Colorado Policy Initiatives of The Pew Charitable Trusts

© Getty Images

Overview

In Colorado, The Pew Charitable Trusts supports the development and implementation of data-driven strategies aimed at improving public-policy outcomes. From enhancing the administration of Colorado’s election system to strengthening its fiscal health, Pew helps the state invest in policies and programs that are proven to work. Pew also joins with local organizations to safeguard Colorado’s majestic landscape while promoting the sustainable development of its natural resources. Across the range of its activities, Pew provides policymakers and citizens the data and tools to craft custom solutions that benefit all Coloradans.

The Pew Research Center, a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts, studies unfolding global attitudes and demographic trends and helps policymakers and the public prepare for future challenges. The center has conducted public opinion research in Colorado and throughout the United States since 1991, gauging attitudes on the economy, the environment, immigration, religion, and more. It does not take policy positions.

Key initiatives

State and consumer initiatives: As Colorado continues to emerge from the Great Recession, the state is collaborating with the Pew-MacArthur Results First Initiative to create evidence-based strategies to make its programs on corrections and child-welfare protection, among others, more effective and cost-efficient. To further advance Colorado’s fiscal stability, Pew supported landmark legislation that requires the state to evaluate its tax incentives, which will now be used to shape policies that deliver the best possible results for Colorado’s taxpayers and its economy. Pew also engages with local and state officials in Colorado to improve election administration through online voter registration and other reforms. Additionally, as the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau develops federal regulations for the payday loan industry, Pew has advocated that the consumer protections introduced by Colorado’s 2010 law should serve as a model for a national framework.

Environmental conservation: Pew works to preserve Colorado’s natural beauty by partnering with local businesses, individuals, and sportsmen to protect the state’s most pristine public lands, such as designation of the Browns Canyon National Monument. Pew helped guide the Bureau of Land Management’s sciencebased land management planning to responsibly balance conservation with development in 10 Western states, including Colorado. This conservation effort—the largest in BLM’s history—is safeguarding important sage-brush habitat for sage-grouse and more than 350 species of wildlife, including elk, mule deer, pronghorn, and golden eagles. Pew is also exploring ways to address the $12 billion National Park System maintenance backlog, including for Colorado’s Mesa Verde National Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, and Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument.

Our mission

The Pew Charitable Trusts is a global nonprofit founded in 1948. For more than 65 years, Pew has turned indifference into action—asking tough questions, studying problems, working with strong partners, and striving for effective solutions that bring diverse stakeholders together.