Davenport Institute

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The Davenport Institute was pleased to work with Alan Silberberg of Silberberg Innovations to host this year's Gov 2.0 LA conference here at the Drescher graduate campus in Malibu.  The Conference was held on Saturday, April 21st from 8 am to 5 pm and featured speakers from various fields of government & technology. 

The three themes of this year's conference were:

1. Business inside Government and how it is rapidly becoming different, things like SCRM are being deployed and government is basically being forced to restructure itself.
2. Goverment's use and management of social media in crisis like the earthquake, hurricanes, wildfires and large scale urban fires, and protests and riots.
3. Engagement is now being taken as a for granted thing, "everyone has a facebook page" but how real is it and how are crowd-sourcing and public private partnerships re-arranging the landscape?

Participants heard from presenters like Gabriella Dow of GovParnter, Jeanne Holm of Data.Gov and NASA/JPL and Nigel Cameron of Strategic Futures LLC.  You can find out more about Gov 2.0 LA and see the full conference agenda here.

October 2011: The Davenport Institute, in collaboration with the National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC), the Center for Individual and Institutional Renewal, and California released the report "Golden Governance: Building Effective Public Engagement in California" which looks at how governments are re-thinking civic engagement in an age of austerity and offers tools to help.

August 2011:The results of California's first state-wide deliberative poll "What's Next California?" are now available.  The results demonstrate how opinions can shift with increased information.  You can download the results here.

November 2010: In collaboration with CA Forward and the Center for Civic Education, the Davenport Institute releases the "California Civic Health Index 2010".

February 2010: In collaboration with the Kettering Foundation, Dr. Barnett Pearce and his wife, Professor Kim Pearce have published the report, "Aligning the Work of Government to Strengthen the Role of Citizens". The study includes a number of interviews with California public officials who are seeing public engagement as a new civic leadership skill. The report also follows the development and results of The Davenport Institute's training program, "Public Engagement: The New Leadership Skill in Difficult Times".

December 2009: California Civic Health Index by National Conference on Citizenship, California Forward and CSC.

Davenport Discussion Podcasts

March 13, 2012: Ken Hampian, interim city manager for the troubled city of Bell, Calif., spoke with Pete Peterson, director of the Pepperdine University Davenport Institute for Public Engagement and Civic Leadership, about rebuilding trustworthy leadership and civic trust and engagement in Bell. You can hear the podcast here.

February 8, 2012: William Voegeli, a visiting scholar at Claremont McKenna College's Henry Salvatory Center, sat down with Pete Peterson to discuss his essay, "Not a Penny More," in defense of what he calls "antitax absolutism" published in the winter 2012 issue of City Journal.  You can hear the podcast here.

November 17, 2011: Steve Malanga is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and the senior editor of City Journal. He sat down with Pete Peterson, director of the Davenport Institute for Public Engagement and Civic Leadership at the School of Public Policy, to discuss the causes of, and solutions for, California's declining job market. You can hear the podcast here.

March 30, 2011: Kay S. Hymowitz is the William E. Simon Fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor of City Journal. She sat down with Pete Peterson, the executive director of the Davenport Institute at the School of Public Policy, to discuss her provocative new commentary on gender in 21st Century America for her most recent book Manning Up: How the Rise of Women is Turning Men Into Boys. You can hear the podcast here.

Op-Eds/Essays

May 4, 2012: Pete Peterson wrote "Immersion Education for Parents," wherein he discusses how a local union is attempting to unionize minimally compensated, hard-working volunteers and classroom adjuncts who are funded by the local community and parents at a language immersion school in Culver City, California.

April 2012: Pete Peterson wrote "Public Engagement: The Vital Leadership Skill," published in the March/April issue of California Special Districts Magazine.  The article, which shares a title with the Davenport Institute's public engagement training seminar looks at the changes that are taking place in local governance when it comes to citizen involvement. You can access the article online here, starting on page 18.

