Foundations Should Be Watchdogs of Local Governments

Foundations should make sure that states, cities, and localities make good choices in how they spend federal dollars that come to them as part of an economic stimulus package, said Bruce Katz, an urban-policy expert who is helping Barack Obama on housing and development issues.

Mr. Obama has proposed a multibillion-dollar plan that would create 2.5 million jobs and rebuild American infrastructure. He has also pledged to establish a White House Office of Urban Planning, reports The Washington Post.

During a meeting last week with foundation leaders, Mr. Katz said he is concerned that many state and local governments may not spend the infrastructure money wisely or quickly. Grant makers, he said, should be watchdogs to make sure they do.

Mr. Katz is a vice president at the Brookings Institution, a think tank in Washington, and is assisting Mr. Obama to bring his ideas to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

As an example of a service in need of financial aid, Mr. Katz said that local public-housing agencies would be “ecstatic” if they received a cash infusion from the economic-stimulus program.

Mr. Katz also encouraged foundations to work with businesses, universities, and civic activists to present a unified voice to White House officials on economic issues. “They don’t hear voices that cut across place and discipline,” he said.

Mr. Katz spoke at a gathering of the Council on Foundations, an association of grant makers, to discuss the Brookings Institution’s so-called Blueprint for American Prosperity, which seeks to improve government policies related to metropolitan areas.

During the two-day event, philanthropies provided feedback on the plan. Their suggestions included asking Brookings to not ignore rural areas, but find economic connections between them and cities; to include ways the public-school system and higher education, especially community colleges, can teach students skills for jobs in growing industries, such as the information-technology field; to emphasize the growth of broadband or other telecommunications infrastructure as a means to economic gains; to appreciate how arts and cultural institutions can help revitalize downtown areas; and to include ideas for providing job training to former convicts.