The Center for the Future of Arizona (CFA) Is helping define and shape Arizona’s future through an action-oriented agenda that focuses on issues critical to our state. CFA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit “Do tank” that combines research with collaborative partnerships and initiatives that drive the state’s economic prosperity, quality of life and civic health, and create a better future for all Arizonans.
The Arizona We Want initiative helps catalyze the public will needed to make the citizen goals of economic prosperity, quality of life, and active civic engagement a reality. The Education We Need initiatives reflect the reality that education is the most powerful leverage for achieving these goals.
We focus on big ideas, impartial analyses and leadership that is willing and able to identify long-term solutions to the most challenging issues of our time. Our vision for Arizona is one where civic and political culture are characterized by multi-sector collaborations. Most of the big challenges that confront us cannot be resolved by unilateral action by one sector or another. Moving Arizona forward will require broad engagement and consensus that brings leaders and citizens together with a common purpose.
CFA’s commitment is to take specific steps toward helping Arizonans take promising ideas into action.
The growing disconnect between citizens and the institutions that serve us will be bridged in ways that build public confidence and the public will needed to achieve the results that Arizonans want. Citizens have high expectations: quality jobs, a great Pre K-16 education system, access to affordable healthcare for all, a modern infrastructure, a sustainable environment, a culture that attracts and retains young talent and high levels of citizen engagement.
The success of every child is vital to our state’s economic prosperity, quality of life and civic health. To deliver on the promise of education, our education system must offer both excellence and equity. We must close the achievement gap that leaves so many children behind, increase educational attainment overall and prepare a highly skilled workforce. At the same time, our system must be adaptive and keep pace with a changing world economy.
