Summary and abstracts: Applied Research Units and Projects 1996 UCETF Program

The Urban Consortium (UC), created by PTI, is a network of jurisdictions with populations of over 250,000. The UC provides a platform for research and enterprise through its Energy, Environmental, Transportation, and Telecommunications and Information Task Forces. The UC provides a unique creative forum where elected and appointed officials and technical managers identify, test, and validate practical ways to improve the provision of public services and, where possible, generate new revenue opportunities. Public Technology, Inc., is the non-profit technology organization of the National League of Cities, the National Association of Counties, and the International City/County Management Association. PTI creates and advances technology-based products, services, and enterprises in cities and counties nationwide. Staffed by PTI, the UC addresses the critical needs of local governments through its Task Forces. The Urban Consortium Energy Task Force (UCETF) program has, since its inception, acted as a laboratory to develop, test solutions and share the resulting products or management approaches with the wider audience of local governments. It has addressed the overlap between energy and environment and economic development policy issues, and, is the nation's most extensive cooperative local government program to improve energy management and decision-making through applied research and technology cooperation. Proposals to meet the specific objectives of the UCETF annual R and D program are solicited from major urban jurisdictions. Projects based on these proposals are then selected by the UCETF for direct conduct and management by staff of city and county governments. Projects selected for each year's program are organized in thematic units to assure effective management and ongoing peer-to-peer experience exchange, with results documented at the end of each program year