IU Public Policy Institute, WFYI partner to highlight state's policy choices
INDIANAPOLIS — Getting Hoosiers to talk about the issues facing the state is now easier with “Public Policy Caffeinated,” a new Web-based video series by the IU Public Policy Institute and WFYI Public Media.
Set in a coffee shop and featuring three Public Policy Institute staff members, the series offers brief, straightforward and spin-free conversations about important policy matters and the options Hoosiers face. It’s being produced by WFYI Productions, a video production entity of WFYI Public Media, Central Indiana’s leading public broadcasting resource.
“So many policy discussions are either politically spun or so confusing that they offer little in the way of useful information to the general public,” said IU Public Policy Institute Director John Krauss, who is joined in the taped conversations by Policy Analysts John Marron and Drew Klacik. “We want these short videos to help people understand the issues and options facing the state.”
A second video entitled “Risk Management” highlights the benefits and drawbacks of suburban areas. Both conversations are now available here:
In the first video, Krauss, Marron and Klacik discuss infrastructure, acknowledging, among other things, that the very definition of infrastructure has changed over the years, as have the public’s expectations about the costs of infrastructure and how it should be funded. If the state is to continue to prosper, they say, it must acknowledge the changes in infrastructure and infrastructure policy, and deal with them.
“Ignoring change is really, really easy,” Klacik says in the infrastructure video. “If you’re going to make good public policy, you need to understand change and you want to use that change to provide opportunities to make progress.”
WFYI partnered with the Public Policy Institute as part of its effort to provide more information to its viewers in easily accessible formats.
“Because Public Affairs is one of our areas of strategic focus, we strive to work with organizations that know how to frame important discussions in an approachable manner,” said Lloyd Wright, WFYI Public Media President and CEO. “Working with PPI, we can generate more thoughtful and deliberative discussions, and perhaps set a higher bar for policy makers, as well.”
The IU Public Policy Institute delivers unbiased research and data-driven, objective, expert analysis to help public, private, and nonprofit sectors make important decisions that directly impact quality of life in Indiana and throughout the nation. Using the knowledge and expertise of our staff and faculty, we provide research and analysis that is free of political and ideological bias, and that addresses a wide range of issues to deliver data and insights needed to make informed decisions. We help leaders, citizens, businesses, and organizations solve problems, seize opportunities, and effect positive change. A multidisciplinary institute within the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs, our efforts also support the Indiana Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations.
WFYI is one of the country’s leading public broadcasting resources. WFYI Productions taps into WFYI’s family of award-winning storytellers, to produce programs, documentaries, and videos of the highest quality for its clients and partners.
Media Contacts
Richard Schneider
- Indianapolis
- Office 317-278-4564
- rcschnei@iu.edu
Ronnetta Spalding
- IU Public Policy Institute
- Office 317-261-3005
- rsspaldi@iupui.edu
