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Conference History
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The first Colorado's Future conference was
convened by the
Center for Colorado Policy Studies at the University of
Colorado-Colorado Springs in September 2002. Academic researchers
from campuses across the state met with policymakers, stakeholders
and interested citizens on the theme How Can We Meet the Needs of
a Changing State? Topics ranged from rural change to inner-city |
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redevelopment, from sustainability to school
finance and from economics to education.
Building on the success of the inaugural conference, the discussion
continued in 2003 with
Challenge of Change. Convening at CU-Colorado Springs once
again, conversations explored new topics such as the effect of term
limits on policymaking, growth and water issues, as well as the
interaction between science and public policy. In 2004,
Economic Development and Public Policy discussed the topic
of how Colorado 's research universities are vital to the state's
economic future and how the wealth of specialized knowledge at
Colorado's universities can be integrated and disseminated to enrich
state and local economic development and inform public policy. The
most recent forum in 2005, entitled
Can Affordable Health Care Be Quality Care? concentrated on
the growing need to properly balance budgetary constraints while
offering citizens access to quality universal health care. Each
speaker addressed different ways to get true increases in efficiency
while holding firm on rising costs.
Whatever the subject we rarely have a shortage of opinion in
Colorado! There is usually at least one group lobbying for or
against any position. But timely, objective, high quality analysis
is often in short supply. Today, it is more important than ever for
elected officials, their staffs, and interested citizens to have the
best information available when they make their decisions.
Researchers from Colorado universities are helping to fill that void
and benefiting from the interchange of ideas at these annual
conferences.
Following four years of strong participation from researchers at
Colorado State University and CU-Colorado Springs in the Colorado's
Future conferences, the Colorado Institute of Public Policy at CSU
was delighted to be the primary host of the 2006 conference,
Taking the Plunge: Research as a Tool for Water Stakeholders.
The one-day conference on October 6, 2006 focused on identifying
what information is critical, understanding how best to use research
and limitations with water basin assessments as well as negotiating
differences among various interests.
We hope to continue this partnership of bringing policymakers,
citizens and researchers together in the future. You can access
papers from prior years on the Center for Colorado Policy Studies at
http://web.uccs.edu/ccps or the Colorado Institute of Public
Policy at
http://www.cipp.colostate.edu/index.html |
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