Our Story
COWS: The Wisconsin Idea in Action
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The Center on Wisconsin Strategy (COWS) is a research and policy
center dedicated to improving economic performance and living standards
in the state of Wisconsin and nationally. Based at the University
of Wisconsin-Madison with an office in Milwaukee, COWS promotes
“high-road” strategies that support living wages, environmental
sustainability, strong communities, and public accountability.
COWS prides itself on the “Wisconsin Idea”: the use
of University resources — in concert with state government
and community, labor, and business leaders — to improve existing
social arrangements and policy through bold, informed experiment.
Diverse public figures – ranging from longtime Republican
Governor Tommy Thompson, to the president of the Wisconsin State
AFL-CIO, to the former head of the business-led Greater Milwaukee
Committee — have described COWS as “the Wisconsin Idea
in action.”
Chief among our areas of focus is improving job quality. A large
and growing number of workers — both in Wisconsin and nationally
— are locked into low-paying jobs that offer few benefits,
little security, and virtually no opportunities to advance. COWS
examines such issues as the rapid rise of the service sector, the
obstacles to getting and keeping family-supporting jobs, the challenges
of making ends meet on an inadequate income, and high-road approaches
— such as unionization — that improve job quality and
provide the supports that working families need.
COWS also pays close attention to budget and tax issues. We analyze
inequities in Wisconsin’s current tax structure, evaluate
public spending priorities, and make recommendations to both increase
the state’s revenue base and meet social needs. Together with
advocacy groups, COWS pinpoints high-road strategies that will save
taxpayers money while bettering our quality of life.
In addition, COWS supports high-road approaches to community and
regional economic growth. With Wisconsin’s manufacturing base
declining and our once-thriving urban centers now at risk, it is
imperative that our state pursue economic development policies associated
with high-quality job creation, high productivity, reduced environmental
damage, and corporate accountability. COWS works toward this goal
by promoting innovative public policies and strategic regional cooperation
among business, labor, and government.
In a rapidly changing economy, communities are faced with such
problems as high workforce turnover, lack of employee training,
and inadequate information about how workers can move into family-supporting
jobs. Through a series of innovative policy experiments, COWS has
helped bring together employers, unions, community groups, and the
public sector to improve workforce training systems, promote workplace
modernization, and achieve greater scale and leverage in labor-market
reform. These projects — the Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership,
the Milwaukee Jobs Initiative, and Jobs With a Future — are
creating lasting improvements in jobs, skills, and economic opportunities
for people in our state.
Public education is a key element of COWS’ work. We distribute
research findings, analyze Wisconsin data drawn from national studies,
and offer commentary on issues affecting the state. We are cited
regularly in the local, state, and national press. Through opinion
columns, briefings, and other forums, COWS acts as a resource for
public officials, community groups, and ordinary citizens in Wisconsin.
These efforts extend to a wide range of organizations and leaders
outside the state, including national business and labor groups.
As part of the University of Wisconsin, COWS inherits the University’s
nonprofit status and is a strictly non-partisan educational and
charitable institution. We have a small full-time research and administrative
staff, supplemented by research assistants, field organizers, and
faculty associates who work on a project basis. COWS researchers
have backgrounds in such areas as labor-market analysis, industrial
organization, environmental policy, and resource management.
Apart from technical assistance contracts, COWS funding comes mainly
from private foundations and state and local government agencies.
Recent foundation support has been provided by the Brittingham,
Annie E. Casey, Nathan Cummings, Evjue, Ford, Joyce, Rockefeller,
and Russell Sage Foundations. Recent technical assistance contracts
have covered work for the City of Madison, the Wisconsin Manufacturing
Extension Partnership, and the Workforce Development Board of South
Central Wisconsin.
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