SAVE Commission's findings - La Follette School of Public Affairs ...

munity. It sees the library system (see Goals #11
and #12) as a special asset, serving home,
school, business and community. It considers
every citizen’s natural
curiosity as a survival
skill (see Goal #10).
Leading as always, we
have identified ways to
tap existing assets
through concepts such
as youth apprenticeship,
the model K-12
Village Partnership and
distance education. These are seeds of ideas and
examples of how we can build on the excellence
of the past for the challenge of the future.
TANGIBLE WISCONSIN IDEAS
1. Develop a knowledge-based economic
strategy. The world will pay for what
Wisconsin knows as well as what it
makes. Wisconsin can adopt a globallydistinctive
strategy to use its knowledge
potential and its University alumni
system as unique assets in an economic
development strategy (see Goal #9).
2. Use knowledge to solve problems we
once asked government to solve. As
part of a new citizenship ideal, we will
solve our problems ourselves, using
government as a last resort. We will use
networking and community education
“No reform will succeed without
an idealistic vision. Wisconsin
can yet again serve as a model
for the rest of the nation.”
William Cronon, historian, UW-Madison
as tools to breach the barriers of profession,
bureaucracy, government boundaries
and tradition that prevent us from
seeing each other’s
capacity to be selfsufficient
and driven
to succeed (See
Preamble and Goals
#2, #4, #5 and #20).
3. Use the knowledge
of the University,
private colleges
and business to
develop science and technology
policy. Government must tap knowledgeable
players to develop effective
science and technology policy for the
21st Century. Wisconsin can no longer
tolerate political brinksmanship that
leads to regulatory and legal gridlock.
The Governor and Legislature need to
tap the state’s knowledge in a nationally
distinctive way in drafting policies, laws
and programs (see Goals #8, #13, #17
and #18).
The new Wisconsin Idea? It is developing
and using the knowledge capacity and ideas
of all Wisconsin people. Together we will come
up with our own ideas that give us noticeably
better citizens, noticeably better communities
and noticeably better government, all moving
Forward for a noticeably better quality of life.
Actions
3.1
Link the Department of
Development and UW
System for economic
development.
3.2
Create a state dialogue
to reinvent citizenship.
3.3
Tap Wisconsin
knowledge to develop
science and technology
policy.
Wisconsin Rural
Development Council
“The Wisconsin Idea
connotes a civic pride,
bringing us together as
a community.”
R E S U L T S
The new Wisconsin Idea
will:
1 Ensure that taxpayer dollars are
invested in knowledge, human
capital and education.
2 Continue Wisconsin’s reputation for
educational excellence beyond the
traditional concept of schooling.
3 Enable citizens, businesses,
universities and research centers
to participate as full partners with,
and not as the subjects of,
government.
4 Stress that the solution to new
problems might be new
knowledge rather than more laws
or taxes and that solutions come
to government rather than from
government.
5 Improve the economic well-being of
Wisconsin citizens as well as the
quality of life.
6 Enable state employees to draw
ideas from the private and public
sectors to create a government
conducive to education, science and
technological growth.
CITIZEN • COMMUNITY • GOVERNMENT — WISCONSIN: THE 21 ST CENTURY 17