Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Institute of Politics

From Clarke Thomas's op-ed this morning regarding bills -- big bills -- that are about to come due for Pennsylvania:
"The Institute of Politics at the University of Pittsburgh is shepherding dialogue sessions to determine future action."

He's not talking about all of the problems he lists; this sentence refers specifically to water/sewer problems in Western PA. Still, it highlights an organization -- the Institute of Politics -- that deserves a little attention.

The Institute of Politics is an innocuous sounding organization that lives in and on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh. According to its website,
The Institute of Politics has been and will continue to serve as a regional catalyst, bringing public and private sector leaders together in private sessions to focus on issues of significance to western Pennsylvania. This strategy requires the development of seminars and other discussions which are regional, intergovernmental, interdisciplinary, non-partisan, and, off the record.

and
Institute programs are by named invitation only.

Because everything is off the record, the Institute does not publish detailed reports about what happens at its programs. It does publish summary reports, which are available online. However:
  • The programs are designed to address and to produce agendas for action regarding public policy, and

  • They are designed for participation by leading public officials in the region.

2 comments:

Mark Rauterkus said...

Elitist....

Ivory Tower....

Old School, back-room dealers wheelers...

Cronie Incubator....

Closed minded...

The closed door approach is great for getting funding from the Hillmans. Ugh.

Pitt has been a big part of the problem of Pittsburgh.

Thanks for pointing out the design that fights against any open-door policy and without documentation and minutes.

Heck, the UPMC Board used to be FACELESS too. This is exactly what we don't need.

Anonymous said...

sounds like our own l'il bilderberger group..our own l'il trilateralist commission...how neat...how cool...can i attend?