Governing in a Polarized America: A Bipartisan Blueprint to Strengthen our Democracy

The Bipartisan Policy Center launched the Commission on Political Reform in 2013 to investigate the causes and consequences of America's partisan political divide and to advocate for specific reforms that will improve the political process and that will work in a polarized atmosphere.The commission met at public and private institutions across the country to hear from interested citizens, political leaders, and issue experts about the problems and potential solutions. It is clear that Americans are concerned about the lack of civil discourse and the increasing inability of the U.S. political system to grapple with the nation's biggest challenges. These shortcomings put the nation at risk of losing its standing in the world.This report, Governing in a Polarized America: A Bipartisan Blueprint to Strengthen our Democracy, is the culmination of the commission's public and private deliberations, butit is not the end of its work. Our recommendations provide a realistic path forward to strengthen U.S. democracy. The commission does not pretend to have discovered the cure to all that ails democracy. But, 29 Americans have come together as part of our commission to embrace a truly bipartisan reform agenda.The commission identifies reforms in three specific areas: the electoral process, the process by which Congress legislates and manages its own affairs, and the ability of Americans to plug into the nation's civic life through public service. We chose to focus on three broad areas of reform, because the polarization in the United States runs deeply through its institutions, affects the ways Americans elect political leaders and how the institutions of government operate, and even puts in danger Americans' deep-seated desire to serve their nation

Proceedings of the 3rd Biennial Conference of the Society for Implementation Research Collaboration (SIRC) 2015: advancing efficient methodologies through community partnerships and team science

It is well documented that the majority of adults, children and families in need of evidence-based behavioral health interventionsi do not receive them [1, 2] and that few robust empirically supported methods for implementing evidence-based practices (EBPs) exist. The Society for Implementation Research Collaboration (SIRC) represents a burgeoning effort to advance the innovation and rigor of implementation research and is uniquely focused on bringing together researchers and stakeholders committed to evaluating the implementation of complex evidence-based behavioral health interventions. Through its diverse activities and membership, SIRC aims to foster the promise of implementation research to better serve the behavioral health needs of the population by identifying rigorous, relevant, and efficient strategies that successfully transfer scientific evidence to clinical knowledge for use in real world settings [3]. SIRC began as a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)-funded conference series in 2010 (previously titled the “Seattle Implementation Research Conference”; $150,000 USD for 3 conferences in 2011, 2013, and 2015) with the recognition that there were multiple researchers and stakeholdersi working in parallel on innovative implementation science projects in behavioral health, but that formal channels for communicating and collaborating with one another were relatively unavailable. There was a significant need for a forum within which implementation researchers and stakeholders could learn from one another, refine approaches to science and practice, and develop an implementation research agenda using common measures, methods, and research principles to improve both the frequency and quality with which behavioral health treatment implementation is evaluated. SIRC’s membership growth is a testament to this identified need with more than 1000 members from 2011 to the present.ii SIRC’s primary objectives are to: (1) foster communication and collaboration across diverse groups, including implementation researchers, intermediariesi, as well as community stakeholders (SIRC uses the term “EBP champions” for these groups) – and to do so across multiple career levels (e.g., students, early career faculty, established investigators); and (2) enhance and disseminate rigorous measures and methodologies for implementing EBPs and evaluating EBP implementation efforts. These objectives are well aligned with Glasgow and colleagues’ [4] five core tenets deemed critical for advancing implementation science: collaboration, efficiency and speed, rigor and relevance, improved capacity, and cumulative knowledge. SIRC advances these objectives and tenets through in-person conferences, which bring together multidisciplinary implementation researchers and those implementing evidence-based behavioral health interventions in the community to share their work and create professional connections and collaborations

Bi-Weekly News Conference with Trent Lott

Bi-Weekly News Conference with Trent Lott. Topics discussed: World War II memorial; Education Bill; and energy policy

Bi-Weekly News Conference with Trent Lott

Bi-Weekly News Conference with Trent Lott. Topics discussed: Senate Judiciary Committee rejection of Judge Charles Pickering\u27s nomination and drug testing for teachers

Bi-Weekly News Conference with Trent Lott

Bi-Weekly News Conference with Trent Lott. Topics discussed: United Nations inspection for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq; Homeland Security Bill; and election of Nancy Pelosi

Bi-Weekly News Conference with Trent Lott

Bi-Weekly News Conference with Trent Lott. Topic discussed: the Farm Bill

Bi-Weekly News Conference with Trent Lott

Bi-Weekly News Conference with Trent Lott. Topics discussed: Russian and Mississippi poultry farmers dispute\u27 free trade agreement with Canada; and investigation into terrorist groups

Senator Trent Lott Speaking on Behalf of the Mississippi Farm Bureau

Senator Trent Lott encourages farmers to form political issue committees to ensure favorable legislation

Bi-Weekly News Conference with Trent Lott

Bi-Weekly News Conference with Trent Lott. Topics discussed: Homeland Security Bill; Prescription Drug Bill; military action in Iraq; chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction; anti-drug legislation; and judicial nominations

Bi-Weekly News Conference with Trent Lott

Bi-Weekly News Conference with Trent Lott. Topics discussed: 2000 census; marriage penalty tax; gas tax; Mississippi State Flag; social security; and Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)