Toolkit

La Follette Forum to address how implementation of public services affects trust in government

The 2023 La Follette Forum: All Policy is Implementation will convene leaders across sectors and levels of government to discuss collaborating effectively to deliver high-quality public services. Forum sessions will focus on real-world examples of successful implementation strategies, with keynote addresses by former White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card and political commentator and former MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry.

The forum, which will take place on March 1 at the Monona Terrace and will be livestreamed, will explore the relationship between the implementation of public services and citizens’ trust in government. Attendees will have the chance to hear solution-based discussions from subject-area experts and Wisconsin-based panelists and participate in small group discussions over lunch.

During the three main discussion sessions, experts and attendees will examine:

• successful responses to the COVID-19 pandemic,
• how to ensure that diverse voices are represented in decision-making, and
• examples of collaborating across levels of government to combat substance abuse.

Andrew Card, who will kick off the event as the morning keynote speaker, served as White House Chief of Staff under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2006. He led a government-wide organization to best allocate resources to deal with the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. He also served as U.S. Secretary of Transportation under President H. W. Bush.

The forum will close with a keynote address by Melissa Harris-Perry, the host and managing editor of The Takeaway, a daily public radio broadcast that features critical conversations about world, national, and regional news. Harris-Perry also serves as the Maya Angelou Presidential Chair at Wake Forest University where she teaches courses on American politics and elections at the intersections of race, place, and gender. From 2012-2016, she hosted the television show “Melissa Harris-Perry” on MSNBC.

Associate Professor Manny Teodoro, who recently released a new book on why confidence in public services like drinking water is crucial to the strength of our democracy, will serve as chair of the forum. Recordings of each session will be available to watch after the event on the La Follette School’s YouTube channel. This event is generously funded by the Kohl Initiative.

To find more information and to register, visit go.wisc.edu/LaFolletteForum.