April 14, 2012: Ashley Trim authored the op-ed "Building Community Is Everyone's Responsibility" published in the Ventura County Star.  She discusses the role of residents in answering fundamental questions about what our cities are and how they will be affected by cuts to services. 

March 7, 2012: Pete Peterson wrote "Creative Californians Redefine Rahm's 'Rule One'" published in The American.  He discusses how municipalities across the state are asking their residents to assume greater responsibilities, not only in decision making, but also in service provision. 

January 24, 2012: Pete Peterson wrote "Liberty . . . Bell?" published in Fox & Hounds describing his recent experience as a consultant and table faciliator for a public budgeting project in the City of Bell.  You can also read Joe Matthew's coverage of the event on the NBC/LA blog here. 

January 13, 2012: Pete Peterson authored "On Further Review. . ." in City Journal California which loooks at how recent studies call into question both California's high-speed rail project and climate change legislation, and how public opinion may be changing on these issues. 

December 13, 2011: Ashley Trim authored "Civic California" in City Journal California, where she discusses examples of collaborative service provision in California and the "Golden Governance" report released by the Davenport Institute and the National Conference on Citizenship in October. 

October 25, 2011: Pete Peterson co-authored an article with David B. Smith for Zocalo Public Square. "We'll Build Our Own Darn Roads" looks at how today's economic challenges offer promising possibilities for citizen relationships to Government. 

July 27, 2011: Pete Peterson's "SB 168: An Expensive Signature" looks at why SB 168 is not the promise to initiative reform that it claims to be.  You can read the article at Fox & Hounds Daily.

July 19, 2011: Pete Peterson authored an essay "The Hong Kong of Los Angeles County?", wherein he discusses a recent City of Bell-like situation in Vernon, California and how California's Democratic Assembly speaker John Perez's bills AB 46 and AB 781, would dissolve the municipality, including its city council, and turn it into a Community Services District (CSD) under the jurisdiction of Los Angeles County. Read the essay at City Journal.

June 2, 2011: In the week leading up to the first-of-its-kind "What's Next California" deliberative poll, Pete Peterson asks "Why We Don't Talk Politics and Why It Matters" on the What's Next California blog.

May 20, 2011: Pete Peterson's "Newspapers & Government 2.0" essay surveys the growing number of newspapers and government websites that are engaging their readers and residents in policy decisions. The essay was published in The American.

May 19, 2011: Pete Peterson authored an essay "California's Engagement Gap: Why We Don't Talk Politics and Why it Matters" in CityWatch.  He also participated in a panel with academics from Arizona State University, UCLA, and CalTech on the same topic hosted by Zocalo Public Square at the Peterson Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. Watch video and view photos of the event.

April 26, 2011: Pete Peterson authored an essay entitled "Damned Lies, Statistics and LA Times' Headlines," which discusses the recent, potentially misleading Los Angeles Times reporting of California survey results in Fox and Hounds Daily.

April 6, 2011: Pete Peterson authored an essay, "Of Space Ships and Bullet Trains," wherein he discusses how bureaucracies tend to shut out the voice of citizens on major publicly-funded projects, and how there are no "unbiased experts" when it comes to large public sector efforts in City Journal.

February 12, 2011: Pete Peterson authored an essay, "Making a Federal(ist) Case Out of Civility," wherein he discusses the relationship between federalism and civility in The American.

December 21, 2010: Pete Peterson co-authored an article "Public Engagement: Another Way to Promote Transparency," which describes the public engagement effort around water policy in Humboldt Bay, along with a discussion about the importance of legitimate participatory processes in special districts in the California Special District Magazine.

November 26, 2010: Pete Peterson authored an op-ed "Californians Score Well on Civic Involvement," wherein he discusses the recently released 2010 California Civic Health Index in The San Francisco Chronicle.

November 15, 2010: Ashley Trim authored an op-ed "Bell and the Cost of Civic Disengagement," wherein she discusses the importance of civic engagement, both political and social, and uses the City of Bell as an example of how civic disengagement played a major role in its recent scandals in Fox & Hounds Daily.

