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
State of the State – 2025
Governors of America's Commonwealths, States and Territories are outlining their priorities for 2025. To showcase their leadership and priorities for the year ahead, the National Governors Association is collecting their ...
Empowering Progress: Harnessing Skills-Based Strategies to Drive Public Sector Excellence
The public sector plays a key role in advancing skills-based strategies, driven by gubernatorial leadership. Whether in the early stages or more advanced in their adoption of skills-based policies and ...
Onboarding Session For Governors’ Legal Counsel
On Friday, January 31, the National Governors Association hosted an onboarding session for Governors’ legal counsel. The call discussed the role generally and highlighted key challenges and lessons for success ...
Let’s Get Ready
All Americans should have access to education that prepares them for success in life. As the world changes and technology evolves, ensuring all students graduate with the skills and knowledge necessary for success is increasingly critical for our nation’s economic competitiveness.
As Governors, we lead states facing economic opportunities but also challenges, shortages in workforce, skills mismatch, and widening opportunity gaps that limit true economic mobility for Americans. We must take these indicators as a call to action.
Program Areas
Center for Best Practices Library
State of the State – 2025
Governors of America's Commonwealths, States and Territories are outlining their priorities for 2025. To showcase their leadership and priorities for ...
Empowering Progress: Harnessing Skills-Based Strategies to Drive Public Sector Excellence
The public sector plays a key role in advancing skills-based strategies, driven by gubernatorial leadership. Whether in the early stages ...
Addressing The Link Between Trauma And Addiction
Given the variety of influential factors and the significant plasticity of the brain and behavior during child development, there are ...
Using Plain Language for Effective Health Communication
Governors are focused on improving the health and well-being of their constituents, and health communication is a tool that can ...
Advanced Grid Technologies: Governor Leadership to Spur Innovation and Adoption
This paper is part of a series published by the National Governors Association (NGA) to identify actions Governors can take ...
Educating All Americans for Success
Last July, at the NGA Summer Meeting in Salt Lake City, Colorado Governor Jared Polis was elected Chair of the ...
Hard at Work(force) Development
The NGA Center’s Workforce Development team had a busy fall with new publications on Actualizing the Promise of Youth Apprenticeship, ...
Best Practices in School Operations at the Governors Education Policy Advisors Institute
Early on at the 2024 Governors Education Policy Advisors (GEPA) Institute a Governor’s advisor pointed out that when it comes ...
Governors Work Together on Bipartisan Education Solutions
Governors aren’t focused on whether ideas are red or blue; we’re focused on finding policy solutions that work. Colorado Governor ...
Let’s Get Ready to Innovate
The Let’s Get Ready! initiative examines a different facet of education at each convening, and the Las Vegas gathering focused ...
Governor Youngkin, State Housing Advisors Shift the Conversation on Housing
“We know we have a housing accessibility and affordability crisis across America.” Addressing the 2024 NGA Housing Policy Advisors Institute, ...
Key Takeaways from Action Lab on Strategic Financing for a Comprehensive Substance Use Disorder Continuum of Care
States have taken important steps forward to build systems that address SUD and the overdose epidemic. (Read/Download) Introduction Aligning and ...
PAST NGA CHAIRS INITIATIVES
- 2023-2024
Gov. Spencer Cox’s Initiative
Disagree Better - 2022-2023
Gov. Phil Murphy’s Initiative
Strengthening Youth Mental Health - 2021-2022
Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s Initiative
K-12 Computer Science Education - View all…
