About The Volcker AllianceThe Volcker Alliance was launched in 2013 to address the challenge of effective execution of public policies and to help rebuild public trust in government. The nonpartisan Alliance works toward that broad objective by partnering with other organizations -- academic, business, governmental, and public interest -- to strengthen professional education for public service, conduct needed research on government performance, and improve the efficiency and accountability of governmental organization at the federal, state, and local levels.Volcker AllianceVA2_0735fe24-94ce-11e6-9649-044d742aff29Volcker Alliance Board of DirectorsPaul A. VolckerChairmanSheila BairDirectorCharles BowsherDirectorMichael BradfieldGeneral Counsel, DirectorWilliam BradleyDirectorThomas M. DavisDirectorWilliam H. DonaldsonDirectorAnthony J. DowdTreasurer, DirectorShirley Clarke FranklinDirectorFrancis FukuyamaDirectorNorman J. OrnsteinDirectorRichard RavitchDirectorWilliam RhodesDirectorAlice M. RivlinDirectorAnthony WaltonDirectorVolcker Alliance Advisers & FellowsDonald F. KettlNonresident Senior FellowPaul C. LightSpecial Adviser to the ChairmanShelley H. MetzenbaumNonresident Senior FellowKatherine Barrett Special Project ConsultantRichard GreeneSpecial Project ConsultantVolcker Alliance StaffThomas W. RossPresidentMelissa AustinProject Manager, State and Local ProgramEmily BoltonDirector, Communications and DevelopmentTali ChazanChief of StaffElizabeth DonnellyOffice ManagerKaeleigh ForsythCommunications AssistantWilliam GlasgallDirector, State and Local ProgramMelanie MarthaExecutive Assistant to the ChairmanMaggie MelloProject Manager, Public Service Excellence ProgramPeter MorrisseyProgram Associate, Public Service Excellence ProgramPradeep NairDirector, Public Service Excellence ProgramHenry OwensResearch Assistant, Financial Regulation ProgramAmy SmithermanDirector, Finance and Human ResourcesGaurav VasishtDirector, Financial Regulation ProgramNoah A. Winn-RitzenbergProgram Associate, State and Local Program_07360040-94ce-11e6-9649-044d742aff29To address the challenge of effective execution of public policies and help rebuild public trust in government._0736013a-94ce-11e6-9649-044d742aff29TrustTrust in the American government has been declining for decades. Trust rests on confidence and too often government, at all levels, in the eyes of its citizens, has been unable to respond effectively to the challenges of the day.ImplementationThere is an urgent need to restore trust and pride in the way our public institutions implement policies -- from the White House and Congress to statehouses, cities, and towns across our country and in democracies around the world.EffectivenessWe need to pay more attention to how things work, to how policies are administered, to how we can combine effectiveness with implementation, to how private initiatives and incentives can be allied with public purpose.PracticalityWe need to proceed with the practical understanding of what needs to be done to implement policy -- appropriate administrative arrangements, trained managers, smart technologies and technical expertise, strong incentives for public service rather than private gain -- while recognizing the contribution that private markets can provide.ActionThese are matters that should rightly command our attention. But, with exceptions, they do not.It is time to do something about it.Public Service ExcellenceDevelop more efficient and effective management practices in all levels of government._073601f8-94ce-11e6-9649-044d742aff291The central focus of the Volcker Alliance is to sustain public service excellence by drawing attention to the need for strong professional education and relevant research. To that end, the Public Service Excellence Program collaborates with interested universities and governments. The objective is to help build a highly capable public service, ready and able to efficiently carry out effective public policies at all levels of government. Launched in 2015, this program works to enhance the role of schools of public policy and administration as beacons of public service education and research. The Alliance partners with these schools to execute specific projects designed to determine how best to educate, train, and motivate the current and next generation of great public administrators.Government agencies at all levels face management challenges of immense scale and complexity. Far too often, management failures have contributed to the often expressed sense that government can’t be trusted. Through both their teaching and their research, professional schools that prepare people for public service should be a powerful lever for strengthening government administration. Schools can work with practitioners to identify critical skills and knowledge and develop educational offerings to meet distinct public service challenges. Their research agendas can suggest innovative solutions to the increasingly complex challenge of effectively executing government programs and policies.The Alliance's Public Service Excellence program works with schools, government agencies, and other nonprofit and private organizations that share our concerns in the following areas:CurriculumReview public administration curriculum with respect to the need to meet current and to anticipate future trends in public programs._073602b6-94ce-11e6-9649-044d742aff291.1Education for public service needs to be forward-looking and have closer alignment with the requirements of a dynamic market.Specifically, the broad objective is to review public administration curriculum with respect to the need to meet current and to anticipate future trends in public programs. Gaps that demand attention nationally and perhaps globally need to be identified. Better understanding of what constitutes a state-of-the-art public administration and management education should be a continuing goal. Several small projects have been undertaken to help lay the groundwork for broader cooperation with leading schools of public policy and administration.Key Competencies for Effective Public ProcurementExamine the skills and knowledge requirements for the public procurement