Blogs

Elinor Ostrom: A Brief Appreciation

Submitted by Kettering Blog on Tue, 10/13/2009 - 20:36

When Elinor Ostrom of Indiana University was named a co-recipient of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, those of us at the Kettering Foundation nodded in agreement. The foundation long ago recognized the relevance of the work being done through the remarkable workshop at Indiana University that Elinor and her husband Vincent created and directed for over 30 years. They have participated in Kettering research exchanges, including a visit last December by Elinor Ostrom and her student Michael Cox at a meeting at the Mathews Conference Center.

Join the Conversation on the Future of Health Care!

Submitted by Kettering Blog on Mon, 10/05/2009 - 20:37

How can we get the health care we need? | How can we pay for it? Across the United States, people say that health care costs are too high, too many are uninsured, and too many don’t get the care they need. But what do we do about it? How can we the public make our voices heard?

Kettering Foundation's Health Care Documentary Now Online

Submitted by Kettering Blog on Fri, 09/11/2009 - 20:38

The Kettering Foundation's documentary on health care that was produced earlier this summer in conjunction with ThinkTV can now be viewed online. Coping With the Cost of Care: Where Is the Public Voice? is a half-hour long and is broken into three 10-min. segments. The documentary traces the history of the public's voice on health care, and examines the issues that people are still grappling with. The focus is not on any particular policy option, but on where citizens are in making up their minds about what is most important to preserve as we seek to gain a solution.

Deliberative Town Hall Much More Calm, Constructive Than Many Other Town Halls

Submitted by Kettering Blog on Wed, 09/09/2009 - 21:05

Many of the Town Hall meetings on health care held around the country in the last month have been mostly useless to citizens actually trying to engage with their elected representatives. Meetings designed to be discussions have degenerated into shouting matches: people on both sides of the issue come prepared, at best, to debate; at worst, to intimidate.

HHS Secretary Sebelius calls Kettering health care report "very insightful", "very useful"

Submitted by Kettering Blog on Thu, 08/13/2009 - 15:05

Following Kettering President David Mathews' White House briefing on the H1N1 pandemic flu, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius wrote to thank Mathews for what she called "very useful insights on the findings of how citizens think". "As the Administration moves forward," wrote Sebelius, "this information will be very useful as we tackle the many challenges facing our health care system."

Kettering Testing Pandemic Flu Dialogue Guide

Submitted by Kettering Blog on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 15:07

In response to concerns about the H1N1 virus as the new school year approaches, Kettering is testing a brief guide for public deliberation on the subject. Tentatively titled How Can My Family Be Protected from a Pandemic Flu: How Should We React?, the draft guide will be used in two communities in Ohio prior to further edits.

Kettering President Attends White House Meeting on Flu Pandemic

Submitted by Kettering Blog on Mon, 07/06/2009 - 15:08

David Mathews, president of the Kettering Foundation and chairman of the National Issues Forums Institute, attended a meeting at the White House on June 30 to advise President Barack Obama and members of his cabinet on dealing with the H1N1 virus, or swine flu.

New Report Analyzes Public Thinking on Health Care

Submitted by Kettering Blog on Fri, 06/26/2009 - 15:11

The American people see the nation’s health-care system as at or near the breaking point and no longer able to be sustained. This suggestion is a result of new analysis of 2008-2009 National Issues Forums on Coping with the Cost of Health Care: How Do We Pay for What We Need?

2009 Higher Education Exchange Available

Submitted by Kettering Blog on Thu, 05/28/2009 - 15:18

Every institution that has a role to play in public life must answer the question: what are you doing to support and legitimate the work of citizens as they go about creating and building democracy? Many institutions do little to support the work of citizens but there are always exceptions.

Kettering Selects New Communications Director

Submitted by Kettering Blog on Fri, 05/08/2009 - 15:20

Kettering is pleased to announce that journalist David Holwerk will join the foundation staff as director of communications in June. Holwerk, currently the president of the National Conference of Editorial Writers and editorial page editor of The Sacramento Bee, is an award-winning journalist who brings more than 30 years of journalistic experience to his new position with the Kettering Foundation.