There seems to be some confusion regarding the Public Affairs Committee and Office and how they function. Accordingly, this article is written to help clear up that confusion. First, the members of the Public Affairs Committee are appointed by PAA s President. At the present time members are Beth Soldo, Chair; Peter Donaldson; Barbara Boyle Torrey and Linda Gage. Its agenda and priorities are determined by the Board of Directors and are discussed twice a year at board meetings. Always working within the parameters established by the Board, the Public Affairs Office monitors, reports on and seeks to protect research programs and federal funding streams of high interest to the PAA membership. Over the years, the Board has consistently determined the Public Affairs priorities to be the National Institutes of Health, the Census Bureau, the National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Agency for International Development. In order to protect the scientific integrity of its members, the Public Affairs Committee does not take positions on policy issues.
The monitoring and reporting mentioned above take several forms. There is a weekly conference call between PAA leadership, members of the Public Affairs Committee, Association of Population Centers leadership and Anne Harrison- Clark. This allows for regular input and decision- making regarding what best serves the needs of PAA membership, especially during times of activity focused on budget, appropriations or authorization.
In addition, an internal memo is written and circulated to the Board, to the Center Directors, to the Public Affairs Committee and to COPS. The internal memo is written on an as needed basis which means at least monthly. Finally, individual meetings with members of Congress (or their staffs) and with members of the Executive Branch take place on a regular basis. All of the above is designed to be sure that PAA's membership is well-served in D.C.
The Public Affairs Committee and Office welcomeyour comments or questions. We can be reached at our email address: 102735.376@compuserve.com .