Research activities of the center are an important aspect of our mission. We seek out and engage in applied policy research on a myriad of policy topics that affect local and state government in particular.  Among the research topics that faculty have examined are economic development, information technology policy, concentrated poverty, budgeting and finance, criminal justice, and discriminatory lending practices.

Kent State University’s Center for Public Administration and Public Policy has followed eight collaborative projects for the past two years, conducting extensive interviews and collecting information throughout the collaborative process. Through this and other research, the Center has produced a large body of information on the benefit, costs, and barriers to initiating collaboration, as well as the lessons participating communities have learned.  The above title links to a full overview of the case study documents.

The individual case studies can be accessed through the images below.  For all eight case studies in one document, click here. 

2011 TMDL Report
This report summarizes and synthesizes recent studies that assess progress in implementing Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) and describes indicators that can be used to understand progress in watershed restoration.  It also overviews efforts to improve the ability of state and federal agencies to document the progress in TMDL implementation.  This report offers recommendations to guide future efforts to develop and use indicators of TMDL implementation and watershed restoration progress to help foster improvements in water  quality throughout the US.