Since the Spring of 2007 and continuing into the Fall of 2009, Public Works: the Demos Center for the Public Sector and the Topos Partnership have collaborated on a Ford Foundation-funded effort to create a new public conversation on the role of government in the economy. This effort has included a wide range of qualitative and quantitative research efforts, spanned a period of dramatic change in the national economic landscape, and built on earlier research conducted by Topos principals concerning the public’s view of government and public understandings of low wage work. The summary that follows is a synthesis of the key findings and recommendations from a number of longer research reports by Topos.
continue reading