State Leaders Surveyed about Impact of RSG Meetings

Does bringing together state leaders make a difference? This fall, members of the Reforming States Group (RSG) were surveyed to find out. Each year, about 34 states—almost 100 people from the executive and legislative branches of both political parties—participate in the meetings, as well as attendees from Canadian provinces, Scotland, and Australia.

In the survey, RSG participants were asked about the ways in which their attendance at meetings had influenced state health policy or how intra-state relationships had changed. “Interestingly, the networking that occurs at RSG meetings is not only between participants from other states, but also between people from within the same state who have never had an opportunity to meet or exchange ideas,” explains Christopher Koller, President of the Milbank Memorial Fund.

Sixty-two percent of participants—almost evenly divided between legislative and executive branch officials—completed the survey. Here are some of the findings.

Of legislative branch officials:

• 57% said they had authored or sponsored a bill on a topic discussed at an RSG meeting.
• 36% said they had authored or sponsored a ball based on what they learned from another state at an RSG meeting.
• Improved relationships—both qualitative and quantitative—were cited.

Of executive branch officials:

• 50% said they incorporated or started an initiative based on a topic discussed at an RSG meeting.
• 36% said they incorporated or stated an initiative based on lessons learned from another state at an RSG meeting.
• Improved relationships—primarily qualitative—were cited.

“People who hear that we convene meetings for policymakers might wonder whether these meetings are junkets or the source of progress,” explains Koller. “The survey responses are pretty clear—these meetings make a difference. By surveying our members, we can learn what aspects of their time together had the greatest impact on attendees and their efforts to improve the health of the communities they serve.”