States for the future: a data driven policy network

Data-Driven Approaches to Public Safety
2026-04-23 14:00 - 15:00 (America/Chicago)
Our next States for the Future Virtual Community Discussion will be jointly presented with the Governmental Research Association’s Researcher Council, scheduled for Thursday, April 23 at 3:00 p.m. ET/12:00 p.m. PT.
Join us as we feature the Birmingham-Jefferson County Justice Governance Partnership (BJC-JGP), a program of the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama (PARCA). The BJC-JGP is a cross-sector initiative working to improve justice outcomes in Jefferson County by fostering collaboration between government agencies, community organizations, and residents. Terrika Shaw, Director of Community Justice Research at PARCA ,will share how the partnership is using cross-sector collaboration and neighborhood-level data to inform policy, align resources, and advance more equitable outcomes in Birmingham and Jefferson County.
CLICK HERE to add this event to your calendar.

A Virtual Roundtable Discussion on Modernizing the Federal Statistical System: Insights from State and Local Leaders
2026-03-11 11:00 - 12:30 (America/Chicago)
The U.S. federal statistical system plays a central role in shaping evidence-based policy development, critical public and private sector decisions, and the efficient functioning of government and society. The challenges that the system faces are not new, but increased attention in Washington on efficiency may further test statistical units across the government. The Bipartisan Policy Center recently launched Data for the Future, an initiative to modernize and support the federal statistical system to ensure it serves the interests of the American public.
States for the Future is co-hosting this 90-minute virtual roundtable discussion with the Bipartisan Policy Center on Wednesday, March 11 at 12:00 p.m. ET/9:00 a.m. PT. Here we will explore how the federal statistical system supports subnational governance, identify emerging challenges, and generate recommendations to improve its coordination, sustainability, and value for state and local decisionmakers.
Click Here to Register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/x0zaQjfFT_mBAM_TmRy6wQ

AI and State Data: Understanding the Risks and Rewards with the Data Integration Support Center
2026-02-18 13:00 - 14:00 (America/Chicago)
Are you exploring how your state government can use AI in productive, responsible ways? Or is your state already advancing major AI initiatives and grappling with questions around accountability, governance, and best practices? Join States for the Future for our next Virtual Community Discussion featuring experts from the Data Integration Support Center (DISC) on Wednesday, February 18, at 2:00 p.m. ET / 11:00 a.m. PT. Together, we’ll dig into how states can leverage AI and data innovation effectively, responsibly, and in service of the public good. Register below and come ready to discuss how data-driven tools can accelerate progress in your state—and the critical role state-based advocates can play in shaping this fast-evolving landscape.

Click Here to Register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/Jppl2Mr5QHaSUjrBEfxfiw

Taking America's Pulse, One State at a Time: Insights from the State of the Nation Project and Potential Partnerships
2025-11-19 11:00 - 12:00 (America/Chicago)
Join States for the Future on Wednesday, November 19 at 12:00 p.m. ET/9:00 a.m. PT for our next Virtual Community Discussion exploring the State of the Nation Project, an innovative initiative analyzing key data and trends shaping America’s future from The Murphy Institute at Tulane University. Our presenter, Dr. Douglas Harris, will describe how this project was developed and how this research provides actionable insights for policymakers and civic leaders working to build stronger, more resilient states. Dr. Harris will also preview a series of upcoming state-focused data profiles, and discuss the potential for state partnerships.
CLICK HERE to register!

States for the Future Annual Convening - November 4-6, 2025
2025-11-04 - 2025-11-06 | Canopy by Hilton Nashville Downtown, 920 Division St, Nashville, TN, 37203, United States
Join us for the annual States for the Future Convening in Nashville, Tennessee on November 4-6, 2025.
RSVP here (deadline extended to October 10)
Connect (and re-connect) with your counterparts in other states
The States for the Future convening will be an opportunity to learn, share, and collaborate with like-minded organizations that are leading policy conversations in their state with data and research. Building on the success of our two annual convenings in 2023 and 2024, our agenda will provide ample opportunities to learn how organizations similar to your own overcome challenges, engage their community, and inspire data-driven policy that positively impacts their state.
Agenda highlights include:

Navigating policy topics as non-partisan organizations
Building good data products
Engaging in the policymaking process
Storytelling and communicating with data
Getting smarter on key policy topics like education, housing, childcare, infrastructure, water and more

