January 27 – January 28, 2011

NASI’s 23rd Annual Policy Research Conference ~ Videos and presentations available

With the election of a new Congress, transition among the President’s top staff and economic advisors, the recent report of the President’s National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, and the nation continuing to grapple with the effects of a prolonged recession, participants of NASI’s 23rd Annual Conference gained a better understanding of these challenges, and of innovative solutions. Conference sessions focused on policy developments in the fields of unemployment insurance, health insurance, retirement income security, disability and workers compensation, and long-term care.

NASI convened several hundred professionals, including over a hundred first-time attendees. The NASI conference drew a diverse crowd from congressional staff and federal employees to corporate and consulting experts to representatives from associations and non-governmental organizations. In addition, 16% of conference attendees were members of academia and students from multiple universities including ones outside of the beltway.

The 2011 Conference Co-Chairs were:

  • G. William Hoagland, Vice President of Public Policy, CIGNA
  • Lawrence R. Jacobs, Professor of Political Science and Director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance, University of Minnesota
  • Avis Jones-DeWeever, Executive Director, National Council of Negro Women.

Day one of the conference was capped off by a reception, where the 2011 Heinz Dissertation Award for the year’s best doctoral dissertation in the field of social insurance was presented to Catherine B. Haskins. Haskins wrote her dissertation on “Household Employer Payroll Tax Evasion: An Exploration Based on IRS Data and on Interviews with Employers and Domestic Workers” while she was a student at the University of Massachusetts. Click here to read the press release.

The 2011 conference featured a new exhibit lounge where conference sponsors and Social Security grantees were able to disseminate information about their work. A major part of the exhibit lounge was the annual member book exhibit which included over 50 books and other publications authored or co-authored by NASI members. Publications covered a variety of topics within the field of social insurance, ranging from Social Security to Health Care Policy. For a complete list of books in the exhibit and information on how to order them, click here (PDF).

Available conference materials: