ANALYSIS

A center for Local Government and Geographical Analysis will meet the needs of local governments in Western Michigan and allow for the development of the Public Administration and Geography programs at FSU.  This center will primarily serve the following specific demonstrated needs: land use planning, citizen surveys, and grant proposals.  Research and training support to local government units on the use of geographic information systems (GIS) will be provided.

With increasing devolution of power to local governments (witness the attempt to pass Proposal B on the ballot) and with the increasing professionalization of local governments, our center will serve as a clearinghouse for governmental innovations (e.g., the most serious local government problem is stretching tax dollars) and will conduct requested research projects (e.g., a trial revenue forecasting project).

FSU faculty in Political Science and Geography have a history of working with local governments in Michigan.  Since local government employees need to update skills or engage in continuing education, we plan to offer specialized courses as well as requested research and information gathering.  The center will provide an excellent base for funded and faculty-guided student research.  Research outputs and past-project reports of the center will be used to link theories learned in class to real-world situations.  Soon we will have a web site that will also include a mapping of land use county by county.  Also our citizen quality of life survey and results completed in 1993 for the City of Big Rapids will be posted as a model for survey research.

Dr. Donald Roy and Dr. Richard Griffin, Political Science/Public Administration
Dr. Renato Cerdeņa, Geography