2008 Walter Barnard Hill Award for Distinguished Achievement in University Public Service and Outreach

John A. O’Looney

John A. O’Looney, senior public service associate at the Carl Vinson Institute of Government, has served the university for more than 20 years and has helped local governments in Georgia and across the country improve their operating functions to better serve their citizens. He is a nationally-regarded expert in human services, e-government, and local and state government management and decision-making.

His Fulton County study on child advocates’ staffing and workloads helped set a national standard for the minimum legal resources necessary for juvenile courts to adequately represent abused, deprived and neglected children. He has helped conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the state’s 159-county Family Connection Initiative and, as the former regional director of the Georgia Council on Child Abuse, expanded and strengthened child abuse prevention programs.

O’Looney teaches governments across the country how to use and improve technology to increase citizens’ understanding of and participation in local government operations. One of the first U.S. researchers to receive a National Science Foundation grant to study e-government, his research enables local governments to better deliver services, implement e-rule making and solve challenges associated with Internet-based public forums.

His local and state governance expertise makes him one of the most called-upon consultants for local governments seeking incorporation, consolidation, annexation, or staff and budget efficiency advice. The Georgia General Assembly sought his assistance while assessing the economic viability of potential new cities such as Sandy Springs, Milton, St. Simons Island and Johns Creek.

O’Looney has authored nine books and more than 50 journal articles and book chapters and currently serves on the editorial board of the International Journal of Electronic Government Research. His book Redesigning the Work of Human Services is currently used in graduate courses at universities across the country.