CSUS gains new institute dedicated to county research

CSUS landed an important new research institute which will fund and perform research projects for the 58 California counties beginning this fall.

The California Institute for County Government is a partnership between the CSUS Center for California Studies, the California State Association of Counties and the CSU system. The institute will study county policy and fiscal issues, and offer training, fellowships and consulting to county governments. On-site researchers, as well as faculty and students throughout the CSU system, will provide research for the institute.

“The idea is to bring the research resources of the CSU system to bear in addressing public policy problems faced by counties,” said Matthew Newman, the institute’s director. Newman said the institute, located on the third floor of Tahoe Hall, will provide a two-way street for CSU faculty and CSAC. Faculty will be able to do research and be published, while CSAC will benefit from the information gathered.

Tim Hodson, director for the Center for California Studies, said the project began about three years ago when CSAC approached the university regarding establishing the institute on campus. Hodson said CSAC wanted to partner with a university to create an objective research center which would not reflect only CSAC’s views. CSAC, Hodson said, considered forming a partnership with UC Berkeley or UC Davis prior to coming to CSUS.

Hodson said CSUS was selected for its healthy regard for the people and governments of California, and for some of its programs. He said CSUS was also considered because of its previously successful projects with CSAC.

CSUS, Hodson said, has a number of faculty members who are experts in many fields including biology, engineering, and government, who may be able to contribute to the institute’s research. He said that very little research and publishing is being done on local governments from a statewide perspective, so this is an excellent opportunity for CSUS students and the CSU system.

“This is really good for everybody, not just the public policy administration program or the government program,” Hodson said. “This is one of the first times that a CSU campus has entered into an agreement with a statewide association to create a think tank.”

The first project the institute is working on is creating a database with information on all California counties. Newman said once the database is completed, counties will be able to do county-by-county comparisons for welfare rolls, county staffing levels and other issues. Counties can then evaluate the effectiveness of their own policies and make changes where needed.

Hodson said that faculty will benefit from this arrangement because they can receive grants to do county research they may not have been able to do elsewhere, and can get it published. Skilled and talented students, he said, will benefit from the valuable research experiences by helping out with the research.

The center will not be a place to publish studies that do not benefit county government, Hodson said. Nor will it be a place to publish artificial papers that aim to prove a political point.

There is potential, he said, for faculty outside the CSU system to perform research through the center. But when a report is to be published, only the author’s name, with the CICG and CSU logo will be on the report. The reason for this, Hodson said, is that CSUS and the CSU system are sharing half the operating costs and supplying the facilities for the center.

A five-member board of directors will oversee the institute. Two will come from CSAC and two from CSUS California Studies. These four members will select a fifth member. The center will also have an advisory board that will advise the center in research matters.

Newman said that anyone interested in working with the Institute, or wants to learn more about the program should attend a meeting from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Dec. 7 in the University Union.