94-06-24 New Virginia Institute of Government, Established by the General Assembly, Will Offer Assistance to Governors

NEW VIRGINIA INSTITUTE OF GOVERNMENT, ESTABLISHED BY GENERAL ASSE
MBLY, WILL OFFER ASSISTANCE TO GOVERNMENTS THROUGHOUT THE STATE

     CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., June 27 -- A Virginia Institute of Government,
aimed at
helping meet the increasingly complex and pressing needs of governments
throughout the state,
was established here today at a meeting of state officials and local
government and higher
education representatives.
     "Virginia governments in the 1990s are having to deal with an
overwhelming maze of
information and to keep up with rapid advances in knowledge," said State Sen.
Hunter B.
Andrews of Hampton, a key proponent of the institute.  "At a time when
governments are
having to do more with less, we want to help them create high-performance
organizations and
make the best uses of new information technology."
     The institute, authorized by the 1994 General Assembly and to be based
at the
Richmond office of the University of Virginia's Weldon Cooper Center for
Public Service, has
three broad aims:  to develop a comprehensive training and technical
assistance program for
local government officials; to develop a technical library and electronic
data base of the most
current information needed by governments; and to supply other special
information to state
and local officials on various aspects of government as they need it.
     Supported with a two-year, $525,000 state general-fund appropriation and
a matching
amount to be raised from other sources, the program was sought by a coalition
of local
government organizations to meet a growing need for technical assistance and
training
opportunities, said Hampton City Manager Robert O'Neill, immediate past
president of the
Virginia Local Government Management Association.   "As a broker for services
and resources,
the institute will help to strengthen collaboration between universities and
governments," O'Neill
said.
     The institute will work closely with programs at various agencies and
institutions
throughout the state to help coordinate, promote and deliver services as
widely as possible,
O'Neill added.  The comprehensive training curriculum could be offered
through both existing
and new programs, including state and local agencies, institutions of higher
education, and
professional associations and other organizations.Development of a data
library will begin
with an inventory of current information bases around the state and
development of new ways to
share that information more widely, including electronic networks.
     Carl W. Stenberg III, director of U.Va.'s Cooper Center for Public
Service, has named
professor Robert E. Matson as transition director of the new institute until
a permanent director
is selected.   Matson, a former director of the Federal Executive Institute,
was honored last year
by the International City/County Management Association for significant
contributions to local
government management-education.
     The institute's advisory board will include six state legislators; six
appointees from the
executive branch, including two cabinet officials appointed by the governor
and four
representatives of  higher education; and six members from local government,
including
appointees from the Virginia Municipal League, Virginia Association of
Counties, Virginia
Local Government Management Association, Virginia Association of Locally
Elected
Constitutional Officers, and Virginia Local Government Attorneys Association.
     "The University of Virginia, which has hosted the state's annual Local
Government
Officials' Conference for some four decades, is pleased to be affiliated with
this new institute,"
said U.Va. President John T. Casteen III.  "It should be an excellent way for
Virginia's
universities to join talents and resources for the benefit of governments and
the citizens they
serve."
     The Institute of Government will be holding meetings at seven locations
around the state
in August to identify specific needs of each region.  For more information
call the Cooper
Center for Public Service at (804) 692-0126.
                               ###
                                                    June 27, 1994

     FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONTACT: Carl W. Stenberg III or Robert E.
Matson at (804) 982-5522 or (804) 692-0126.

Karen A. Castle
University News Office
kac@uva.pcmail.virginia.edu
(804) 924-7116


[Submitted by: Karen A. Castle  (kac@uva.pcmail.virginia.edu)
               Thu, 14 Jul 94 16:26:39 EDT]