The Institute for Public Policy Studies
The Institute for Public Policy Studies is an advanced 12-week, interactive training program for young Hispanic professionals interested in learning how to formulate, implement, and influence public policy in major urban areas. The curriculum will focus on the major public policy issues of the day, i.e., public education, mass transit systems, airport expansion, business development, municipal, county and school budgets, emergency management, homeland security, voting systems technology, health care, neighborhood services, labor relations, the investment of public pension funds, etc. Experts in each field will be invited to present and defend their respective policies, or their policy objections, in response to questions and constructive criticisms from young professionals who may soon occupy policy-advisory or policy-making positions on public boards and/or commissions. Experts will include but not be limited to university faculty, policy-makers, policy-change advocates and reformers, think-tank members, lobbyists, and community activists.
Hispanic Officials: Today and the Future
Today there are over 5,000 elected Hispanic officials serving at all levels of government throughout the United States. That's the good news. The bad news is that there are over 500,000 elected positions at all levels of government in the United States. Hispanics, therefore, account for 12% of the population in the United States but only 1% of the elected officials. Our goal is to have 50,000 Hispanic elected officials in the United States by the year 2025, which is going to necessitate bold, new initiatives to train and prepare the next generation of Hispanic officials. While our goal is admittedly ambitious, the reality is that if we are successful, Hispanics will comprise only 10% of the elected officials in the United States and over 15% of the population.
Young Hispanic professionals who are interested in public service are more likely to be appointed than elected to public office, which is both understandable and acceptable because experience on policy-advisory or policy-making boards and commissions can serve as a springboard to elected office. Elected office is important because it will enable the officeholder to appoint more qualified Hispanics with leadership potential to policy-advisory and/or policy-making boards and commissions, which can create a new Hispanic generation of experienced policy managers with the ability to serve in any capacity, elected or appointed.
Best Practice
Due to the anticipated highly interactive nature of this program, only 20-25 Hispanic professionals will be allowed to participate in a given training cycle.
This program is highly recommended for major urban areas in which the ability to elect an equitable number of Hispanic officials is limited, where the community is under-represented, where community leaders are under-utilized, and where Hispanic professionals with leadership potential are inadequately trained for service on policy-advisory and/or policy-making boards and commissions or in elected office.