Programs

The Clean Energy program focuses on the link between California’s environment and economy and aims to help identify challenges, opportunities, and trends as the state looks to grow its economy while achieving ambitious environmental goals. The flagship publication within this program area is the annual California Green Innovation Index, the latest of which is the 10th edition, published in 2018. It tracks a variety of environmental and economic indicators over time, comparing California’s performance to states across the U.S. and to some of the world’s largest economies. Other recent work in the Clean Energy program has focused on the future of California’s grid, challenges to meeting our zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) goals, and environmental and economic impacts of some of the state’s leading climate policies, such as cap and trade, in disadvantaged communities.

The Economy & Governance program focuses on issue areas affecting all Californians—from housing and land use, to transportation and voter resources. Some of the recent key projects from this program include an analysis of how well California jurisdictions are doing in meeting their housing goals, as well as a look at what type of housing we need to build and where in order to meet our housing needs without compromising our climate goals. While housing has become a pressing priority for the state and, likewise, for Next 10—we also continue to produce more broadly relevant economy and governance tools, including the California Choices website. This nonpartisan online platform provides in-depth election information and resources to help voters make informed decisions in the voting booth. Through civic engagement and in-depth analyses of some of the state’s most pressing problems, we hope Californians will become empowered to affect change in their communities.

The Budget program seeks to engage and educate citizens on the tradeoffs and impacts that must be considered in the budget development process. The cornerstone of Next 10’s Budget Program is the interactive online tool, the California Budget Challenge. Started in 2005, the Challenge has been completed by over half of a million people and is updated annually to reflect the changing priorities and challenges in the development of California’s state budget. In addition to the online tool, Next 10 also regularly hosts interactive events across the state for legislators, nonprofits, and school groups and—in an effort to make the tool available to as many as possible—we have also developed materials to help individuals or organizations host their own interactive California Budget Challenge events.

Cities, municipalities, nonprofit organizations and educational institutions have also worked with Next 10 to modify our Budget Challenge platform for local budget education and engagement via licensed use. We have worked with Budget Challenge licensees across the U.S. and even internationally to help them educate and engage their constituents on the budget process and issues of importance in their communities. Partners include the cities of San Francisco, CA; Union City, CA; Washington, D.C.; and Peoria, IL, among others. For more information and to see examples of what our partners have done with this platform, please visit our Budget Challenge Licensing page.