More detailed session information, including a full program agenda, will be provided in the coming months.
Who should attend?
This event provides a rare opportunity to connect with and learn alongside fellow experts and practitioners from across the country who share your commitment to data and research in advancing long term solutions to the many challenges states face.
To create opportunities for organizational and state ecosystem planning, we encourage you to share this invitation with a cross-section of colleagues from within and outside of your organization, such as:

Senior leadership in communications, policy, data, and programming at your organization
Key stakeholders from philanthropy, research community, and the business community in your state

Event logistics
As was in the case in prior years, there is no registration fee for this conference and SFF will cover all meals on site. This year, participants will be responsible for their own lodging and travel to the meeting. By completing the registration form, a hotel room will be reserved for you at the Canopy; there is no need to contact the hotel separately. SFF has secured a group rate of $299 (plus taxes and fees) per night for hotel rooms. Participants will pay for lodging when they arrive at the hotel.
Hotel rooms are available to meeting attendees on the nights of Tuesday, November 4 and Wednesday, November 5. Sessions will begin the morning of November 5 and end midday on November 6. We encourage out-of-town guests to arrive on Tuesday, November 4 in order to take full advantage of our sessions together.
We will host a dinner the evening of November 4 for anyone whose travel itinerary enables them to join (more details forthcoming).
Limited travel and/or lodging assistance is available for those for whom these costs would otherwise prohibit attendance. Please email info@statesforthefuture.org for more information.
About our location
Located in Nashville, Tennessee, the Canopy by Hilton Nashville Downtown (920 Division St, Nashville, TN 37203) is in the heart of the city and offers close proximity to many of the area’s attractions.
RSVP information
To secure a room as a part of our hotel room block, participants must RSVP by extended deadline of October 10. Complete the registration form below to reserve your space at the convening and lodging accommodations.
RSVP here (deadline extended to October 10)

Federal Policy Updates with Bipartisan Policy Center - Virtual Community Discussion
2025-04-30 11:00 - 12:00 (America/Chicago)
Hear about the latest in Federal policy updates from the Bipartisan Policy Center at our next States for the Future Virtual Community Discussion on Wednesday, April 30 at 2:00 PM ET / 11:00 AM PT. Rachel B. Snyderman, BPC’s Managing Director of Economic Policy, will discuss how changes in funding and fiscal policy at the Federal level could impact state services, programming, and budgets. Our conversation will cover focus areas for many organizations in our network, including education and health.
Click here to register and join us on April 30.

Overcoming Polarization with Participation
2025-02-13 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Join us for a virtual community discussion exploring Citizen Solutions, an innovative approach to fostering bipartisan civic engagement from The Builder’s Movement. Learn how this approach is shaping the future of policy-making in our increasingly polarized political landscape.
In this session, we will cover:

What is Citizen Solutions? Gain a clear understanding of this groundbreaking approach and how it empowers everyday citizens to participate in grassroots policy making.
What has been uncovered by Citizen Solutions pilots? What has Builder’s Movement learned from initial pilots and how it can inform the work you’re doing in your state.
Ways your organization can encourage collaboration between policymakers: See how approaches like Citizen Solutions and Builder’s Movements Power Rankings can foster bipartisan efforts.

Storytelling with Data
2025-01-16 11:00 - 12:30 (America/Los_Angeles)
Join Irena Asmundson of Practical Idealism Economics and Mark Benak of Imagine New Mexico for an interactive session on how your organization can use storytelling and data in your work.
Imagine New Mexico is a new non-profit fostering accountability and cooperation amongst local nonprofits, starting with improving health outcomes for New Mexico residents. In this session, we will explore a framework for applying narrative principles to data and how this approach can be used with Imagine New Mexico’s new health outcomes data dashboard. Please come prepared to help us brainstorm and offer feedback!
BONUS OFFICE HOURS: Participants can stay on for an additional 30 minutes of office hours with Irena, former Chief Economist for the state of California to ask questions about how to apply the framework to work in their own states!

To prepare for this session, please read the below and follow the listed next steps:
Stories help us make sense of data, and if you are not explicit about communicating one, the public will insert their own.
A story is defined by:

People who
Are trying to do something, but
Are blocked for some reason.

