The NGA Center has identified the provision of quality choices in education as a crucial issue for states as they move forward in meeting higher expectations for student achievement and graduation rates for all students.
Research demonstrates that the most important school-based factor influencing student achievement is the quality of a school's workforce—the teachers and leaders responsible for setting high expectations and delivering top quality instruction.
As states develop energy resources, a greater burden has been placed on the current electric transmission and distribution system. States are addressing these issues through the planning and construction of additional transmission capacity, development of cost allocation approaches, non-wires alternatives and hybrid approaches. A hybrid approach is the development of a 'smart grid' that has the potential to enable a modern, more resilient transmission infrastructure.
Governors are responsible for coordinating state and local resources to effectively prepare for and respond to major emergencies including accidents, terrorist incidents and natural disasters.
The production facilities, transportation networks and distribution infrastructure that comprise the nation's energy sector represent both a key economic asset and a significant national vulnerability. The U.S. economy and the lifestyles of all Americans depend heavily on the availability of a strong, resilient and responsive energy infrastructure.
The global economy is propelled by the growth of small, young, high-growth companies. Typically created and driven by entrepreneurs, these companies are the primary source of new jobs.
*This is an archived past project.
Coordinating the major programs of the HITECH Act at the state level is critical to realizing the potential of these new resources.
Governors rely on a core of criminal and juvenile justice policy advisors in forming state criminal justice policy, including defining issues, developing strategies, coordinating agencies, engaging communities, and allocating resources.
The NGA Policy Academy on “Making” our Future: Encouraging Growth Opportunities in Manufacturing through Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Investment is a year-long technical assistance project that is assisting seven states with strategy development and initial implementation steps as they use three forces—innovation, entrepreneurship and global competitiveness—to put American manufacturing on a sound foundation for the future and to boost regional and state growth and prosperity.
The United States spends more on health care than any other country, but this is not reflected by Americans receiving better outcomes. In fact, the U.S. ranks relatively low on the scale of positive health statistics such as longevity, obesity, chronic disease, and infant mortality, and is falling farther behind.
States are connecting their growing health information exchange (HIE) capacity to existing health care initiatives and developing new organizational and governance structures to facilitate the coordination of complex planning and implementation activities across projects and agencies.
*This is an archived past project.
*This is an archived past project.
In 2005, governors launched a groundbreaking effort to restore value to the high school diploma and committed their states to a college and career readiness agenda for all students. As part of Governor Mark Warner’s initiative, and the National Education Summit, the NGA Center published Action Agenda for Improving America's High Schools.
In the new knowledge-based economy, governors are aware that their postsecondary education system is one of the state’s most valuable economic assets. Colleges and universities play a critical role in state economies through the production of workers in critical occupations, the conduct of research, and the dissemination and commercialization of new knowledge.
*This is an archived past project.
More than a million legal immigrants enter the United States every year. Over the last decade, these immigrants have emerged as a major force shaping American life, and research shows that legal immigrants are a vital part of state economies and communities.
The goal of the Improving Forensic DNA Policy Project is to help states ensure that they are using DNA to its full extent as a tool to promote public safety. The project assists governors and other state policymakers in developing strategies to improve the use of and funding for forensic DNA.
