Public Policy Education Program

The Pat Brown Institute’s Public Policy Education Program serves as the umbrella for the Annual California Policy Issues Conference, California Agenda, policy briefs and white papers.  This program is made possible through a generous grant from the James Irvine Foundation.

Working in the bipartisan spirit of Governor Brown, the Institute’s Public Policy Education Program (PPEP) serves as the vehicle to convene, educate and involve a diverse group of California decision-makers from across the sectors on timely and significant regional and statewide public policy issues through information sharing, dialogue and debate.  

Each year, the California Policy Issues Conference, the annual anchor of PPEP, engages Californians across the sectors in spirited discussions, debate and dialogue on the most significant public policy issues of the day. The one-day conference focuses on governance and civil society issues and reaches a live audience of approximately 300 people, and an additional 5,000 through cable broadcast and other media coverage. Filmed versions of the conference are made available for extended community and classroom audiences and printed highlights are made available to a broad leadership audience in California through the PBI website and our California Policy Issues Annual publication. In 2006, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger provided the keynote address, speaking on the future of California ’s infrastructure needs. The conference is preceded by a pre-conference reception that is well attended as a high profile event in itself.  

The California Agenda is another key element of PPEP. The purpose of the California Agenda is to educate and engage California leaders and individuals from across the sectors on significant state, regional and local public policy issues. The California Agenda series consists of eight public policy forums that focus on issues of significance to California, reaching 80 to 100 attendees per lecture and an extended manuscript and media coverage audience of an additional 5,000. Recent lecture and panel discussion topics have included education in Los Angeles, transportation, immigration, housing, economic and community development, environmental justice and infrastructure, and health.  

Public Policy Briefs parallel the California Agenda, serving as a tool to better comprehend public policy issues. Six policy briefs are published yearly, illuminating key public policy issues, providing case study and best practices examples, and well-considered policy recommendations. The briefs are made available via the PBI website and are downloaded on average 1,000 times.  

The PPEP's newest program addition is the Public Policy Roundtable Series. We offer six Roundtable meetings per year that bring together elected officials and their staffs with scholars, practitioners, invited community stakeholders and other policy institutes, for a lively discussion focusing on public policy issues pertaining to California. These intimate sessions convene 25 participants at a time, allowing for a more direct exchange of ideas. The speaker writes and disseminates a policy "white paper" prior to the roundtable session, including policy recommendations, which serves as the basis for conversation at the roundtable. The Roundtable series expands PBI’s relationships and reach to key policymakers. It also facilitates discussion among and between the staffs of elected officials who might not otherwise have a working relationship.