Arizona Governance and Policy Academy

Welcome to the Arizona Governance and Policy Academy

The Arizona Governance and Policy Academy provides non-partisan educational tools and organizes instructional events that provide elected officials and policy staff with information and skills to make decisions that impact Arizonans.

About the Academy

The Arizona Governance and Policy Academy focuses on providing background on reoccurring issues that Arizona policymakers must confront, as well as emerging policy issues that can be seen on the horizon. The Academy will also provide newly elected officials with tools to succeed as first-time lawmakers. The Academy’s connection to Arizona’s public universities provides unique access to research and insight on the most important issues facing the state. The Arizona Governance and Policy Academy is committed to non-partisan research and objective analysis.

History of the Academy

The Arizona Governance and Policy Academy builds upon the success of the Arizona Legislative Academy. The Legislative Academy, created in 2017, was designed to help first-time elected officials quickly grasp the processes, culture, communications, and interactions related to service in the state legislature. The Arizona Governance and Policy Academy will expand its offerings to additional groups of elected officials and their staff.

Sponsorship

The Arizona Governance and Policy Academy is supported with funding from APS.

Academy Events

The Arizona Governance and Policy Academy puts on educational sessions for lawmakers and their staff on public policy matters impacting the state. Our events fall into the four categories described below.

Policy Spotlight

Policy Spotlight sessions are one-hour meetings that highlight recent public policy trends or research — with an emphasis on delivering new information from one of Arizona’s public universities. 

 

Issue Deep Dive

The issue deep dive is a day-long session designed to help policymakers and their staff better understand the history of an issue area and how specific public policies work in Arizona. 

 

Summer Summit

The Summer Summit is a multi-day series that highlights public policy issues with an eye toward professional development and continuing education for policy staff.

Summer Summit 2021 Badge

The Summer Summit 2021 included these presentations: 

  1. An Unaffordable Housing Market: The Problem, Causes, and Potential Solutions — Presented by Katie Gentry, research analyst at Arizona State University’s Morrison Institute for Public Policy, on August 11, 2021.
  2. The 40-Year Journey: Issues Facing Children in Family Court — Presented by Hon. Bruce R. Cohen, presiding judge of the Family Department of the Maricopa County Superior Court, on August 17, 2021.
  3. Drivers of Arizona’s Economy & Public Finance — Presented by Dennis Hoffman, director of the L. William Seidman Research Institute at the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, on August 19, 2021.
  4. Reflecting on 2020-2021 U.S. Supreme Court Term — Presented by Joshua Sellers, associate professor of law at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, on September 9, 2021.

 

New Legislature Forum

The New Legislature Forum takes place before each legislative session (every other year) to provide new legislators with helpful policy content and background to better prepare them for serving as elected officials.