UpDate - Vol. 15, No. 29, Page 2
April 25, 1996
Conference on privatization and competition

     Enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of state government
will be the focus of a Delaware Policy Forum on "Competition and
Privatization Options," scheduled for Monday, April 29, at Clayton
Hall.
     Some 150 business people, government representatives and
educators are expected to attend the day-long conference, sponsored by
the Delaware Public Administration Institute in the University's
College of Urban Affairs and Public Policy, the Delaware Public Policy
Institute and Delaware state government.
     According to a recent study, 90 percent of state agencies across
the nation are using some form of privatization.
     The benefits reported include saving taxpayer's money, improved
service, increased efficiency and innovation and a more streamlined
government.
     "This conference will examine what other states are doing and
will explore some opportunities for privatization and increased
efficiencies in Delaware," Jeffrey A. Raffel, director of the
institute's State Privatization Project, said.
     Providing a national perspective at the morning session will be
William D. Eggers, director of both the Privatization Center and the
21st Century Government Project at the Reason Foundation.
     He is responsible for overseeing the country's premier research
center on privatization and state and local fiscal issues, and he has
been an adviser to a number of cities and states on the nuts and bolts
of restructuring government.
     Eggers is the coauthor of Revolution at the Roots: Making Our
Government Smaller, Better and Closer to Home.
     The luncheon keynote speaker will be Phil Bomersheim, executive
director of the Commonwealth Competition Council in Virginia.
     Instrumental in framing Virginia's approach to entrepreneurial
government and privatization, Bomersheim has extensive experience as a
privatization specialist in state and federal governments.
     Joining Gov. Thomas R. Carper and other Delaware policy experts
to discuss privatization opportunities and share examples from other
states will be
        * Marcy Magid, assistant director, Department of Research and
          Collective Bargaining, American Federation of State, County
          and Municipal Employees (AFSCME);
        * Deborah A. Photiadis, executive director of the Governor's
          Council on Management and Productivity in the state of
          Maryland; and
        * Mike Nadol, from the Philadelphia Mayor's Office of
          Management and Productivity.

     The conference also will feature presentation of three
privatization reports prepared by the institute: "Pragmatic
Privatization," a general discussion of privatization alternatives;
"Lessons from State and Local Experiences with Privatization," a
summary of seven lessons for states and local jurisdictions; and "The
Delaware Experience with Privatization Initiatives," a report on
current privatization initiatives in Delaware state agencies.
     Cost to attend is $50 per person. For more details and
registration information, contact Gloria Wilkins at 831-3587.