Progress Indicators

California Forward is developing indicators that reflect the quality of life in California and the functioning of the state's systems of governance.  These indicators are intended to inform Californians of the progress being made in addressing high priority challenges and to guide governance reforms that will improve systems of public governance.   

Quality of Life Indicators

Quality of Life indicators reflect how well California is addressing public concerns.  Are our communities becoming safer places to live, work and raise a family?  Do Californians have access to high quality education and training?  Are Californians moving out of poverty and into prosperity?  Is it becoming harder or easier for Californians to access affordable healthcare and pursue a healthy lifestyle?

In identifying Quality of Life indicators, California Forward is initially tapping readily available and commonly used data that reflect the best available information on quality of life.  We are building upon the considerable work done by others.

Over time, California Forward will explore opportunities to develop additional indicators to better support decision-making.  For example, one common indicator of prosperity is California's poverty rate.  But in addition to tracking the percentage of California families that are poor, it is important to track the number of families who are able to move out of poverty within a specific time frame, such as five years.  A measure that tracks the rate at which poor families attain sufficiency - along with the overall number of poor families - might better inform decisions on how to help more families achieve sufficiency.

Quality of Governance Indicators

Quality of Governance indicators reflect whether government is responsive to the needs of residents, is making best use of limited public funding, is professionally managed and engaging the public in decision-making.  These indicators will help the public, policymakers and others assess the quality of governance, which supports efforts to deliver high quality public services.

Governance indicators have been used to guide corporate governance, international aid decisions and assessments of emerging democracies in developing nations.  But there are fewer applications of governance indicators in modern democracies such as California.  Thus governance indicators will be developed over time, through consultation with advisors - and we hope - with contributions from the public and civic leaders on the information they need to understand the quality of governance in California. 

California's Demographics

To understand the progress that California has made, and the challenges facing the state, it is important to recognize how growth and change in the population impacts the need for public services.  For example, California's population is aging and a growing number of older Californians is expected to create more demand for health care and related services.  To make it easier to understand how California's population is changing, we have prepared a brief document on California's demographics. Please download a PDF of this document from the Political and Policy Context box on the right. 

Public Expenditures

Policymakers must contend with limited public resources and far greater demand for public spending than can be met through available dollars.  But just how much money does the state spend each year?  How is that money allocated among many competing programs?  And where does the money come from?  To help answer these questions, we have prepared a brief document that outlines total state spending, the allocation of funding among various programs and the primary sources of that funding. Please download a PDF of this document from the Political and Policy Context box on the right.