The San Diego Foundation and the Brookings Institution sign a five-year pact to be ‘agenda-enablers’
The San Diego Foundation and the Washington, D.C.-based Brookings Institution announced a partnership Monday aimed at tackling some of the local region’s thorniest challenges, including housing affordability, infrastructure improvements, climate resilience, and the creation of stable, high-paying jobs.
The five-year pact calls for using the research and policy-analysis clout of Brookings, one of the nation’s oldest and most-respected think tanks, to chart a way forward on major issues and grab a larger slice of the federal money-pie to fund solutions.
“Seeing how economic inequality affects our cities like San Diego, it becomes imperative that we build back our economy in a way that benefits all, not just some of us,” John Allen, president of The Brookings Institution, said at a press event Monday.
“This is a region where local leaders recognize that our challenges are bigger than any single city or department or agency,” he added, “and I want to take a second to applaud all the local leaders for stepping up in this critical, current moment of a global crisis.”
Monday’s announcement came as Congress works on a $1 trillion infrastructure bill that is expected to pour money into communities from coast to coast for upgrades in transportation, energy, broadband access, water quality and other sectors.
Local officials said they see the new alliance as an “agenda-enabler” that will better position the San Diego region to receive funding from what some are calling a “once in a generation” opening of the federal spigot.
“We finally have an opportunity for big change,” said Shalini Vajjhala, executive director of the San Diego Regional Policy & Innovation Center, a newly created subsidiary of the San Diego Foundation that will partner with Brookings.
What that change looks like remains to be seen. So far, the center has developed grant proposals to address digital inequalities, mitigate flood and fire risks, and support emerging leaders in so-called green infrastructure projects that protect natural resources and decrease pollution.
The collaborators said there are no “magic bullets” for fixing long-standing problems such as homelessness and disparities in health. Those often defy municipal boundaries and are bigger than any one policy center, philanthropic organization or government department can handle, they said.
But by developing and experimenting with policies based on high-quality research, and by improving collaboration among the region’s 18 different cities and myriad government agencies, they believe San Diego can plot a path forward.
“By joining forces with The Brookings Institution, the Policy & Innovation Center will grow regional consensus for systems change, test concepts to accelerate investment, serve as a bridge to federal opportunities, and co-develop new regional policy solutions with local government and stakeholders,” said Susan Guinn, the center’s president and CEO, in a statement.
The non-profit center will have an advisory council made up of representatives from local cities, the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), the Metropolitan Transit System, the Port Authority, and the Airport Authority. It will be led by Nathan Fletcher, chair of the county Board of Supervisors.
“Today’s a great day for San Diego … to have this partnership with the Brookings Institution to launch the San Diego Regional Policy and Innovation Center and to really celebrate this partnership with a world-class institution known globally,” Fletcher said at Monday’s press event, “and to bring not just local elected officials like myself but to really partner with the San Diego Foundation.”
Local officials said they are hoping to leverage Brookings’ keen understanding of the way things work in Washington D.C. Many of the institution’s more than 300 researchers and analysts have held high-level positions in the federal government.
Vajjhala said that expertise could help position San Diego to receive more federal money in the coming years. Because the area is relatively prosperous, and because it already receives significant funding for the many military operations here, it tends not to get the attention other metropolitan regions do, she said.
John Allen, president of Brookings, said in a statement that “San Diego County reflects our nation in many ways – it is a thriving economy in an urban-rural region, with a diverse population greater than 20 states.” He applauded local leaders for “stepping up to the moment and looking for ways to be both strategic and proactive.”
The non-profit Brookings, started in 1916, is best-known for its work on foreign policy, economic and federal governance issues, but it also has a Metropolitan Policy program that has been assisting local governments for 25 years. That’s the branch of Brookings that will be coming to San Diego.
What makes the partnership here unique is the length of it, said Adie Tomer, a senior fellow in the program. Brookings typically goes into a community and collaborates for anywhere from six to 18 months. The San Diego pact is for at least five years.
That will allow a deeper dive into the region’s most pressing problems, he said, including infrastructure, his area of expertise.
“How can we situate San Diego’s economy and people to continue to be competitive in an era of changing climate?” he asked, pointing to the threats posed by rising seas, flooding, and fresh-water scarcity.
Housing will be another focus, with an emphasis on affordability and homelessness. Jenny Schuetz, a Brookings senior fellow who will be working here, is a housing expert.
“We don’t pretend to have all the answers,” Tomer said, “but we are really looking forward to tackling the challenges.”
Under the partnership, the Policy & Innovation Center will pay for the Brookings scholars’ time, research and expenses. Brookings is investing resources with an eye toward turning the approaches developed here into models for other communities facing similar hurdles.
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