NGA Center for Best Practices

The NGA Center for Best Practices teams and divisions develop innovative solutions to today’s most pressing public policy challenges. The center is the only research and development firm that directly serves the nation’s Governors.

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SEPTEMBER QUARTERLY INFRASTRUCTURE COORDINATOR WORKSHOP

SEPTEMBER QUARTERLY INFRASTRUCTURE COORDINATOR WORKSHOP

On September 12 to 14, 2023, National Governors Association hosted its fifth Quarterly Infrastructure Coordinator Workshop in Washington, D.C. This convening brought together Governors’ Infrastructure Coordinators and Advisors from over ...
Advancing Equity in the Travel, Tourism, and Outdoor Recreation Sectors

Advancing Equity in the Travel, Tourism, and Outdoor Recreation Sectors

On Wednesday, September 27th NGA hosted its third webinar in a four-part series highlighting innovative and replicable projects that are funded by the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s Travel, Tourism and ...
2023 Energy Cybersecurity Resources For Governors’ Advisors

2023 Energy Cybersecurity Resources For Governors’ Advisors

This resource guide provides an overview of federal and state cybersecurity standards for the energy sector as well as a collection of energy cybersecurity resources from NGA, the federal government, ...
How Healthy Conflict Can Strengthen Nation

How Healthy Conflict Can Strengthen Nation

Connecticut Governor New Lamont, a Democrat, recently joined former Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell, a Republican, to participate in a conversation regarding ways “healthy conflict can unite us, improve communities, ...

Disagree Better

Americans need to disagree better. And by that we don’t mean that we need to be nicer to each other, although that’s helpful. We need to learn to disagree in a way that allows us to find solutions and solve problems instead of endlessly bickering.

The “exhausted majority” of Americans want this, and the science is clear about interventions that reduce polarization. As doers and builders, Governors are in a unique position to model what healthy conflict looks like.

Governor Spencer Cox’s Disagree Better NGA Chair’s initiative will look at the problems of polarization, elevate the solutions that groups around the country are already implementing, and feature Governors showing what disagreeing better looks like. Through public debates, service projects, public service announcements and a variety of other tactics, Americans will see a more positive and optimistic way of working through our problems.

Program Areas


Center for Best Practices Library

Social Impact Bonds for Public Health Programs: An Overview

Social Impact Bonds for Public Health Programs: An Overview

The desire to improve health care outcomes and reduce costs has led states to rethink how they deliver health care ...

Enhancing The Role of Fusion Centers in Cybersecurity

Fusion centers were created after the 9/11 terrorist attacks to facilitate the type of multi-jurisdictional information sharing needed to prevent ...

Strategies For Improving Outcomes For Justice-Involved Youth

A growing body of research finds that for many youth, involvement in the juvenile justice system can increase rates of ...

States Work To Improve Energy Efficiency Of Multifamily Buildings

WASHINGTON—Improving the energy efficiency of multifamily buildings can help states reduce consumers’ energy costs, strengthen electricity system reliability and lower ...
Maternal and Child Health Update: States Are Using Medicaid and CHIP to Improve Health Outcomes for Mothers and Children

Maternal and Child Health Update: States Are Using Medicaid and CHIP to Improve Health Outcomes for Mothers and Children

The 2014 Maternal and Child Health Update (MCH Update) presents data gathered by the National Governors Association Center for Best ...
Health Investments That Pay Off: Strategies for Addressing Asthma in Children

Health Investments That Pay Off: Strategies for Addressing Asthma in Children

Leading experts in asthma policy and research have asserted that to improve health outcomes and reduce asthma-related health care costs, ...

New Hepatitis C Treatments: Considerations and Potential Strategies for States

The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) convened an expert roundtable to discuss the opportunities and challenges ...
The Expanding Role of Pharmacists in a Transformed Health Care System

The Expanding Role of Pharmacists in a Transformed Health Care System

Pharmacists have the professional expertise to address key challenges facing the health care system, including the prevalence of people who ...

An Opportunity for States to Fund Community-Based Prevention Programs

Community-based prevention programs (CBPPs) can serve as an important tool for states to improve health outcomes and reduce costs. New ...

The Cybersecurity Workforce: States’ Needs and Opportunities

The National Governors Association (NGA) released The Cybersecurity Workforce: States’ Needs and Opportunities, which examines factors to consider when creating a ...

The Role of Physician Assistants in Health Care Delivery

Physician assistants (PAs) play a broad and expanding role in the health care system, working in a variety of practice ...

Health Workforce Policy Academy Meeting Building a Transformed Health Care Workforce: Moving from Planning to Implementation

May 19-20, 2014| Washington, D.C. The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices hosted a meeting on May 19-20, 2014, ...

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