We already implicitly have these in mind, just because we’re human. When we decide to engage in non-partisan, data-driven research, this is almost certainly because there is a problem we want to help solve to help people.
When we put out research and data dashboards, we might define everything except what actually is the solution. By choosing what data to highlight, we are showing who we care about, what is going on with them now, and in defining the problem (such as by picking comparators) we are implicitly defining the problem and what success looks like. At least, that’s what the
public will conclude when looking at your work. Be honest with yourself: decide on the story elements and deliberately show the public what you’re thinking. Tell people why a dataset it important, or what you are concluding from it. They might disagree, but at least you will be clear with each other and can have a dialogue based on data.
Next steps:
1. Take the quiz: https://pi-economics.com/quiz
2. Map out your story elements.
3. Check how your work aligns with the story.
4. Adjust how you highlight or explain your data/research.
5. Talk to the public about what makes sense to them, and
6. Iterate!

Advocacy 101: Engaging in advocacy and lobbying as a 501(c)(3)
2024-12-12 10:00 - 11:30 (America/Los_Angeles)
Join States for the Future and Bolder Advocacy on December 12th 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET for a primer on nonprofits and policy making. This session will provide comprehensive information on the rules governing policy — and election – related activity by 501(c)(3) organizations and how they can engage without jeopardizing their charitable status. Bring your questions and learn how your organization can participate in developing, implementing and evaluating policy solutions.
Bolder Advocacy is a program of the Alliance for Justice that empowers nonprofits and foundations to boldly advocate on behalf of their missions.

All Network Meeting
2024-11-15 11:00 - 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Join us for our annual All Network Meeting, States for the Future’s virtual state of the union address on November 15th at 11 AM PT / 2 PM ET. Attendees will learn more about the future of the network and how participants can stay engaged. This meeting is open to anyone who is interested in States for the Future, regardless of your participation in our prior events. If you’d like to learn the latest about States for the Future, you are welcome to attend.

Thinking at scale: States and cities collaborating on shared issues
2024-10-17 11:00 - 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Many states, regardless of their political orientation, face comparable challenges, especially as the climate changes and the impacts are not confined by man-made state boundaries.
Join us on October 17 for a conversation with Ten Across, a cross-state organization dedicated to convening diverse perspectives to better share information and to inspire proactive decision-making for resilience and sustainability. Ten Across founder, Duke Reiter, will share his organization’s experience with partnering with states in the southern US to address extreme heat and water management, and how other policy organizations can build coalition, foster optimism, and collaborate with peer states to drive towards policy change.

Preparing for the Big Shift: Changes to Federal Race & Ethnicity Data Standards
2024-07-18 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Chicago)
In 2024, the federal government announced new race and ethnicity data collection and reporting standards that will require changes to how data is collected, analyzed, and presented. This, in turn, will have major implications for state governments and private-sector entities that partner with federal agencies.
Key changes include: 1) combining Hispanic and Race into one category, 2) the addition of a new category, and 3) mandating disaggregation within racial categories like Asian wherever feasible.
By September 2025, federal agencies will submit their agency action plans for implementation. This is a critical time for state policy organizations to better understand the revision process, and to identify “use cases” that can inform and improve federal agency implementation.
In this webinar, AAPI Data, who helped inform the new standards, will share the background of these standards and what they mean for states, how your organization can be prepared to implement these new standards, and how to be a resource for other stakeholders in your state.

Creating & Launching the North Carolina Resilience Index
2024-06-20 11:00 - 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Join the North Carolina Pandemic Recovery Office to learn about their newly launched Resilience Index. The Resilience Index scores their community’s ability to withstand and bounce back from major challenges in nine dimensions, including business and economic vitality, healthcare system, social cohesion, and communications assets.
This session is ideal for anyone interested in learning how to engage with stakeholders such as research partners, academic institutions, and government offices, or about leveraging data to understand the strengths and vulnerabilities of their community.

Analyzing & Communicating about State Budgets
2024-05-23 11:00 - 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Is your organization considering delving into the state budget analysis space, or curious how others operate? Then join us for our May virtual community discussion!
Our speakers are Mandy Spears of the Sycamore Institute and Jason Stein of Wisconsin Policy Forum, both veterans in budget analysis. They’ll be speaking to the basics of their states’ budget processes, how their organizations approach budget analysis, and how they use data and communications to engage their stakeholders.

States for the Future Data Platform Virtual Community Discussion
2024-04-11 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Join Dr. Holly Heard of Texas 2036 and David McClendon of January Advisors in an exploration of the States for the Future Data Platform.
In this virtual community discussion, attendees will learn how to use the States for the Future data platform, including how to best leverage it for advancing their work in their own states, and have the opportunity to chat with their peers about data products they use or built.

