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News Release

Last modified: Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Chinese delegation to meet with state, local and IU officials in Indianapolis

IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs is coordinating meetings on public management reform

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 27, 2008

INDIANAPOLIS -- A delegation of national and local government officials from the People's Republic of China will visit Indiana on March 6 as part of a series of meetings aimed at learning about public management reform in the United States.

The visit, which will include sessions with Indiana state and Indianapolis city officials, is coordinated by the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University and sponsored by the China Development Research Foundation.

"The Chinese delegation is here to learn about performance-oriented management and budgeting reforms by the U.S. federal, state and local governments, and we are glad that they turn to SPEA to ask for assistance in this trip. This shows that they recognize our scholarship and leadership in this area," said Alfred Ho, associate professor in SPEA at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, who is helping coordinate the visit.

"Indiana is also a natural choice for their visit," Ho said, "because our Governor, Mitch Daniels, was the one that instituted the internationally recognized 'Performance Assessment Rating Tool' when he was the director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, and now he is implementing similar reforms in the Indiana state government."

For the past two years, Ho has worked with the China Development Research Foundation and researchers from Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou, China, to examine the experiences of the U.S. and China in performance-based budgeting and management and to explore reform options for China. The CDRF, a nonprofit research arm of the Chinese State Council, works with external partners to facilitate dialogue on policy and provide consulting services to the Chinese government.

The 18-member Chinese delegation visiting the U.S. is led by Dong Da-sheng, deputy auditor general of the Chinese government. It includes representatives from several government ministries and local officials from Wuxi, Harbin, Jiaozuo and Qingdao and Bayan County.

During an 11-day stay in the U.S., the delegation also will meet with officials of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, the General Accountability Office, the IBM Center for the Business of Government, the State of Oregon, and the cities of Baltimore and Kansas City. After the group returns to China, the CDRF will organize follow-up meetings and research activities to further investigate how China should reform its administrative and budgetary processes.

While in Indiana, the delegation will meet with Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard; Michael Huber, Indianapolis director of enterprise development; Cris Johnston, director of the Department of Government Efficiency and Financial Planning under the Indiana Office of Management and Budget; and other officials.

IU Vice President of International Affairs Patrick O'Meara will meet with the delegation, and SPEA Interim Dean Kurt Zorn and Associate Dean Greg Lindsey will host a dinner reception for the visitors at University Place Hotel at IUPUI. The group will leave Indianapolis March 7 and will spend a day in Chicago before returning to China.

For more information, contact Alfred Ho at 317-278-4898 or altho@iupui.edu.

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