Getting Ready for Conference on Regulation as Social Justice

Next Wednesday, June 5, CPR is hosting a first-of-its-kind conference on Regulation as Social Justice: Empowering People Through Public Protections, which will bring together a diverse group of several dozen advocates working to advance social justice to serve as a wellspring for the development of a progressive vision for the future of U.S. regulatory policy. Much of the day’s proceedings will be dedicated to an innovative form of small group discussion sessions that we refer to as “Idea Exchanges,” which will call on participants to share their experiences working with federal government program implementation and offer ideas on how agencies can do a better job of promoting social justice and addressing unmet community needs as part of their work.

To help prompt thinking ahead of the conference, we have produced a briefing memo that introduces the major issues that will be discussed throughout the day. In particular, we see the conference as addressing two broad issues:

1. How does the U.S. regulatory system fit into the broader progressive movement to promote social justice?  
2. What reforms are necessary for rebuilding the U.S. regulatory system in a manner consistent with the progressive vision of society?

The memo includes a few questions that explore various facets of those issues, along with a brief summary of the preliminary thinking that I and others at CPR have on those questions.

We are hopeful that Regulation as Social Justice will serve as a successful first step toward building a progressive regulatory system that is capable of sustaining safeguards and administrative programs necessary for achieving a just society. And because it’s just a first step, we wanted to share this briefing memo broadly with anyone who is interested in joining this journey, even if they cannot be there in person next week.