2024 States for the Future In-Person Convening
2024-03-04 - 2024-03-05 | Tempe, Arizona
The States for the Future Annual Convening is an opportunity to learn, share, and collaborate with like-minded organizations that are leading policy conversations in their states with data and research. The convening will be held March 4-5, 2024 at the Canopy by Hilton Tempe Downtown in Tempe, Arizona.

Building on the success of our inaugural convening in January 2023, attendees can expect to gain insights through a series of presentations from experts and facilitated discussions amongst each other. The Convening is organized around three themes:

The role of the state & data-driven solutions
Getting smarter: Doing our work & understanding the issues
States for the Future: Collaboration, learning, and next steps

Public Opinion Polling & How to Get Started
2024-02-15 11:00 - 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
How can we ensure the policy conversations happening in our state reflect the priorities of our communities?
Join States for the Future and the Center for the Future of Arizona for a discussion on the use of polling to understand the priorities of our states’ residents. Attendees will learn about “The Arizona We Want” poll and how Center for the Future of Arizona has used polling data to engage communities and decision makers around a shared vision for Arizona’s future.
Presenter: Dr. Amanda Burke is the Executive Vice President of the Center for the Future of Arizona. Dr. Burke focuses on innovation and systemic change that will advance the priorities of Arizonans and the long-term future success of the state. She is responsible for the organization’s strategy, operations, and program leadership, including CFA’s statewide initiatives in the areas of education, workforce, and civic engagement. Amanda is a Senior Advisor to the States for the Future network.
About Center for the Future of Arizona:Center for the Future of Arizona (CFA) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that brings Arizonans together to create a stronger and brighter future for their state. Born from a love for Arizona and a desire to help their state succeed, CFA invests time and resources into the state and its people, including a unique partnership with the Gallup organization to build robust survey research of Arizonans to bring critical issues to public attention, and work with communities and leaders to solve public problems.
CFA offers many resources, such as its Arizona Progress Meter, a web-based tool with interactive data and downloadable charts.
Registration is live through Zoom.

Using Rankings & Reports to Drive Policy Discussions in Your State
2024-01-19 15:00 - 16:00 (America/Chicago)
Join States for the Future and the Common Sense Institute for a conversation about their most recent report and their work in Colorado.
Participants will learn about the process of developing an index that allows us to rank and compare our state’s performance to other states.
We will be joined by Chris Brown, VP of Policy & Research at the Common Sense Institute, who will talk about his organization’s recently released annual Free Enterprise Report and Competitiveness Indices. Chris will share how CSI has used these types of reports inspire, facilitate, and frame policy conversations.

Data Deep Dive: Education
2023-12-12 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Chicago)
Join organizations in the States for the Future network for a discussion on bringing data into state education policy conversations.
Attendees will have the opportunity to hear from organizations doing this work in Texas and North Carolina and share experiences from their own states. Discussion questions:
What north star indicators are states using to drive collective action toward improving education outcomes?
How are non-partisan organizations using data to engage in hot topics in education policy?
Speakers
Cecilia Holden – President & CEO, myFutureNC
Dr. Holly Heard – Vice President, Data & Analytics, Texas 2036

Engaging Stakeholders to Build the Washington Vitals
2023-11-15 13:00 - 14:00 (America/Chicago)
How can you use data to drive ongoing conversations about your community’s future?
The Washington Vitals offer the most current data at the state and community levels to track progress toward Washington State’s desired future. Together with business and community partners, AWB Institute made Washington’s data come to life through good design and ongoing collaboration around the data.
Join Erika Borg of the AWB Institute to learn more about Washington’s approach and discuss efforts in your own state.
Speaker:
Erika Borg has nearly 20 years experience working within philanthropic, nonprofit and corporate circles to improve the lives of young people. In 2018 she started Civic Allies Consulting which supports chambers of commerce, nonprofits and philanthropy in drawing up strategy, programmatic design and identifying funding.
Erika also serves as the Senior Advisor to AWB Institute, a 501c3 affiliated with the Washington State Chamber of Commerce, dedicated to the long-term economic success of all Washingtonians. AWB Institute uses data and long-term economic trends to think through some of the biggest challenges facing Washington. The Institute’s flagship project is Washington in the Making and “The Vitals”. Erika has a Masters of Public Administration from University of Southern California and a Bachelors Degree in English from University of California, Davis.
