Our policy research function is manifested in policy papers stressing that government in Pennsylvania - and government leaders in the Commonwealth - should focus on accountability, efficiency, and responsibility in providing government services and in public service.

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The Susquehanna Valley Center for Public Policy's Mission

The Susquehanna Valley Center for Public Policy is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit public policy research organization that stresses that government in Pennsylvania - and government leaders in the Commonwealth - should focus on accountability, efficiency, and responsibility in providing government services and in public service. The Center places special emphasis on free market principles, the role of servanthood, and the responsibilities of citizenship that form the foundation of our political structure.

Recent Additions to our Policy Papers

Faulting Teachers Is Not Fixing Education

By David Atkinson, Associate, Susquehanna Valley Center's Edward H. Arnold Institute for Policy Studies on

During the four decades I have been around state politics, arguments over the quality, cost, and access to education have dominated the agenda.  Education funding and performance constitute the highest intensity controversy zone in Pennsylvania politics, apart from abortion.  This is partly explained by each of us holding views and perceptions shaped by our experience […]

Charity May Begin At Home, But Good Works Reach Beyond Our Borders

By David Atkinson, Associate, Susquehanna Valley Center's Edward H. Arnold Institute for Policy Studies on

In a recent issue of TIME magazine, Queen Rania of Jordan provided a piece advocating empowering girls with education, citing the value and virtue derived from such efforts.  Both the message and the messenger have significance.  As we know, arguments over the place of women in Islam are escalating.  Even so, it is not just […]

Getting The Best Of Both Worlds: Splitting Pennsylvania’s Primary Election

By David Atkinson, Associate, Susquehanna Valley Center's Edward H. Arnold Institute for Policy Studies on

As voters and pundits begin focusing on the closer than it seems 2020 presidential campaign, calls for Pennsylvania to move the primary election date earlier on the election calendar are starting to be heard.  Those of strong political bent want to make our state more relevant in choosing the two major party candidates.  There are […]

Flunk The Adults Who Repeatedly Fail Harrisburg Schools And Students

By David Atkinson, Associate, Susquehanna Valley Center's Edward H. Arnold Institute for Policy Studies on

Read the probing coverage The Patriot-News has given to the foibles and follies that taint and tatter the Harrisburg School Board, and the way the schools have been run reminds of Einstein’s definition of insanity.  Review the history of various operating approaches, and it resembles a familiar set of instructions – local control, state takeover, […]