A Funny Thing Happened On The Way Out of the Forum
If you woke up ten New Jersey residents and asked them about the state of health care today, five would utter something unprintable, three would scream about the endless HMO cycle of referrals, one would wish for the good old days of the kindly old family doctor, and the tenth would chase you out of the house with a gun for bothering him or her in the first place with such an odious question. One thing that all ten answers would have in common, however, is emotion. Virtually no one can speak about health care either rationally or coherently today. The subject is too close to us; we’ve all had experiences with the health care system and a sick relative, or our own illness, to supply us with an endless supply of (usually unpleasant) experiences. Even those who are trying to fix the health care problems get emotionally entangled in the issue.
Enter the Princeton-based Forums Institute for Public Policy (FIPP).
Simply put, the FIPP is the Mr. Spock-like referee in debates about issues such as health care. It holds several forums a year in which they invite people from every side of an issue - elected officials’ state government leaders, and private industry leaders with a stake in the matter. Then, it brings these folks together in a closed (as in no press or public attendance) policy forum so that each can present their findings and the others can listen and ask questions in a non-emotional environment. There are no ideological axes to grind, no constituencies to play up to, and no need to muddy up the waters with rhetoric or partisan posturing. The FIPP hopes that by holding such gatherings in a neutral atmosphere that it will be able to facilitate solutions to some of these issues, like health care, that seem to constantly get hung up in emotional and political wrangling.
“It’s an opportunity to bring people together in a non-threatening forum,” said Linda Mater, President of FIPP. “We provide a venue for people to discuss public policy issues.”
Informed Contemplative Dialogue
The Forums Institute for Public Policy got its start in 1992. That was a time when health care and health care reform was much in the news and was high on the federal government’s agenda. The League of Women Voters got together a non-partisan group of policy-makers from across New Jersey to discuss the anticipated health care reforms and what they might mean for New Jersey.
The meeting was a smashing success, and made people realize that this forum idea was a good one, especially since health care seemed to be an issue that was going to take much more input before answers were found. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation stepped forward with funding, and the FIPP was born.
In 1997, the FIPP was established as a 501 (c) (3) organization to administer New Jersey Policy Forums on Health and Medical Care. Today, the Forums Institute is a National Program Office of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and is partially funded by the Foundation. However, it continues to seek other funding sources as befits its 501 status, such as from grants and from foundations.
The FIPP is neither a Democratic or Republican think-tank, nor is it a liberal or conservative organization. Rather, think of it as neutral territory in a world of red and blue. As such, it does not seek to push any particular side in any debate, nor lobby for or against a particular bill.
“The goal of the FIPP is not to influence legislation,” said Nancy Cavallo, Communications Director. “Rather, it is to bring people together in an atmosphere of informed contemplative dialogue and use that process to help develop solutions.”
An example of how the FIPP function is the nursing shortage crisis a few years ago. At its height, the nursing shortage had generated a number of “quick-fix” proposed laws from the legislature, However, by highlighting all aspects of the problem in a policy forum devoid of hysteria, the FIPP was able to illustrate other solutions to the crisis that did not involve a quick legislative fix.
Typically, the small-staffed FIPP (about 5 staffers total) holds about six forums a year in New Jersey. Most are held at Thomas Edison State College in Trenton because of its proximity to state government. State officials often attend the forums, and for good reason: frequently state workers from two different departments will be unknowingly working on similar matters. Without meeting and hearing the other person at a forum, they might never know about the other person’s work, and could end up working either at cross-purposes or else duplicating efforts.
“This gives stakeholders (in an issue) the opportunity to network,” said Cavallo. “it might be the only time they get to see each other.”
Recent FIPP forums have focused on such issues as long-term health care and charity care. Possible topics for future forums include the recent Massachusetts law which requires everyone to have health care insurance coverage.
Help Me, FIPP
The FIPP also gets involved in local issues. Here it acts as a consultant of sorts, being hired by a local government or agency to develop and suggest solutions to a particular problem.