At long last, we’re in the middle of September. School’s back in session. Temperature forecasts are (mostly) down in the double digits. Football is being played.
And at Texas 2036, we’re ready for our close-up.
Our mission hasn’t changed. We still believe that — with a Texas population expected to grow by nearly 40 percent between now and Texas’ bicentennial in 2036 — our state needs a strategy to meet its long-term needs, and thorough, actionable data must be at the center of it. Welcoming newcomers has made Texas more successful, and those who will arrive in future years will have much to contribute. Over the past several months, our policy and data team members have been working to gather and contextualize what is happening in Texas today and where we need to go.
Get ready to start seeing the fruits of that work:
- This week, we have unveiled a new website with more information about who Texas 2036 is, why we are here, and what we are trying to achieve.
- Next week, we will add two new data resources – the Case for Action data interactive called “Come and Make It,” and Live-and-Work Performance Indicators – to our growing series of comprehensive data resources found here.
- The Texas 2036 Case for Action will give Texans the opportunity to explore how our state’s population will change over the coming years and what impact those changes will have on education, water and other resources. Our first set of performance indicators will help all of us start to answer the question, “Is Texas the best place to live and work?” We will start with 11 high-level indicators and continue to build out that data set in the months to come. Both will help explain why Texas needs to think more about how to extend and expand our economic prosperity into the future.
- Next Thursday, Sept. 26, we will announce new members of Texas 2036’s large and growing Board of Directors — including names you’ll likely recognize from their many contributions to the state.
- And on Saturday, September 28, we will host a series of free panel discussions at the Texas Tribune Fest — covering the future of education, jobs, transportation and health — under a tent on Congress Avenue in Austin that is open to the public. If you’re in Austin that weekend, please stop by the tent to learn more about Texas 2036 and our work.
This is an especially exciting month for us, because we’ve taken our time to get to this point. We’re not here to offer quick fixes and then scoot off the stage. Instead, we’ve travelled around the state to listen to many of you and your concerns and carefully started to assemble the right data, research and leaders to inform and lead the vital conversations Texas needs to have about our future.
We hope to see and hear from you later this month. Make sure to stay connected by signing up for our email and following us on our social feeds.
Together, we can achieve the right results for Texas.