If Local Governments Could Get Research on [Blank], What Would They Want — A Workshop Summary Part Two
MetroLab is continuing to work with communities as we learn of local governments’ research needs. This past month MetroLab hosted a workshop with a wider audience at the 2024, Annual Summit in Washington, D.C. This interactive session included city staff, academic researchers, and community organizations from across the United States as well as internationally. The breadth of geographic diversity upholds our important goal of including representation of the type MetroLab has sought to bring together to build this trusted national policy document.
This workshop affirmed several take-aways from the previous convenings and conversations which the MetroLab team has been conducting. First, state & local policy makers are craving research to help direct and bolster their work of improving the lives of their residents. Second, these policy makers need to be brought in on the ground floor of this research, ensuring their research outputs are compatible with local governments’ needs and processes. Third, the academic community is hungry to collaborate with their colleagues in state & local government through meaningful research which makes a tangible difference in their communities. Fourth, and most importantly, despite the geographic and economic differences of the communities they represent, these state & local officials are grappling with starkly similar policy challenges for which they’re craving research assistance.
In early November, the MetroLab team will be traveling to Lincoln, Nebraska; where, in collaboration with the Office of the Mayor and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, we will be moderating an interactive workshop to identify the research needs of the City of Lincoln, NE. During her tenure, Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird has focused her administration on enhancing both traditional and technological infrastructure to support economic growth and community resilience. As part of this effort, she serves on the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) Advisory Board and chairs the USCM Mayors and Metro Universities Task Force. Similarly, during his tenure leading the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (Nebraska’s flagship Big Ten research university), Chancellor Dr. Rodney D. Bennett has emphasized the role UNL can play in advancing research with the potential to meaningfully impact communities throughout Nebraska and on future generations.
All of us at MetroLab Network are grateful to Mayor Gaylor Baird and Chancellor Bennett for their collaboration in bringing together this meaningful convening, where we will explore the research needs of Lincoln, discuss how to leverage the research capabilities of local academic institutions and inform the National Local Government R&D Agenda.
Local governments and academic institutions who would like to become involved in this effort should visit our website to fill out an interest form, or contact the Local Gov R&D team at info@metrolabnetwork.org.
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MetroLab Network is set to develop a Local Government Research and Development Agenda to identify the research needs of local governments. The agenda will both inform congressional policy makers and federal agencies and help address those issues by providing local governments with actionable research, science and technology. Inspired by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy’s R&D Priority Agenda, MetroLab’s ultimate goal is to build an R&D Agenda which serves as a trusted national policy document for local leaders and a roadmap of needed funding opportunities for congressional policy makers and federal agencies.