workforce and describe the nature of the gaps between supply and demand._0736036a-94ce-11e6-9649-044d742aff291.1.1Future of Public Service EducationConduct a detailed study to understand the future trends in public service skills and competencies (pre-career and career) and how providers of this education can be better prepared to be the vanguards of change._0736041e-94ce-11e6-9649-044d742aff291.1.2Research & PracticeBridge the Gap Between Research and Practice._073604e6-94ce-11e6-9649-044d742aff291.2Schools of public service as well as governments stand to gain from closer collaboration between scholars and practitioners. The Alliance promotes academia and practitioner engagement to make public management research more applicable, relevant, and accessible to both official practitioners and the broader public.Tenure & Promotion Guidelines StudyGain insight into how schools of public policy and administration balance consideration of faculty scholarship, teaching, and service to ensure an appropriate balance in policy-relevant research and education for public leaders._0736059a-94ce-11e6-9649-044d742aff291.2.1Financial RegulationIdentify gaps in financial regulation that contribute to systemic risk and to set out policy options designed to mitigate those risks._07360658-94ce-11e6-9649-044d742aff292Nonbank Financial InstitutionsThe Financial Regulation Program is currently conducting a study on mitigating systemic risk in the financial markets. Areas of concern include heavy reliance by nonbank financial institutions, such as broker-dealers and hedge funds, on short-term funding techniques; liquidity and redemption risk in the asset management industry, which has grown and changed significantly in recent years; the concentration of systemic risk in central counterparty clearing following the passage of central clearing requirements under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010; and the prevalence of algorithmic and high-frequency trading firms in Treasury and equities markets. A report on this project is expected to be released in 2016.Broker-DealersHedge FundsThe Volcker Alliance's Financial Regulation Program focuses on the legal and administrative structures for financial regulators and supervisors. The Alliance's interest in this area stems primarily from the longstanding concerns of founder and chairman, Paul A. Volcker, about the regulation of financial markets and lapses in oversight, the 2008 crisis, and markets’ growing complexity.Specifically, the program seeks to identify gaps in regulation that contribute to systemic risk and to set out policy options designed to mitigate those risks. In fulfilling this mission, the program will call attention to financial system innovations, which may give rise to concerns about financial stability.The program's inaugural report, Reshaping the Financial Regulatory System: Long-Delayed, Now Crucial, issued in April 2015, studied the highly fragmented system for regulating financial institutions in the United States. The report offered a vision for reform that would modernize the regulatory framework and create a simpler, more resilient regime better able to adapt to the evolving financial landscape._07360720-94ce-11e6-9649-044d742aff29State & Local GovernmentsAddress challenges to execution of public policies in state and local governments._073607e8-94ce-11e6-9649-044d742aff293Local GovernmentsState GovernmentsThe Volcker Alliance's State and Local Program addresses specific challenges of effective execution of public policies that arise in state and local governments. To that end, the Alliance partners with other organizations -- academic, business, governmental, and public interest -- to conduct needed research on government performance and improve the efficiency, transparency, and accountability of governmental organization at the state and local levels.Budgeting, Financial Reporting & Fiscal PracticesStudy state and local budgeting, financial reporting, and fiscal practices across the United States._073608a6-94ce-11e6-9649-044d742aff293.1State Budget Crisis Task ForceThe project builds on the work of the State Budget Crisis Task Force, chaired by Alliance founder Paul A. Volcker and Richard Ravitch ...Richard Ravitchan Alliance director and, from 2011 to 2014, lieutenant governor of New York.Municipal Market Analytics Inc.The Alliance is collecting and analyzing data for this project in partnership with university partners and Municipal Market Analytics Inc., a leading independent financial consulting firm based in Concord, Massachusetts.CaliforniaIn its initial report, Truth and Integrity in State Budgeting: Lessons from Three States, issued in June 2015, the Alliance reviewed budgeting and financial reporting practices in California, New Jersey, and Virginia. It also established a preliminary set of reporting principles to better assure the clarity and integrity of financial practices in all states. Truth and Integrity includes a preliminary budget report card demonstrating how the three reviewed states were trending against a specific set of budget practices in 2013, 2014, and 2015.New JerseyVirginiaFederal Reserve Bank of New YorkAmong the Alliance's recommendations are improved budget transparency, including whether and how one-time sources are used to plug general fund deficits; better revenue forecasting and rainy day fund procedures; and disclosure of borrowing to cover budget gaps. As part of the project, the Alliance in 2015 released a working paper, Beyond the Basics: Best Practices in State Budget Transparency, and cosponsored two conferences on state and local fiscal transparency and stress with the Federal Reserve Banks of New York and Chicago.Federal Reserve Bank of ChicagoThe Truth and Integrity in Government Finance project is a multiyear study of state and local budgeting, financial reporting, and fiscal practices across the United States...The project will analyze the budget practices of all 50 states, providing a firm basis for grading their budgeting performance and financial reporting in areas including clarity and integrity. 2016-10-17https://www.volckeralliance.org/about-volcker-allianceOwenAmburOwen.Ambur@verizon.net