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The contract goes on to say that CSPR alone has the power to authorize a “management committee” to manage and direct the REMI project. The contract also says the management committee will be made up of two members from CSPR, two members from the Leeds School and additional members from the thirdparty participants (funders) who are approved by the CSPR board of directors. And finally, the contract states that the management committee will “operate in accordance with a Memorandum of Understanding signed by members of the management committee.” Remember that last part.
So to recap, unlike what was reported by media at the time, CSPR, Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation and Denver South Economic Development Partnership were not all owners of the exclusive REMI license agreement and they had not all signed a contract with CU to produce REMI research. But those misleading news reports did make the project sound much more credible than it was. As the news reports described how the three groups were going to make their REMI research available to local and state governments to help them better understand complex economic issues—it sounded like a truly altruistic endeavor designed to make the world a better place.
But in reality, CSPR clearly controlled the project. It alone owned REMI. It alone had contracted CU to produce REMI research. CSPR had the power to choose who was on the management committee and only members approved by its board of directors could serve. The contract even noted that CSPR alone has full ownership over all the research and reports produced by the Leeds School using REMI. And it adds that CSPR can have as many funders of the REMI project as it wants and there is no provision that those funders be disclosed to CU. The contract never even mentions Metro Denver Economic Development Corp. or Denver South Economic Development Partnership, the two entities that apparently gave credibility to the REMI deal in Wobbekind’s mind.
The economic development groups and CSPR may have called themselves “partners” or the “consortium,” but by all legal measures, the REMI project was, and is, the property of CSPR.
In fact, according to an email from CU in response to questions regarding this contractual relationship, the two economic development groups contribute funding to the REMI project by way of a dues structure with CSPR.
The emails in the CORA release show that the Leeds researchers do seem to operate as if the three groups are more or less equals. They provide information to CSPR and the two economic development groups through representatives of the economic development groups who have been appointed and/or accepted to the management committee by CSPR. But the tone and content of the CORA emails also make it clear that CSPR is running the show, and they also clearly reflect that the Leeds School is well aware of the exact nature of the relationships of the three entities.
For instance, in the Leeds School/CSPR proposal for the REMI project dated April 25, 2013, the two economic development organizations are properly referred to simply as “funding partners” while acknowledging that CSPR, who contracted CU, is the sole owner of REMI. It reads as follows:
CSPR has contracted with REMI to provide the base economic models and Tax-Pl for three regions: Colorado, Denver Metro, and Denver South. The BRD (Business Research Division) research team will be the contracted model users. The team will apply its comprehensive understanding of the Colorado economy, debate economic assumptions, and run the REMI model for dynamic analysis on issues raised by the Board.
The Board will be comprised of representatives from the CSPR, the Metro Denver Economic Development Partnership, the Denver South Economic Development Partnership, and other funding partners, as well as two non-sponsor representatives from the University of Colorado.
Another email indicates that CU understands the structure.
All of this ownership and control business is important for several reasons: credibility, credibility and credibility.
For reasons that will become imminently clear shortly, If the Leeds School of Business were to create REMI reports that stated that they were created solely under contract for CSPR, who charges dues to funding partners like the two economic development groups, it is quite realistic to assume that both the reports and Leeds School would have their credibility quickly questioned.
For this reason, credibility, it is understandable why Leeds and/or CSPR would make efforts to make sure the other two groups share equally in the spotlight when REMI reports are released or discussed in the media.
But the Leeds School may have taken this “credibility washing” a bit too far. Despite being aware of the proper designation and role of each of the three players as evidenced by the proposal excerpt above, the fracking ban, the 2,000-foot setback, the Amendment 66 and other REMI reports all erroneously claim that the three groups are equals in the REMI project, having all contracted together for the license of REMI as well as having all together contracted the Leeds School to run REMI. These reports use the following language:
A partnership of public and private organizations announced in July 2013 the formation of a collaboration to provide Colorado lawmakers, policy makers, and business leaders with greater insight into the economic impact of public policy decisions that face the state and surrounding regions. The parties involved include the Common Sense Policy Roundtable, the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation, and the Denver South Economic Development Partnership. The Business Research Division (BRD) of the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado Boulder was contracted by the consortium to provide third party, nonbiased research that objectively analyzes the economic impacts of public policy. This consortium meets quarterly to discuss pressing economic issues impacting the state. The group identified the study of a statewide economic impact of hydraulic fracturing ban as both relevant and timely.
The consortium licensed dynamic economic models from Regional Economic Models, Inc. (REMI) to study the economic impacts of policy.
It is subtle, but it is also not true. So who is responsible for this bending of the facts, Leeds or CSPR?
I should note here, that there is no evidence that would indicate that CU researchers have ever intentionally altered REMI research outcomes to suit the desires of CSPR or its funding partners. That is not the point, nor is it being insinuated here. But just because the facts and figures in a REMI report were appropriately arrived at does not mean that the process by which the Leeds School’s REMI research was assigned and enters the public debate is not being manipulated for political and financial gain by those who control the process. And those who control the process are not the researchers at the Leeds School.
I should also note that REMI has been considered a useful and respected economic tool for many years. Again, however, researchers who use such tools have reported that they, including REMI, can be and are often abused to create research that basically serves as corporate PR. There is no indication that the Leeds School researchers have done anything inappropriate … except perhaps not having been more curious about their REMI boss, CSPR.
Behind the Façade (or why CSPR needs credible partners)
The Common Sense Policy Roundtable bills itself as “a non-profit free-enterprise think tank dedicated to the protection and promotion of Colorado’s economy.”
But pull back the curtain and CSPR appears to be little more than a front group for the oil and gas industry and Republican Party fundraisers being run by some of the most powerful, well-known political operatives in the Western United States.