Local Policy Conferences
The Center sponsors an annual conference that addresses Staten Island's public policy concerns. Guest speakers offer their expert insights and describe "best practices" from around the region and the nation. The conferences provide a forum at which Staten Islanders, faculty, staff, and students come together to consider and discuss policy alternatives. Related to the annual conferences, SIP also sponsors public opinion polls of Staten Islanders designed to ascertain their attitudes toward the challenges that confront the Borough.
In March 2004, SIP hosted its first invitational conference, "Staten Island Mass Transportation and Traffic: Environment and Economy." Guest speakers, public officials, and College faculty and staff debated potential solutions to the daily problems faced by commuters. Experts offered their views on matters such as transit financing and the relationship between economic growth and infrastructure development. Prior to the conference, Staten Islanders were polled about transportation and traffic on the Island and asked their views on future improvements. With the support of the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce, two SIP Faculty Associates authored a report that outlined short-and long-term solutions to the Island's transportation challenges.

In March 2003, SIP partnered with the New-York Historical Society to present the "Conference on the Mayoralty of Robert F. Wagner," in honor of the 50th anniversary of the election of New York City's 102nd mayor. Discussions featured panelists involved in civic affairs during the Wagner years, as well as political historians and other specialists.

In 2005, SIP's policy conference, "The Staten Island Economy: Past, Present, and Visioning the Future," focused on Staten Island's economic development. In 2006, SIP is projected to hold a policy conference on civility and social capital.

SIP also sponsors ad hoc events on topics of concern to Staten Islanders, including the "Conversations on Politics" series at which local office holders engage in thoughtful question and answer sessions with members of the faculty before an audience of students and community residents.

SI Indicators Web site
SIP maintains a strong Internet presence with its Staten Island Indicators Web site (www.sipindicators.com). It is a one-stop, online repository of economic, social, and community data about Staten Island. The data available on the Indicators Web site enables Staten Islanders to better understand the community in which they live and discern trends about its future. The information contained on the site is useful to businesses,
not-for-profit organizations, educators, and students seeking to
learn more about Staten Island.

PROMOTING BASIC AND APPLIED RESEARCH
ABOUT STATEN ISLAND

Faculty Research Seminars
In February 2004, the "SIP Faculty Research Seminar on Staten Island and Its Contexts" convened a group of 14 faculty for a yearlong, interdisciplinary seminar focused on Staten Island topics. The group heard lectures from guest speakers and presented research findings. The seminar promoted research agendas focused on local issues in a variety of disciplines, including communications, education, political science, history, the health sciences, and ecology. The Staten Island Colloquium, a joint project of SIP and the Library Department's Archives and Special Collections, offers faculty and staff the opportunity to present research-in progress before an audience of students, faculty/staff, and members of the Island community. Presentations for 2005-2006 include projects that focus on local voting behavior, municipal governance, the Borough’s immigrant communities, and the arts on Staten Island. The Staten Island Colloquium meets twice every semester.

SIP Working Papers Series
The SIP Working Papers Series allows for the dissemination of faculty research. "CSI-SIP Poll: Staten Island Traffic and Mass Transportation," provides an analysis of the poll results from the 2003 transportation conference. "Present Problems and Future Solutions to Staten Island's Transportation System," analyzes Staten Island's transportation problems.

Archival Collection
SIP actively promotes the growth and development of the Archives and Special Collections of the CSI Library. The Archives is a repository of the papers of Staten Island elected officials, and of other documents related to the Borough. The Archives also houses and supports the College's various Oral History Projects that focus on the life and times of Staten Islanders.

DEVELOPING STATEN ISLAND LEADERSHIP

SIP is active in a variety of initiatives and partnerships that promote and educate emerging Borough leaders. Since 2003, the CSI Office of Continuing Education and Professional Development has sponsored the Staten Island Leadership Institute, a ten-month program that exposes mid-career professionals to both the philosophical and practical dimensions of local public affairs matters through field visits and guest lectures. Eighty Island companies, governmental agencies, and health care institutions offer internship and fellowship opportunities to CSI students. Hundreds of students each year work in the government and not-for-profit sectors through credit-granting internship programs.