Lane County Hosts Kazakhstan Delegation

July 22, 2025

Lane County hosted an international delegation from Kazakhstan to discuss the role of think tanks in public policy and highlight the unique Policy Lab partnership between Lane County and the University of Oregon. The connection was made possible by the collaboration between WorldOregon and the U.S. Department of State through the International Visitor Leadership Program. The program enables cross-cultural conversations and facilitates professional knowledge exchange between Oregon communities and the world. Lane County was honored to host the delegation of professionals from government, higher education, and the private sector. Staff thoroughly enjoyed the exchange of knowledge and look forward to further connections.

Lane County Receives Outstanding Community Partner Award

May 29, 2025

Lane County was recognized as this year’s Outstanding Community Partner by the University of Oregon School of Planning, Public Policy and Management (PPPM) at their 2025 awards ceremony. The award recognizes a government agency or nonprofit organization that provides community-based educational opportunities to PPPM students and faculty. This recognition is a result of the Policy Lab partnership that began in 2018 and is a way to leverage the expertise of students and faculty in the School of Planning, Public Policy and Management to help us find solutions to local government challenges. It provides invaluable hands-on experience in real-world policy research for students and faculty. Students gain practical skills and insights into public administration, while faculty members can apply their research to tangible community issues.

The award was accepted by the Policy Lab core team that has worked to develop, maintain, and expand this partnership, but would not be possible without the dozens of staff that have worked with students on projects over the years. The core team is comprised of Steve Mokrohisky, Greg Rikhoff, Steve Adams, and Jeff Kincaid. It is an honor to be recognized as this year's Outstanding Community Partner by University of Oregon PPPM and to celebrate our work together on the Policy Lab.

Lane County Administrator Attends BIG Ten Democracy Summit

February 11, 2025

Steve Mokrohisky, Lane County Administrator, joined a panel of representatives from local and state governments and universities at the BIG Ten Democracy Summit to discuss the value of collaboration between local government and higher education. Steve was able to share how the unique partnership came to be and the many successes of the Lane County Policy Lab. The Big Ten Democracy Collaboration seeks to leverage academic expertise of conferences and partnerships with local, state, and federal policymakers. These partnerships will help develop actionable initiatives to empower democracy and democratic engagement.