October 27, 2010: Pete Peterson authored an essay "Glenn Beck, Jon Stewart, and the Science of the Jeremiad," wherein he compares Beck and the combined rallies by comedians Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, tying in an interesting study noted by NPR regarding the importance of faith in democratic societies in The American.

September 2, 2010: Pete Peterson authored an essay "On L.A. Sidewalks: A Keynesian Cautionary Tale (for Both Parties)," wherein he discusses how cracked Los Angeles sidewalks are challenging both Keynesian theory and conservative commentators in The American.

August 3, 2010: Pete Peterson authored an essay "The City of Bell and the Problem of Local Control," wherein he discusses the City of Bell's recent city official salary fiasco as a challenge to the desire for localized government in Front Porch Republic.

July 26, 2010: Pete Peterson authored an essay entitled "For Whom Does Bell Toll?," wherein he addresses the City of Bell's elected and city official salary fiasco, as a civic engagement breakdown in Fox & Hounds Daily.

July 10, 2010: Pete Peterson authored an essay entitled "My Word: Frank language for Moynihan," wherein he describes the public engagement process around regional water policy funded through a Common Sense California Grant in the Eureka Times-Standard.

July 6, 2010: Pete Peterson authored an essay entitled "Sacramento By Way of Trenton," wherein he argues that California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman might learn from Chris Christie's experiences in New Jersey in City Journal.

June 5, 2010: Pete Peterson authored an essay entitled "The 'New Normal:' A Communitarian Moment?," wherein he discusses how cash-strapped city and state governments are increasingly reaching out to residents to collaborate on service provision in Front Porch Republic.

Spring 2010: Pete Peterson authored an essay entitled "The Citizen Returns," wherein he tells the story of Common Sense California, and states why public engagement is the important civic leadership skill for the coming decades in the National Civic Journal.

May 4, 2010: Pete Peterson authored an essay entitled "Freakish Frisco," wherein he highlights the city of San Francisco's immense pension obligations and the possible unique role an engaged public might play towards bringing fiscal sanity. City Journal.

Speeches/Conferences/Interviews

March 2012: Pete Peterson was included in the "Building Partnerships for Change" feature for KRCB (Sonoma County PBS).  The piece included interviews with local elected officials and civic leaders about how the public is taking a greater role in service delivery in the wake of fiscal crisis.  You can see the piece here.

March 20, 2012: Pete Peterson presented "From the Beach to Bell: The Vital Relationship between Place and Civic Engagement" to the "Why Place Matters" mini-conference, hosted by the Davenport Institute at the School of Public Policy in Malibu.

March 16, 2012: Pete Peterson presented, "Understanding Ron Swanson: The Challenge and Opportunity of Public Engagement" at "Advancing Public Dialogue" - a one-day conference on public engagement in land use planning, hosted by the San Diego Chapter of the American Planning Association. 

March 5, 2012: Pete Peterson presented, "Acting Locally: The University Center as Local Gov't Resource" at the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) 2012 Annual Conference in Las Vegas.

February 28, 2012: Pete Peterson served as moderator to the panel, "A Conversation on Governance and Civic Engagement in the Golden State" at the Southern California Grantmakers' 2012 Public Policy Conference in Los Angeles.  Other panelists included Kathay Feng from California Common Cause and Victor Abalos from California Forward.

February 24, 2012: Pete Peterson was an invited discussant to "Getting the Message Right," a bi-partisan workshop of political and policy leaders looking at ways to encourage civil discourse.  The event was hosted at the National Press Club in Washington, DC by the National Institute for Civil Discourse at the University of Arizona.

November 11, 2011: Pete Peterson discussed the new "Golden Governance" report with Robert Kovacik on NBC's Nonstop News LA.  The video can be viewed here.

