, and should not be relied on to help municipalities. While many water systems need improvements, corporate control does not provide a solution to provide long-term sustainability, regulatory...

While public-private partnerships, or P3’s, have primarily been used in the U.S. for transportation and water projects, the model has recently been used to address infrastructure needs to repair, replace, or build public buildings where government operations take place. Problems with...

Public-private partnerships (known as “P3s”) use private capital to finance public infrastructure projects, and should generally be avoided. Private funding of infrastructure is more expensive than public funding and result in the loss of democratic control over public policy decisions,...

While privatization occurs under different names, such as outsourcing, contracting out, and public-private partnership, it always removes a public good from public control and places it under the control of a private entity. The specifics of these deals vary, but the consequences...

Title IV of this act creates the Community Schools Incentive Initiative, which will award multi-year grants to create community schools. A community school is a public and private partnership in a public or charter school that coordinates educational, developmental, family, health,...

Those seeking to reduce deficits and strengthen the economy should make significant investments in early childhood education. Professor Heckman's ground-breaking work with a consortium of economists, psychologists, statisticians and neuroscientists shows that early childhood development...

Denver's 5 By 5 Project aims to provide Denver Head Start children and families with at least 5 cultural experiences by the age of 5, putting into action their belief that the municipality can and should play a role in improving the "school readiness" of the City's children. The 5...

As part of the strategic planning process engaged in during 2008-2009, the Collaboration adopted benchmarks for the Oak Park Early Childhood System. The benchmarks were chosen because they are relevant, measurable and provide data that can be used and acted upon to further system...