For leaders to build better communities and a better state, they require timely, accurate information that can help them in making decisions from small to large.
Environmental Policy Program faculty continued to provide background research related to the Georgia Comprehensive Water Management Plan. Four reports provide those responsible for state water planning with background information and alternative approaches to addressing the state’s future water policy. Technical support was also provided to the Joint Desalination Study Committee of the Georgia General Assembly and to officials developing a new waste-reduction goal for the state.
The Georgia Economic Modeling System (GEMS) continued to provide state and local decision makers with specialized economic impact analyses related to such issues as economic development, transportation, tourism, and tax policies. Projects in 2006 included an economic impact analysis of the massive Wolf Creek Development planned community in Carroll County and several analyses of the impacts of nonprofits in the state.
With the formal establishment of funding in 2006, the Tax and Expenditure Data Center (TED) expanded its capabilities to h
elp Georgia local officials make better-informed revenue forecasts and expenditure projections through access to a variety of data. TED is designed to assist officials in identifying other governments that might be used for comparison and in storing individual profiles that can be accessed repeatedly as different analyses are performed.
The Survey Research and Data Services Unit continued to offer research support at the request of both state and local entities, including a comprehensive project to measure the performance of and public satisfaction with state health services for those with developmental disabilities—information that can eventually help improve services and be put into a national database. The Institute’s quarterly Peach State Poll offered policymakers insight into Georgians’ views on such topics as immigration, the Iraq War, disaster relief, the economy, and education.
The National Center for the Study of Counties (NCSC) is a focal point for the study of practical issues important to county government. For the third year, Institute research specialists conducted the National Elected Officials Annual Poll of current trends. NCSC also produced a special report on the level of emergency management preparedness in U.S. counties. The report was delivered to the National Association of Counties at its annual summer conference. To advance county-related scholarly research in the future, the center joined with the National Association of Counties to establish a dissertation grant program for doctoral students.
Other faculty research focused on such areas as financial education for retirees, family well-being, opinions about poverty, and state pension systems. Policy research distributed through the Institute’s Public Policy Research Series took the form of policy notes on administrative license suspension, pension design, and the alternative minimum tax.
Environmental Policy Program faculty continued to provide background research related to the Georgia Comprehensive Water Management Plan. Four reports provide those responsible for state water planning with background information and alternative approaches to addressing the state’s future water policy. Technical support was also provided to the Joint Desalination Study Committee of the Georgia General Assembly and to officials developing a new waste-reduction goal for the state.
The Georgia Economic Modeling System (GEMS) continued to provide state and local decision makers with specialized economic impact analyses related to such issues as economic development, transportation, tourism, and tax policies. Projects in 2006 included an economic impact analysis of the massive Wolf Creek Development planned community in Carroll County and several analyses of the impacts of nonprofits in the state.
With the formal establishment of funding in 2006, the Tax and Expenditure Data Center (TED) expanded its capabilities to h
elp Georgia local officials make better-informed revenue forecasts and expenditure projections through access to a variety of data. TED is designed to assist officials in identifying other governments that might be used for comparison and in storing individual profiles that can be accessed repeatedly as different analyses are performed. The Survey Research and Data Services Unit continued to offer research support at the request of both state and local entities, including a comprehensive project to measure the performance of and public satisfaction with state health services for those with developmental disabilities—information that can eventually help improve services and be put into a national database. The Institute’s quarterly Peach State Poll offered policymakers insight into Georgians’ views on such topics as immigration, the Iraq War, disaster relief, the economy, and education.
The National Center for the Study of Counties (NCSC) is a focal point for the study of practical issues important to county government. For the third year, Institute research specialists conducted the National Elected Officials Annual Poll of current trends. NCSC also produced a special report on the level of emergency management preparedness in U.S. counties. The report was delivered to the National Association of Counties at its annual summer conference. To advance county-related scholarly research in the future, the center joined with the National Association of Counties to establish a dissertation grant program for doctoral students.
Other faculty research focused on such areas as financial education for retirees, family well-being, opinions about poverty, and state pension systems. Policy research distributed through the Institute’s Public Policy Research Series took the form of policy notes on administrative license suspension, pension design, and the alternative minimum tax.
