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.

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Governors are Supporting Older Adults and Driving Improved Population Health

Governors are Supporting Older Adults and Driving Improved Population Health

The number of older adults in the U.S. is growing at a faster rate than any other age group and continues to be a population of focus for states and ...
State Strategies for School-Based Mental Health Services

State Strategies for School-Based Mental Health Services

As part of the 2024 Policy Academy to Drive Thriving Youth Mental Health, the National Governors Association supported the development of a Youth Advisory Council, where the six state teams ...
State Funding and Financing Strategies for Advancing Energy Projects

State Funding and Financing Strategies for Advancing Energy Projects

This policy brief highlights several state case studies of effective funding and financing mechanisms for energy projects, including the braiding of private, state, and federal funding or financing sources to ...

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.

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Center for Best Practices Library

Governors are Supporting Older Adults and Driving Improved Population Health

Governors are Supporting Older Adults and Driving Improved Population Health

The number of older adults in the U.S. is growing at a faster rate than any other age group and ...
State Strategies for School-Based Mental Health Services

State Strategies for School-Based Mental Health Services

As part of the 2024 Policy Academy to Drive Thriving Youth Mental Health, the National Governors Association supported the development ...
State Funding and Financing Strategies for Advancing Energy Projects

State Funding and Financing Strategies for Advancing Energy Projects

This policy brief highlights several state case studies of effective funding and financing mechanisms for energy projects, including the braiding ...
NGA Hosts Webinar with First Lady Jennie Gordon, Highlights Strategic Partnerships First Spouses Form to Advance Initiatives

NGA Hosts Webinar with First Lady Jennie Gordon, Highlights Strategic Partnerships First Spouses Form to Advance Initiatives

On May 16, NGA’s Health Equity Learning Network held a webinar focused on ways states and territories can address food ...
Budgets and Programs in Balance: Understanding the Fiscal Impact of Federal Policy Across State and Territory Systems

Budgets and Programs in Balance: Understanding the Fiscal Impact of Federal Policy Across State and Territory Systems

The NGA Public Health and Disaster Response Task Force, co-chaired by Hawai`i Governor Josh Green and Vermont Governor Phil Scott, ...
Policy Academy to Advance Youth Apprenticeship

Policy Academy to Advance Youth Apprenticeship

As a national partner in the Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship (PAYA), the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices ...
The Role of States in Shaping a Future-Ready EV Workforce

The Role of States in Shaping a Future-Ready EV Workforce

States remain on the front lines of developing the skilled workforce needed to support the electric vehicle (EV) sector’s continued ...
Governors Leading Economic Development

Governors Leading Economic Development

Governors are their states’ chief economic ambassadors, touting the unique advantages their states offer to businesses, and advocating a host ...
Maternal Mental Health Week 2025

Maternal Mental Health Week 2025

Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week is an opportunity to recognize and discuss mental health conditions that can arise during and ...
Congressional Briefing on Governors Reshaping Workforce Development

Congressional Briefing on Governors Reshaping Workforce Development

Last week, NGA and the Harvard Project on Workforce hosted a virtual congressional briefing to present results from the recently released report, Governors Reshaping ...
Empowerment Through Adult Literacy: Policy Pathways for Governors 

Empowerment Through Adult Literacy: Policy Pathways for Governors 

Adult literacy programs and partnerships provide foundational skills that lead to increased employment opportunities, improved physical and mental health outcomes, ...
Of the Youth, For the Youth, By the Youth: A Governor’s Guide for Incorporating Youth Voice into Policymaking

Of the Youth, For the Youth, By the Youth: A Governor’s Guide for Incorporating Youth Voice into Policymaking

As states and territories across the country work to address the challenges that many youth face related to their mental ...

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