NGA Center for Best Practices

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

Latest

Governors Lead the Charge On Building America’s Infrastructure

Governors Lead the Charge On Building America’s Infrastructure

Governors from across the country have long recognized the importance of infrastructure as a foundation of community well-being and economic growth, and 2025 was no exception. This year, states and ...
2025 Health and Human Services Policy Advisors Institute 

2025 Health and Human Services Policy Advisors Institute 

October 28-29, the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) brought together Governors’ health and human services policy advisors representing 28 states and territories in Santa Fe, New ...
State of the State – 2026

State of the State – 2026

Governors of America's Commonwealths, States and Territories will soon be outlining their priorities for 2026. To showcase their leadership and priorities for the year ahead, the National Governors Association will ...

Reigniting the American Dream

Every American should have the opportunity to build a life of purpose, to strengthen their community, and to help shape a nation defined not only by prosperity, but by potential realized. Yet across our very diverse states, too many people have lost faith in this opportunity. They’ve faced too many obstacles, encountered too many closed doors, and given up the hope of a brighter future. We can do better.

Reigniting the American Dream is more than an initiative. It’s an invitation for every U.S. governor to take action.

Program Areas


Center for Best Practices Library

Washington State Retreat on Enhancing Lead-by-Example Efforts

June 8, 2017 | Olympia, WA The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center), in partnership with the ...

Advancing the Energy-Water Nexus: How Governors Can Bridge Their Conservation Goals

Energy and water are critical resources that rely on each other to be extracted, transported and used. However, because states ...

Setting Site-Specific Priorities in the Federal Budget Process for Cleanup of Nuclear Weapons Waste

Opportunities for State Engagement Sufficient federal funding to clean up the U.S. nuclear weapons complex is a priority for states ...

Oregon Retreat on Prioritizing and Valuing Local Energy Resilience

May 5, 2017 | Newport, OR Oregon, in partnership with the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center), ...
Setting Site-Specific Priorities in the Federal Budget Process for Cleanup of Nuclear Weapons Waste: Opportunities for State Engagement

Setting Site-Specific Priorities in the Federal Budget Process for Cleanup of Nuclear Weapons Waste: Opportunities for State Engagement

This issue brief focuses on the opportunities for state engagement at each stage of the budget process and suggests how ...
Work-Based Learning Policy Academy TA Webinar Series

Work-Based Learning Policy Academy TA Webinar Series

This webinar series, which ran from Jan 2016 to April 2017 looked at the following work-based learn topics: Measurement, Enhancement, ...

Human Capital Spring Learning Lab

April 24-25, 2017 | San Diego, CA Meeting Objectives Deepen understanding of high-leverage strategies to improve coherence of programs and ...

Improving Emergency Communications Through Governance

The most critical element to ensuring interoperability of emergency communications tools and a highly functioning emergency communications ecosystem is a ...

Integrating Population Health into State-Wide System Transformation: A Road Map for States

States are working to improve health, improve quality of care and reduce costs through multiple initiatives, including State Innovation Model ...

Workshop on the Future of Nuclear Power

March 30-31, 2017 | Arlington, VA The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) held a workshop on ...

Parents and Children Thriving Together: Two-Generation State Policy Network Kickoff Meeting

March 20-22, 2017 | Denver, Colorado The National Governors Association for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Center for Law ...

Crowdsourcing Cybersecurity 101: Coordinated Vulnerability Disclosure

Right now, cyber criminals and foreign nations are probing state systems for vulnerabilities. Malicious actors exploit errors in software code ...

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