Arizona Governance and Policy 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'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.

The Arizona Governance and Policy Academy hosts educational sessions for lawmakers and their staff on public policy matters impacting the state. We host webinars on timely topics throughout the year, and our signature event is the Summer Policy Retreat.

Each year in mid-August, the Arizona Governance and Policy Academy hosts an intensive two-day Summer Policy Retreat for elected officials and their staff. Over two half day sessions, attendees learn about the latest policy research from Morrison Institute's research team, broader ASU faculty, and practitioners in the field. The topics covered adapt based on the current issues and opportunities in the state, but content is always non-partisan and research-based. The Summer Policy Retreat offers an environment where elected officials and staffers from across the state can network and learn together in a bipartisan environment.

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 mission of the Policy Academy has since evolved to serve state legislators, municipal elected officials, and their policy staff to provide them with cutting-edge policy research to better inform their decision-making in support of a prosperous Arizona.

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