Report Provides State Responses to Emerging Trends

Turbulent times in governing warrant innovative options

State government responses to the driving forces that are shaping society in the 21st century are highlighted in a new, cutting-edge publication from The Council of State Governments.

Trends in America: Navigating Turbulence to Success, will be released December 1st at CSG's Annual Trends and Leadership Forum in Wilmington, Delaware. The publication is the second in a series designed to provide state leaders with the critical information and tools they need to look ahead over the next three to five years and improve the everyday lives of their constituents.

The first edition, Trends in America: Charting the Course Ahead was released in June. It addresses the 10 most powerful change drivers impacting the United States—including aging, immigration, privacy and security, and globalization—and their implications for state policies and resources. The new edition highlights innovative state legislative and executive approaches to address these trends and the challenges they present, in order to help state leaders stay ahead of the curve and prepare for the future.

"Together, CSG's Trends in America publications will serve as critical tools for state leaders as they navigate the turbulent waters of our society today and tomorrow. We hope they serve as important guidebooks for state policymakers, helping our members chart the course into the future," said Daniel M. Sprague, the Council's executive director. "This task includes not only identifying the major trends and potential responses to them, but also addressing the institutional and governance issues that affect a state's ability to respond."

Recognizing the cross-cutting nature of these powerful forces of change, CSG is dedicated to tracking the trends that shape state governance and helping state leaders address them by thinking and acting outside traditional policy silos. These two new products are essential components of CSG's vital foresight mission.

The Council of State Governments is the premier multibranch organization forecasting policy trends for the community of states, commonwealths and territories on a national and regional basis. CSG alerts state elected and appointed officials in all three branches of government to emerging social, economic, and political trends; offers innovative state policy responses to rapidly changing conditions; and advocates multistate problem-solving to maximize resources and competitiveness. CSG promotes excellence in decision-making and leadership skills and champions state sovereignty.

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The Council of State Governments is the nation's only organization serving every elected and appointed official in all three branches of every state government. CSG has championed excellence in state government since 1933 by advocating multi-state shared problem solving and states' rights, by tracking national conditions, trends, and innovations, and through nonpartisan, groundbreaking leadership training and support.