U.S. Corporations, Labor, Non-Profit, and Media Form Partnership to Rebuild Trust in Government
New Hart/Teeter Poll Finds Majority of Young Americans Favor Reform of Government, Rather than Reduction in Size.
Twenty-two corporations, trade associations
and non-profit organizations today launched a partnership
committed to helping restore the balance between healthy skepticism
and public trust in American government. Tenneco's Dana Mead,
AFL-CIO's John Sweeney, UNCF'S Bill Gray, Discovery
Communications' Greg Moyer, and Good Housekeeping's Ellen
Levine, among others, unveiled the "Partnership for Trust in
Government," initiated by the Ford Foundation in partnership with
the Council for Excellence in Government.
The Partnership seeks to counter "government bashing" in the
media and in public discourse by raising awareness of outstanding
accomplishments in government and of government's important work.
"The Partnership represents a wide range of influential voices that
will recognize the success stories of government and the people
responsible for making this success happen," said Susan Berresford,
president of the Ford Foundation. "Through these voices, we hope
to bring some balance to public discourse by highlighting
government's accomplishments."
Emphasizing the need for this initiative, the Partnership released
results of a poll of Americans between the ages of 18 and 35
conducted by bipartisan pollsters Peter Hart and Robert Teeter.
While four out of ten young Americans (40 percent) think
government does not serve their generation as well as it did their
parents' generation, the majority do not believe that reducing
government is the answer. Sixty percent of those polled believe that
the best way to solve America's problems today is to reform and
improve government, rather than reduce its size. More than 70
percent believe that government would help their families achieve
the American dream if government had better leadership and
management.
The poll also found that young people today believe that the media
contribute significantly to the negative perception of government: 57
percent indicated that they feel the media focus too much on the
negative aspects of government and not enough on its positive
work.
"This diverse Partnership brings together an unusual group of allies,
all of them outside government, who can speak to their particular
audiences with great credibility about the benefits of effective
government," said Patricia McGinnis, president and CEO of the
Council for Excellence in Government. "We hope that initiatives like
the Partnership for Trust in Government will speed the day when
young people's heroes will be the scientists, engineers, police
officers, teachers, and many other dedicated people who work in
American government."
Member organizations of the Partnership will provide young people
"and all Americans across the country" with positive information
about government and its accomplishments that is missing from
current public discourse. Partner organizations will use their own
communications channels, rather than rely exclusively on the mass
media, to raise awareness of government's important work. (A list of
Partner organizations is attached.) Each Partner will share with its
customers, members and employees information on creative best
practices in government and how these serve all Americans. Among
these initiatives:
- IBM and Harvard's Kennedy School of Government will host
a conference on government application of information
technology to solve problems and build a more informed
society;
- Good Housekeeping will recognize outstanding women in
public service through a reader-nominated awards program;
- Discovery Communications is creating a film about
government, seen through the eyes of public servants, for its
"Destination DC" flagship store in Washington, D.C.;
- Girl Scouts can earn a "Partners for Trust in Government"
patch by identifying effective local government programs
and learning about public service; and
- The Conference Board issued a report at the launch on best
practices found in business and government partnerships.
This report, which provides analysis and case studies
illustrating how these partnerships can work, will be updated
annually.
The Partnership launch also featured a panel discussion, led by
CNN's Judy Woodruff, to address the issue of confidence in
government.
Partner CEOs addressed the importance of communicating about
government effectiveness, raising standards of excellence in
government, and attracting youth to careers in public service.
According to one of the panelists, Dana Mead, chairman and CEO of
Tenneco, Inc.: "It's critical that we engage young Americans in a
discussion about the role of government and remind them of the
national accomplishments in which government has played a leading
role. I believe that the dialogue generated by the 'Partnership for
Trust in Government' will improve public perception about our
government's effectiveness at solving problems and helping
people."
Information about the Partnership for Trust in Government is now
available at a new Web site, www.trustingov.org, which offers
highlights of Partnership initiatives and government
accomplishments.
The Partnership for Trust in Government was initiated by the Ford
Foundation in partnership with the Council for Excellence in
Government. The Ford Foundation, established in 1936, is a private,
nonprofit institution that serves as a resource for innovative people
and institutions worldwide. Its goals are to strengthen democratic
values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international
cooperation, and advance human achievement. A national and
international philanthropy with assets of $9.2 billion, the Foundation
has granted more than $9 billion to some 9,000 institutions and
100,000 individuals worldwide.
The Council for Excellence in Government is a national, nonprofit,
nonpartisan organization whose 700 members are former senior
public-sector officials currently in leadership roles in corporate and
other private-sector institutions. Its mission is to improve the
performance of government by strengthening results-oriented
management and creative leadership in the public sector and to build
confidence in and understanding of government by focusing public
discussion on its role and responsibilities.
Partnership for Trust in Government:
AFL-CIO, Alcoa, American Medical Association, Association of
Youth Museums, The Conference Board, Discovery
Communications, Inc., Edison International, GEICO Corp., Girl
ScoutsUSA, Good Housekeeping, IBM Corp., The League of
Women Voters, MTV Networks, National Council of the Churches of
Christ in the USA, National Council of La Raza, National Urban
League, Natural Resources Defense Council, Scholastic, Inc.,
Tenneco, Inc., Union of American Hebrew Congregations, The
United Negro College Fund, YWCA of the U.S.A.
For more information on the Partnership for Trust in Government and
the Hart/Teeter youth poll, please call Kathy Mimberg at
202/467-6600 or Sally Sachar at 202/728-0418.
Additional information can also be accessed at our Web site at http://www.trustingov.org
The Ford Foundation is an independent, nonprofit grant-making organization. For more than half a century it has been a resource for innovative people and institutions worldwide, guided by its goals of strengthening democratic values, reducing poverty and injustice, promoting international cooperation and advancing human achievement. With headquarters in New York, the foundation has offices in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, and Russia.