As Texas looks toward its bicentennial, Texas 2036 has released a new data-driven road map for the state to be the best place to live and work.
Reflecting more than six years of research and analysis, Shaping Our Future: A Strategic Framework for Texas was created by Texas 2036 and endorsed by the 36 members of its nonprofit, nonpartisan board as a resource to the state’s officeholders, influencers and the public.
Released in advance of the 88th Texas Legislature, the Strategic Framework provides in-depth, cross-cutting data to inform key decisions about the state’s most significant issues — for example, is the state’s educational system properly preparing the next generation of the workforce? Are Texans confident in their ability to obtain affordable health care? What’s the state of Texas’ infrastructure?
Texas 2036 stresses reliance on relevant, trustworthy data as a key organizational value, and the report lays out over 150 metrics to chart the state’s progress toward achieving these goals. In addition, the Strategic Framework provides Texans a clear look at how the state is doing against similar states across metrics that the organization has identified as the keys to continued success.
Among the framework’s key findings when reviewing the most recent performance indicators is infrastructure: Texas’ population is projected to increase by nearly 25 percent by 2036 to more than 38 million residents, putting Texas’ broadband and energy infrastructures to the test. Approximately 3 million Texas households lack any access to high-speed Internet service — indicating further work must be done to close the digital divide.
Another is government performance: Texas’ state budget revenues rank fourth most volatile among its 12 peer states. Volatile and inconsistent revenue sources can contribute to unstable budgeting environments, weakening the capacity to fund critical government services consistently.
Accompanying this second edition of the Strategic Framework is a new interactive dashboard, which allows Texas policymakers and the public to see the opportunities and headwinds and compare Texas’ progress against other large states.
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