A Time for Change

By Michael Jacobson, Executive Director

Looking around, things feel appreciably different compared with a year ago. The other side of COVID-19 appears close, demands for racial justice have created momentum for progress, and a new era of governance grounded in truth is underway.

At the CUNY Institute for State & Local Governance, these changes come at a watershed moment for our work and mission. Our initiatives to help government and institutions work fairly and equitably for all via good governance—they’ve never been so vital or relevant. The past year has confirmed how much good governance truly matters. As a think-and-do tank, our sleeves remain rolled up—our work to help optimize institutions and leaders continues.

This new blog, Institute Intelligence, is inaugurated with that in mind. The insights and perspectives developed through our projects and partnerships offer actionable takeaways for institutions and leaders—making communicating and sharing them an imperative. We’ll share those insights regularly here, along with updates on our research and policy initiatives, which fall in three distinct yet interrelated issue areas: Promoting Opportunity, Optimizing Government and Institutions, and Advancing Justice. 

Within and across those areas, we continue to drive change through four key strategic interventions: analyzing and diagnosing the complex challenges facing government; designing & innovating solutions; building partnerships & infrastructure; and changing public dialogue. Uniquely, we don’t just identify problems, we seek to help fix them in partnership with others—to help government work most effectively, for everyone, regardless of background or zip code. 

Our work continues, and we’ll share it here. As always, we welcome your comments and partnership.