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State lawmakers play a major role in advancing the quality of Americans’ lives, from helping to protect the air we breathe and water we drink, to educating our children.
By researching emerging topics and developing 50-state comparisons, Pew identifies innovative approaches states are using to help solve complex challenges. Pew also conducts extensive research and analysis to understand how states can better serve the public, and we work with states to develop data-driven, pragmatic solutions to issues such as dental health, the growing costs of incarceration, the need for cost-effective public pensions, protecting coastal habitats, and reducing flood risk.


States of Innovation
Data-driven state policy innovations across America
Data-driven policymaking is not just a tool for finding new solutions for difficult challenges. When states serve their traditional role as laboratories of innovation, they increase the American people’s confidence that the government they choose—no matter the size—can be effective, responsive, and in the public interest.
Exclusive state-policy research, infographics, and stats every two weeks.
Latest Research
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Related Projects

Nearly everyone involved with the civil legal system—judges, attorneys, and litigants—agrees it must be made more fair and efficient. However, no consensus exists regarding what local and state policymakers can or should do to accomplish that goal. ...
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Pew works with states to advance data-driven, fiscally sound policies and practices in the criminal and juvenile justice systems that protect public safety, ensure accountability, and control corrections costs....
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The Pew Charitable Trusts’ evidence project works with funding organizations, researchers, policymakers, and others to transform how research and evidence are generated, valued, and used....
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The fiscal challenges facing all levels of government are focusing attention on the federal-state relationship and leading to discussions about how costs should be allocated among local, state, and the federal governments. Pew provides policymakers...
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Pew’s retirement savings project studies the challenges and opportunities for increasing retirement savings. The initiative, which fosters policy discussion on how best to ensure that everyone can save a sufficient amount for retirement, examines...
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Managing a state’s finances—whether working to erase a budget deficit or reaching consensus on what to do with a surplus—is challenging. ...
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From mangroves and salt marshes to underwater coral reefs and seagrass meadows, nearshore habitats host abundant marine life and support the economic vitality of coastal communities across the United States....
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The United States has over 3.5 million miles of shoreline, and coastal counties are home to more than 123 million people. These areas, often heavily populated and highly developed, are at risk from floods and hurricanes. Pew’s initiative focuses on...
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Pew, in collaboration with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, encourages state, local, and national level organizations to include health considerations in policy decisions across multiple sectors, such as housing, transportation, and education....
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More than 2 million people with mental health conditions—including bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and severe depression—are jailed each year, often for misdemeanor crimes. Three-quarters of these individuals have co-occurring substance use...
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