LEADING WITH STYLE. The first session of the 2007 Georgia Legislative Leadership Institute provided a select group of House and Senate members with the chance to learn how to be more effective in today's complex and quick-paced law-making environment.
PUBLIC PRIORITIES. The viewpoints of Athens-Clarke County residents expressed in a survey on a range of community issues and services are proving to be useful information for those charged with developing a new comprehensive plan for the next decade.
STANDARDS THAT COUNT. A Vinson Institute faculty member is studying how an important new accounting standard, GASB #45, is impacting governments with a requirement that they account for and report on from an actuarial basis their costs and obligations for postemployment health-care and other nonpension benefits.
INTERNATIONAL OUTREACH. Sichuan Province prison officials are coming to Georgia for training.... June was a busy month for the Sino-American Joint Training Program in Public Administration.... Institute faculty recently traveled to Liberia and Ghana to discuss outreach for public administration entities.... The Public Health Minister from the Republic of Srpska was hosted by the Vinson Institute during his first trip to the United States.
ANNUAL REPORT. From assisting those charged with protecting Georgia's natural resources, to conducting citizen surveys, to carrying out the 25th Biennial Institute for Georgia Legislators, a busy year of outreach is recapped in an online version of the Institute's annual report.
TRAINING SPOTLIGHT. City of Marietta Management Development Program Course II participants practice the teamwork and leadership skills they have acquired through the creation of a new Veteran's Memorial Garden for their community.... A record number of Georgia tax officials recently attended their 45th annual institute.
ALL IN THE DESIGN. An Institute survey research specialist has found that the visual design of an online survey can significantly affect the answers that respondents provide.
ACROSS STATE LINES. Officials from two North Carolina local governments considering consolidation get a first-hand view of the process through video conferences with their counterparts in Georgia as part of a Vinson Institute study.
NEW PUBLICATIONS. The new edition of Local Laws Affecting County Commissioners in Georgia brings together updated information concerning the governing authority for all of Georgia's 159 counties.... Georgia Retirement Systems: How They Compare, 2006 organizes the current features of each Georgia state retirement system and the Georgia Municipal Employees Benefit System into an easy-to-understand chart format.... A photo scrapbook and an 8-DVD collection capture the proceedings of the January 2007 conference at the University of Georgia commemorating the 30th anniversary of Jimmy Carter's inauguration as the 39th president.... For the first time, both volumes of the Suggested Pattern Jury Instructions are becoming available in online formats.
OUTSTANDING OUTREACH. Dr. James "Jim" Kundell, Vinson Institute faculty member and science advisor to the Georgia General Assembly, recently retired after serving the University of Georgia and the state for more than 30 years.
