To be a leading democracy in the information age means producing objective, independent, scientifically grounded, and widely shared quality information on where we are and where we are going, on both an absolute and relative basis, including comparisons to other nations.
David Walker, President and CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation / Former Comptroller General of the United States
From hundreds of health measures, 20 seen as key
- State of the USA, Institute of Medicine deliver focused set of health and health care 'yardsticks.'
- How the New Site Will Work
Meet 'Mary Jo,' a mom using the future State of the USA Web site to address an issue facing her family.
Public-private partnership needed for true accountability, transparency
By Chris Hoenig
CEO, State of the USA
A new dialogue is unfolding among
Americans about how to measure the
performance and progress of our society.
- New York Times: 1,000 Points of Data
"What we need now is a Web-based system for measuring our changing society with key national indicators in a free, public, easy-to-use form."
- Financial Times: A More Humane Way to Measure Progress
"Central to this is the need to capture more of the changes that affect people in their daily lives and to provide information that will have more meaning for them."
Introduction to the State of the USA
As a nation, we face serious issues and problems. In many arenas, the current situation is unsustainable and demands solutions.
To agree on solutions, though, we must agree on the problems. We cannot change what we cannot measure.
The State of the USA is a new non-profit institution that will provide easy access to credible, reliable information as well as a forum that allows Americans to engage on the issues that matter – from the economy and education, health and the environment, to families, children and public safety. Toward helping people to assess where our nation is moving forward and where it has stalled, the State of the USA will be a unique and valuable public service. More »
The State of the USA (SUSA) is both a growing organization and the name of a planned website. The website is not yet active, but it is under construction and expected to be available in 2009. When SUSA’s website is fully completed, it will display data from a range of public and private sources, including federal, state and local agencies; the business community; and nongovernmental organizations.
The purpose of the website you are viewing now is to introduce audiences to SUSA’s organization and its landmark initiative, which will assemble high-quality measures and data that can be used by Americans to educate themselves about the progress of the United States, to encourage an enriched civic dialogue and to support more informed public decision making.