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GOVERNING Georgia: A Leadership Forum – 2012

Apr. 26, 2012 | Marriott Atlanta Marquis | Atlanta, GA

Agenda:

8:00 am
Registration/Continental Breakfast

8:45 am
Conference Welcome

Jonathan Walters, Executive Editor, GOVERNING

9:00 am
Keynote: Leadership and Accountability When It Matters

Commander Kirk Lippold, Inspirational Leader and Commander of the USS Cole

The privilege and burden of leadership comes with a level of accountability that many aspire to emulate and anyone can rise up to and achieve. Using a devastating suicide terrorist attack as a backdrop, Commander Lippold conveys how the bedrock principle of integrity created an environment for leadership where his crew felt imbued with a sense of ownership as they seized the opportunity to be responsible for their ship and not just their jobs. Their own sense of personal accountability and leadership proved to be a guiding principle in the crucible of combat.

10:00 am
Break

10:15 am
Georgia Today and Tomorrow

The Georgia Competitiveness charted a path for the state’s economic development strategies. This interactive session will provide highlights of the findings and explore the role government can and should play in improving Georgia’s economic vitality through improving infrastructure, embracing innovation, and focusing on government efficiency.

Moderator: Jonathan Walters, Executive Editor, GOVERNING

Speaker:
Gretchen Corbin, Deputy Director of Global Commerce, Georgia Department of Economic Development

10:45 am
Working Together to Build a Better Tomorrow

Proponents of regionalism say that strengthening a region's governing bodies and political powers within a larger community would create efficiencies of scale to the region, develop a more rational allocation of the region's resources for benefit of the local populations, raise competitiveness levels among the regions and ultimately the whole country, and save taxpayers money. Yet successful examples of regional cooperation are still difficult to find. Is this the time for a new level of cooperation? Will the continued revenue shortfalls result in a different way of getting the business of government done?

Moderator: Mark Funkhouser, Ph.D., Director, the GOVERNING Institute, former mayor of Kansas City, Missouri

Speakers:
W. Burrell Ellis, Jr., Chief Executive Officer, DeKalb County Government, Georgia
The Honorable Kasim Reed, Mayor, City of Atlanta, Georgia
Catherine Ross, Ph.D., Director and Harry West Chair, Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development, Georgia Institute of Technology

11:30 am
Concurrent sessions

Governing for Results – It’s about Performance

As the conversations continue around how to improve operations, the most obvious question is, “How do we know what improved is?” In some businesses, measuring performance is straightforward. Not so in government. Success of critical services such as health and human services or creating sustainable communities is nuanced and difficult to quantify. This session will examine the important issues of defining success and measuring performance in government.

Moderator: Mark Funkhouser, Ph.D., Director, the GOVERNING Institute, former mayor of Kansas City, Missouri

Speakers:
William Harkins, Jr., CitiSmart Coordinator, City of Mobile, Alabama
Patrick Ibarra, Co-Founder and Partner, The Mejorando Group

Healthcare Services: Innovation and Delivery

All states are seeking ways to improve the outcomes of healthcare while at the same time save money. At the core of this balancing act is quality care and accessibility to providers. Where have other states found workable bridges between policy, the providers and the people? What does innovation and accountability look like for best in breed services?

Moderator: Marina Leight, Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, GOVERNING

Speakers:
Laura Herrera, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
James Howgate, Chief of Staff, Georgia Department of Public Health

Partnerships: Fact, Fiction, Opportunity

Partnerships, whether between public only, public/private, or public/non-profit organizations, can provide ways to take advantage of the strengths of partnering organizations, reduce costs, and improve the quality of services to citizens. What are the opportunities with these partnerships, and what are the pitfalls to avoid? Join a panel of experts in an open conversation about how and when partnerships can be used in government.

Moderator: Jonathan Walters, Executive Editor, GOVERNING

Speakers:
John Kachmar, City Manager, City of Johns Creek, Georgia
John McDonough, City Manager, City of Sandy Springs, Georgia
Richard Norment, Executive Director, National Council for Public-Partnerships

12:30 pm
Lunch

Keynote: Georgia’s Story: Demographics and Predicting the Future

Mathew Hauer, Public Service Assistant, Governmental Services and Research, Carl Vinson Institute of Government

Georgia - and our nation - are experiencing major demographic, social, educational and economic shifts. If government is to prepare for the Georgia of tomorrow, leaders must understand and adjust to these shifts. Matt Hauer, demographer and Public Service Assistant with the Carl Vinson Institute of Government, will give you insights into what Georgia looked like 30 years ago, what the Georgia of tomorrow may look like, and more importantly, what it means to the state’s leaders.

1:45 pm
Break

2:00 pm
Concurrent Sessions

Rethinking Government Finances: When All-Cuts Budgeting Doesn’t Get It All Done

The pressures on budgets today call for a new approach to setting priorities and allocating limited resources. In the past several years, governments have cut entire programs and made straight percentage cuts across the entire organization in an attempt to balance the budget. Is there a better way? How can a government go about setting priorities? How can we rethink government finances to pay for the government we need? This session will explore options and tools that can be used now, and ideas for the systemic improvements that are needed for the future.

Moderator: Mark Funkhouser, Ph.D., Director, the GOVERNING Institute, former mayor of Kansas City, Missouri

Speakers:
Virgil Moon, Support Services Director, Cobb County, Georgia
Katherine Willoughby, Ph.D., Professor of Public Management and Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University

Building Georgia’s Tomorrow: Jobs, Economic Development and Education

Is education the elusive silver bullet for a vital community? What is the relationship between a prepared workforce and attracting jobs? This session will explore successful models of preparing a workforce as an economic development strategy.

Moderator: Jonathan Walters, Executive Editor, GOVERNING

Speakers:
Daniel J. Kaufman, President, Georgia Gwinnett College
Tricia Pridemore, Director, Governor's Office of Workforce Development
Mark Whitlock, Chief Executive Officer, Central Educational Center (CEC)

3:00 pm
A Look to the Future: Polls, People, and Public Service

Most people understand that the next generation of public servants will be drastically different from the current generation. But what are these differences, and what does this mean to leaders today? This plenary panel will separate fact from fiction, providing a review of young people’s opinions about politics and public service. The conversation - including a pollster, a young elected official, an expert on staffing government, and you - will review what the future may hold, what this means for citizen engagement, and what leaders should do now to begin to prepare for the Georgia of tomorrow.

Moderator: Mark Funkhouser, Ph.D., Director, the GOVERNING Institute, former mayor, Kansas City, Missouri

Speakers:
Patrick Ibarra, Co-Founder and Partner, The Mejorando Group
Timothy J. Kenyon, Manager and Director, Green Gauge Report, GfK Roper Consulting
Ross King, Executive Director, Association County Commissioners of Georgia
The Honorable Ceasar C. Mitchell, Atlanta City Council President

4:30 pm
Reception