Flemming Institute Offers New Approach to Policy Problems

Flemming Fellows are a new breed of leaders. They lead by working with people of different ethnic backgrounds, political parties and gender.

They are what Washington Post columnist David Broder called "spirit lifters." They are what the Flemming Institute Director Wesley Watkins calls "practical idealists."

"These leaders are very idealistic, but they want to get things done," said Watkins.

At the Institute, diverse groups of legislators learn how to get things done by building consensus and creating a larger group of allies.

At the first retreat in Florida, Watkins and others guided Fellows through group activities that revealed underlying values for state policies. In their next two retreats, Fellows will use those values to explore practical ways to gain support from bipartisan legislators and community stakeholders.

"When legislators of different parties, genders and races agree on values, they are more likely to agree on bipartisan solutions and less likely to engage in partisan fights over programs," said Watkins.

Last year’s class of Fellows agreed that the commonly held values of economic self-sufficiency, independence and opportunity motivate policymakers to work for equal access to education. They developed messages that a large group of stakeholders would support, such as the phrase "Ready, Willing and Able: Ready to learn in kindergarten, willing to learn in junior high and able to succeed after high school graduation."

When Fellows return to their statehouses, they are better able to work toward policy solutions without the traditional partisan bickering. Instead, they bring all the stakeholders to the table. "It’s impossible to convey in words the power of the Institute," said Watkins.

The 148 Flemming alumni are from 48 states, and are ethnically and racially diverse: African Americans, Hispanics and Asian Americans constitute over a third of Alumni. One-half of each class are women.