October 12, 2011: Davenport Sr. Fellow Ed Everett participated as a panelist on the Cal-ICMA webinar "Courage in Action: Doing What is Needed Even when it is Difficult"

October 4, 2011: Pete Peterson gave a lunch presentation, "Leadership through Public Engagement" at the Centre for Organizational Effectiveness' Management Academy in Escondido. 

August 18, 2011: Pete Peterson spoke at the Center Club on the topic "Changing Local and State governance in the 'New Normal' Era," as part of their Distinguished Speaker Series.

July 7, 2011: Pete Peterson led a "Public Engagement: The Vital Leadership Skill in Planning" seminar at the Southern California Association of Governments' (SCAG) Joint Retreat of the Regional Council and Policy Committees.  Over 100 elected officials and staff from the SCAG region attended the seminar.

June 26-28, 2011: Pete Peterson gave a presentation at the University Network for Collaborative Governance Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon on "Acting Locally: The University Center as Local Government resource. Read more about the conference.

April 13, 2011: Pete Peterson gave a presentation on public engagement practices around California at the California Association of Public Information Officers (CAPIO) Annual Conference in Sacramento.

March 13, 2011: Pete Peterson and Ed Everett led about 45 elected leaders from around the country through their "Public Engagement: The Vital Leadership Skill" seminar. The session was conducted as part of the National League of Cities' Congressional Cities Conference in Washington, D.C. Read more about the Congressional City Conference.

March 2, 2011: Peterson moderated the panel discussion, “Bringing Government Closer to the People”, which included City of Orange Mayor Carolyn Cavecche, John Nelson, Associate Superintendent, Orange County Department of Schools, and Sunne Wright McPeak, Leadership Council, California Forward. The panel was part of a “Speak Up, California!” civic dialogue hosted by California Forward in Irvine.

February 28, 2011: The Davenport Institute's Pete Peterson and Ed Everett, were hosted by the Association of Bay Area Governments in Oakland, California, on February 28, 2011. They led their “Public Engagement: The Vital Leadership Skill in Difficult Times” training seminar for city, county, and special district staff. Peterson and Everett will next be offering this training on March 13, 2011, as part of the National League of Cities conference in Washington, D.C.

January 27, 2011: Pete Peterson served as a panelist for a discussion entitled "Who Decides? Democracy and Divide," about civility in political discourse, hosted by the Illinois Humanities Council in Chicago. Visit the event webpage.

December 21, 2010: Pete Peterson discusses the "new" Davenport Institute for Public Engagement and Civic Leadership with Tracy Young for Charter Cable's (LA County) "Local Edition." The five-minute video can be seen below.

November 3, 2010: Pete Peterson gave a presentation, "Public Engagement: What Makes it the Real Thing," at the National Coalition for Deliberation and Dialogue's (NCDD) "Making Tough Decisions...Together" conference at De Anza College in Cupertino, California, on October 29, 2010. He was also a panelist on the roundtable, “Purpose Determines Process”. Davenport Institute Senior Fellow Ed Everett was a panelist on two roundtables at the event on local participation practices and online engagement. Visit the NCDD conference Web site.

October 7, 2010: Pete Peterson co-facilitated a Webinar for Cal-ICMA on the topic, "Engaging your Public: The Key Skill for Leadership," on October 6, 2010. Peterson participated along with Ed Everett and Cupertino City Manager, Dave Knapp. Over 250 city, county, and special district managers from across the country participated in this Webinar.

August 3, 2010: Pete Peterson is moderating a panel at the 2010 Global Forum on Direct Democracy conference at UC Hastings College of Law. The panel is entitled "Alternative Methods of Democratic Participation: Direct and Participatory Democracy," sponsored by Common Sense California. Panelists include Mark Linder, director, Parks & Recreation, City of Cupertino; Greg Greenway, executive director, Threshold 2009; and Alice Siu, associate director, Center for Deliberative Democracy at Stanford University. Read more about the 2010 Global Forum on Modern Direct Democracy.