NEW ORLEANS – The Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) won two awards from the Governmental Research Association (GRA) at its national conference in Pittsburgh, PA, on Tuesday, July 26, 2016.
BGR reps said the organization won the award for Outstanding Policy Achievement for the report “The Accidental Steward: The Orleans Parish School Board as a Resource Manager in the Reform Era” and related education efforts, which laid the groundwork for recent reforms to School Board financial management. BGR also won the award for Most Distinguished Research for the report “The $1 Billion Question: Do the Tax Dedications in New Orleans Make Sense?,” which provides a first-ever comprehensive view of where local tax revenues go, reps said.
The GRA is the national organization for governmental research professionals. This is the 10th year in a row that the GRA has recognized BGR’s work, and the 4th year in a row that BGR has received the Outstanding Policy Achievement award. In presenting the awards, GRA officials noted that BGR has been for several years among the most prolific award winners in the nation.
Also at the conference, the membership elected BGR Director of Research Peter Reichard as president of the GRA. Reichard has been with BGR since 2002 and has served as a GRA trustee since 2010.
BGR Chairman Mark A. Mayer thanked the GRA for acknowledging BGR’s work. “It is always an honor to be recognized in this way by our peers across the U.S.,” Mayer said. “BGR’s team continues to show that our organization is among the most effective in the nation in identifying ways to improve local government. The whole community can take pride in these awards.”
BGR is a private, nonprofit, independent research organization. Since its founding in 1932, it has been dedicated to informed public policy-making and the effective use of public resources in the Greater New Orleans area, BGR reps said
The reports and releases are available on BGR’s website.
