Recent
DPPI
Projects
Choices for
Delaware: Life and the Economy in the Year 2000 and Beyond
began in 1998 as a two year-study to examine
several major issues that have significant importance to the
economy of the State of Delaware in its efforts to maximize job
growth and provide efficient delivery of government services
while maintaining the quality of life Delawareans have come to
enjoy in the last twenty years.
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Choices for Delaware: The Future of Land Use and Infrastructure:
In the spring of 1997, the Governor and the House of
Representatives asked the DPPI to facilitate a summit and study
process that would involve participants from major stakeholder
groups statewide in developing a framework to guide difficult
land-use and infrastructure policy-setting for the next five
years. The mission of the land use project was to determine how
best to match infrastructure resources with land-use policy and
to redefine the respective governance roles of the counties and
the state. The study generated 11 bills to be considered by the
General Assembly in 1998.
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How Delaware Compares:
Expanded to include additional indices, this comprehensive
abstract comparing Delaware’s quality of life indicators with
the rest of the nation provides the structure for an informed
public policy agenda. How Delaware Compares has proved to be a
successful tool over the years in spurring debate and
facilitating solutions to problems facing the state and its
populous.
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Competition & Privatization Options: Enhancing Efficiency &
Effectiveness in State Government: With increased
pressures to deliver services in a time of shrinking budgets,
governments are considering what functions might be better
assigned to the private sector. In conjunction with the Delaware
Public Administration Institute and the State of Delaware, the
DPPI cosponsored a 1996 conference that examined the following
questions: Are we overlooking government services that could or
should be privatized? What forms of privatization should be
considered? What criteria should be used to evaluate services?
What constraints exist on the privatization of services in
Delaware?
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Preparing Delaware for a Changing Federal Government: In
the late 1990s Delaware began to experience less regulation and
fewer dollars from Washington, D.C. At the same time, the state
gained responsibility for many programs previously administered
at the federal level. To address these opportunities, the DPPI
and Delaware State Government and the University of Delaware
assembled their leaders and experts to explore the impact of
these changes in key areas such as welfare, Medicaid and
housing; education and training; transportation and
infrastructure planning; and the environment. Cabinet
secretaries and top business leaders chaired four task forces,
which spent six months researching and analyzing data in these
areas. Their findings and recommendations, presented at a 1996
conference that brought together over 600 Delawareans, were
accompanied by a broader view from several nationally known
speakers.
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Health Care Forum: This
conference exploring options for extending health care coverage
to the uninsured led to legislation passed by the Delaware
General Assembly that permits companies of 1-50 employees to
offer affordable coverage to those employees.
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Delaware Economic Summit,
co-sponsored with The News Journal, was held in 1993 and again
in 1994 to focus on improving the economic climate in the state.
Substantial progress has been made in areas recommended for
improvement, including the passage of S.B. 115, allowing
regulated telecommunications companies increased flexibility to
expand to the cutting edge of technology, streamlining zoning
and permitting processes at the county and state levels; and the
establishment by DEDO of venture capital funds and low-cost
loans to encourage the growth of existing businesses in the
state.
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Water Resources
Planning Retreat: A three-day Water Resource Planning
retreat with representatives of major stakeholder groups to
establish a process for dealing effectively with limited water
resources on a statewide basis. The conference resulted in
legislation establishing a state wastewater facilities advisory
council.
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Education: Restructuring
Conference Report: In 1995 bills were passed by the General
Assembly which permit the establishment of charter schools and
school choice programs. The milestone legislation stemmed from a
conference sponsored by DPPI, Delmarva Power and The News
Journal on “Education Restructuring.” (link to top)
1994/1995
Better Government Competition: The DPPI sponsored “Ideas
for Better Government” competitions to allow citizens to present
ideas on how to improve the delivery of government services.
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