Governance and Policy Research
The Rose Institute has conducted numerous studies of state and local government institutions, with the goal of promoting good governance. In recent years, we have devoted considerable attention to this area.
Re-Assessing San Francisco’s Government Design
In August 2023, the Rose Institute published a 75-page report titled Re-Assessing San Francisco’s Government Design: Is City Hall Well-structured to Meet the Current Crisis?
Through close study of San Francisco’s Charter, ordinances, and related documents; confidential interviews with more than 30 city leaders; and comparative analysis of other cities, the Rose Institute team identified four areas of potential reform: the mode of supervisor elections, the powers of the mayor, the commission system, and the ballot measure process.
City Reports
City of Ontario
In 2019, we conducted an Ontario Resident Satisfaction Survey; in 2021, we completed a report comparing key performance indicators (KPIs) in Ontario and the cities of Glendale, Riverside, Rancho Cucamonga, Fontana, and Pomona; in 2022, we produced a report on methods for modernizing the city of Ontario’s permitting processes; and in 2024, we published the Missing Middle report, which compared construction of ADUs and AB 9 housing in Ontario and the cities of Anaheim, Corona, and Pomona.
The Missing Middle: A Comparative Analysis of ADU and SB9 Development in Ontario and Other Southern California Cities.
California City Managers Survey
In 2023, the Rose Institute conducted the first statewide survey of California City Managers. The project, commissioned by the California City Management Foundation (CCMF), was titled 2023 California City Manager Survey: A Profile of the Profession. The survey gathered data on California city managers’ demographic characteristics, educational backgrounds, prior employment experience, and years of service, as well as their views of the most important issues facing their cities.
Housing Policy
Building Back Better: Altadena’s Recovery and Lessons from Santa Rosa
In 2025, The Olson Company commissioned the Rose Institute to evaluate Santa Rosa’s rebuilding process after the 2017 Tubbs Fire, what policy decisions contributed to the city’s successful recovery, and what lessons may be applied to Altadena’s recovery from the 2025 Eaton Fire.
What Policies are Producing New Housing: A Case Study of the Implementation of California’s Recent Developer-Oriented Laws in the City of Long Beach
In 2023, The Olson Company commissioned the Rose Institute to conduct research on local implementation of new state housing laws to determine which of them are working more effectively, and which less so. The Rose Institute and Olson jointly decided to study these laws’ implementation in the City of Long Beach, a large, built-out city in Southern California’s coastal zone that has demonstrated success developing new housing.