Everything has changed.
That was the message – an equally cautionary and promising one – promoted by the Georgetown Public Policy Review (GPPR) to coincide with the launch of its Spring Edition.
This year’s Spring Edition theme, “disruption,” sought to illuminate the profound political, economic, and social changes that occurred over the past year, which, according to GPPR, will continue to challenge policymakers to confront foundational norms about how to craft and implement policy.
In a missive to readers, GPPR Editor-in-Chief Justin Goss wrote that disruption “is a story of action without reaction. When a force moves faster than the surrounding environment can react, then disruption occurs.”
He added: “In such instances, we are left as the monkey riding the tiger, believing we are in control, but ultimately retroactively rationalizing to explain why certain events occur, and why we made what decisions we did. In the absence of true facts we invent alternative narratives to describe our circumstances.”
The Spring Edition digs into this development, featuring analyses by McCourt students on topics including the sharing economy, the rise of rise-wing populism, and the growing digital divide.
It also reflects the culmination of nearly a year’s worth of work by GPPR staff and contributors, who in addition to developing on the Spring Edition work to churn out policy research and commentary on timely subjects throughout the school year.
In order to celebrate the occasion and facilitate dialogue on the subject, GPPR hosted a launch party in which practitioners at the forefront of disruptive industries and fields provided insight.
Panelists included Former White House Communications Director Jen Psaki; Kate Mereand, a Technology and Innovation Program manager at the D.C. Department of Small and Local Business Development; Giulia McHenry, the Chief Economist at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration; and NBC News Correspondent Jo Ling Kent.
Following the panel, which was held at the off-campus Alumni House, students and the speakers broke for appetizers, drinks, and informal discussion.
Last year’s Spring Edition, “Post-Millennial,” focused on future policy challenges and expectations that will likely face the first global generation as it assumes policymaking leadership roles.