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The John S. Watson Institute for Public Policy is an American non-partisan research institute on public policy located at Kean University in Union, New Jersey. The Institute is named after New Jersey Assemblyman John S. Watson, the first African American to serve as the state's Chairman of the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
Thomas Edison State College established the institute in response to the expressed needs of decision-makers across New Jersey to have a resource for researching public policy. The approach of the institute is to apply the resources of higher education to public policy decisions in a practical and hands-on manner. The institute provides practical research, technical assistance, and other expertise. It supports the capacity of decision-makers to address the most critical issues facing New Jersey. The institute's work is driven by the needs of the decision-makers themselves, not by the internal academic or political agenda of the college.
The Watson Institute places emphasis on developing long-term partnerships rather than short-term consulting relationships. The institute's goal is to support and strengthen partners' ability to address critical issues as they arise, rather than focusing narrowly on a particular crisis or "hot issue" and departing. Abstract, theoretical issues, and policy aftermaths are avoided, with the focus being on forward-looking solutions to practical issues. [1]
The work at the institute has made various types of progress in the realm of public policy.
In responding to the needs of its partners, the Watson Institute is able to access the best available resources and expertise from across the state and throughout the nation. It is able to use the college's distance learning resources and apply them to the arena of public policy. The institute makes available the academic resources, databases, and analytic tools necessary to support appropriate action and respond to specific needs. This might include research into current "best practices" in a given public policy area, a study by an available expert into the effectiveness of current systems, or the collection and analysis of key data.
The Watson Institute also provides resources other than information to its partners. This includes strategic planning and organizational development assistance, helping to secure financial or volunteer labor resources, publishing and disseminating materials, and other assistance to facilitate effective policy making and action.
The institute enhances its partners' effectiveness by creating linkages and opportunities for collaboration. This can include sponsoring informal discussions between partners, practitioners, other interested parties in specific policy areas. Through these efforts.
Initial support for The Watson Institute came from the college's operating funds, with further funds from major foundations and corporations.
Advocacy is an activity by an individual or group that aims to influence decisions within political, economic, and social institutions. Advocacy includes activities and publications to influence public policy, laws and budgets by using facts, their relationships, the media, and messaging to educate government officials and the public. Advocacy can include many activities that a person or organization undertakes, including media campaigns, public speaking, commissioning and publishing research. Lobbying is a form of advocacy where a direct approach is made to legislators on a specific issue or specific piece of legislation. Research has started to address how advocacy groups in the United States and Canada are using social media to facilitate civic engagement and collective action.
Same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in New Jersey since October 21, 2013, the effective date of a trial court ruling invalidating the state's restriction of marriage to persons of different sexes. In September 2013, Mary C. Jacobson, Assignment Judge of the Mercer Vicinage of the Superior Court, ruled that as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court's June 2013 decision in United States v. Windsor, the Constitution of New Jersey requires the state to recognize same-sex marriages. The Windsor decision held that the federal government was required to provide the same benefits to same-sex couples who were married under state law as to other married couples. Therefore, the state court reasoned in Garden State Equality v. Dow that, because same-sex couples in New Jersey were limited to civil unions, which are not recognized as marriages under federal law, the state must permit civil marriage for same-sex couples. This ruling, in turn, relied on the 2006 decision of the New Jersey Supreme Court in Lewis v. Harris that the state was constitutionally required to afford the rights and benefits of marriage to same-sex couples. The Supreme Court had ordered the New Jersey Legislature to correct the constitutional violation, by permitting either same-sex marriage or civil unions with all the rights and benefits of marriage, within 180 days. In response, the Legislature passed a bill to legalize civil unions on December 21, 2006, which became effective on February 19, 2007.
The Royal Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada, also known as the Romanow Report, is a committee study led by Roy Romanow on the future of health care in Canada. It was delivered in November 2002.
The National League of Cities (NLC) is an advocacy organization in the United States that represents the country's 19,495 cities, towns, and villages along with 49 state municipal leagues. Created in 1924, it has evolved into a leading membership organization providing education, research, support, and advocacy to city leaders across America. Based in Washington, D.C., it is considered part of the 'Big Seven', a group of organizations that represent local and state government in the United States. The NLC provides training and other resources to municipal officials, holds conferences, and advocates to the federal government on behalf of cities, towns and villages.
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The Earth Institute is a research institute at Columbia University created in 1995 for addressing complex issues facing the planet and its inhabitants, with a focus on sustainable development. With an interdisciplinary approach, this includes research in climate change, geology, global health, economics, management, agriculture, ecosystems, urbanization, energy, hazards, and water. The Earth Institute's activities are guided by the idea that science and technological tools that already exist could be applied to greatly improve conditions for the world's poor, while preserving the natural systems that support life on Earth.
The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance is an intergovernmental organization that works to support and strengthen democratic institutions and processes around the world, to develop sustainable, effective and legitimate democracies. It has regional offices in Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific, Africa and West Asia, and North America. The organization is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden.
John S. Watson was an American Democratic Party politician who served six terms in the New Jersey General Assembly, where he represented the 15th Legislative District.
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The Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy is a joint center at New York University School of Law and the NYU Wagner School of Public Service. The Furman Center was established in 1995 to create a place where people interested in affordable housing and land use issues could turn to for factual, objective research and information. Since that time, the Furman Center has become an authority on such matters in New York City. The Furman Center has a three-part mission, including providing objective academic research about land use, real estate, housing and urban affairs, with a particular focus on New York City, promoting intense debate and productive discussion among elected, academic, and industry leaders, and presenting essential data and analysis about the state of New York City's housing and neighborhoods.
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Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) is a public-benefit nonprofit corporation established in 1981 by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. Its mission is “Reinventing our economy to collaboratively advance growth and prosperity for all.” The LAEDC was originally formed to facilitate Los Angeles County's economy with programs to improve and stimulate economic development to ameliorate conditions of poverty, community tensions, and social and economic disparities.
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