Objectives, Strategies and Indicators

As Arizona struggles to navigate through its most difficult economic challenges since the 1930's, there is no better time to focus on our fundamental values as a state and where we go from here. The Arizona We Want, through the Gallup Arizona Poll, provides that clear, comprehensive citizen voice.

Over the last year, the Center has moved rapidly to translate the eight citizen goals identified by the Gallup Arizona Poll into programs that provide communities with the tools and resources they need to achieve meaningful results for Arizona. One commitment was to develop score–cards for each goal that include:
– One or more long–term objectives (measurable)
– Suggested strategies for achieving them, and
– Key indicators to measure Arizona's progress over time.

Scorecards are under development for four citizen goals – job creation, education, healthcare and the environment. Advisory groups of experts and stakeholders representing diverse perspectives are helping shape the content for each scorecard, coordinating their work with other planning efforts underway across all sectors and levels of government as they do so.

GOAL 1
Create quality jobs for all Arizonans.
Arizona will have a strong and resilient economy. It will be less vulnerable to economic recessions and will provide all Arizonans with opportunities for quality employment and higher wages.

Long–term objective: Raise Arizona's average (mean) wage to one of the nation's top 10.

Arizona's average (mean) wage in 2009 was $42,832 according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The target wage to ensure prosperity for Arizonans in the future is $56,967,
an increase of 133%.

Suggested strategies: Focus economic development efforts and incentives statewide on growing high impact businesses. By definition, high impact employers generate more than 50% of their revenue from sales outside Arizona, pay an average wage that is 133% higher than the prevailing county average in which they reside, and make an annual capital investment of at least $1 million in a rural area or $5 million in an urban area.

The focus on net export companies will help to insulate Arizona from the impact of recessions, expand customer markets and increase the competitiveness of Arizona businesses in larger, more diverse markets.

To further support job creation, the advisory group encourages the Arizona Commerce Authority to focus on retaining, expanding and attracting high impact businesses, giving special attention to young, rapidly growing companies that disproportionately add jobs, and to collaborating with regional economic development organizations.

Recommendations include adopting a separate property tax classification that provides tax relief to high impact employers and adequately funding the State's job training program, targeted at the workforce needs of high impact companies and reimbursing a proportion of trainee wages (e.g., 60%) to companies for newly created jobs.

Advisors also recommend modifying the Governor's “deal closing” fund so that distributions are tied to collaboration with counties and municipalities, targeted to high impact employers, and dependent on a Return on Investment (ROI) that is realized in 5–to–7 years.

Key indicators include: Number of new high wage jobs per annum. Number of new full–time jobs per annum. Number of new full–time jobs per annum from net exporters. Total number of full–time Arizona jobs.

GOAL 2
Prepare Arizonans of all ages for careers in the 21st Century.
Arizona students will be competitive nationally and internationally upon high school graduation with the knowledge and skills to succeed in college or a career; all Arizonans will have access to high wage job training programs.

Long–term objective: Increase the number of Arizonans age 25–to–34 years old with either a four–year bachelor's degree, a two–year associate's degree or an industry–recognized training credential. According to the Census Bureau's 2009 American Community Survey (ACS),
– 24% of Arizonans in this age group hold a bachelor's degree
compared to 31% nationally.
–32% of Arizonans in this age group hold an associate's degree or higher compared to 39% nationally.

For Arizona to become one of the nation's top 10, the state needs to increase the number of citizens with an associate's degree or higher from 32% to 48%. Massachusetts currently ranks 1st with 54%.

Suggested strategies: Implement programs like Move on When Ready, a performance–based education model designed to increase student academic achievement to national and international levels; provide students a minimum college readiness level by the end of 10th grade; reduce the remediation rate in post–secondary institutions; and prepare students for success in their chosen educational pathway including obtaining their bachelor's or associate's degrees or occupational license.

Other strategies include strengthening science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education at all levels, introducing Algebra to all students by 8th grade, delivering math and science education to rural areas via e–learning and developing new funding models for all education levels based on performance, such as graduation rates, student performance on national and international benchmarks, etc.

Key indicators include: Percentage of children who are “school ready” when they enter kindergarten. Percentage of students who achieve “proficient” on NAEP (national benchmark) in reading, math and science in 4th, 8th and 12th grades. Percentage of students graduating from high school. Percentage of students entering college who need remediation. Growth in number of industry–recognized training credentials awarded to Arizonans. College degrees awarded and degrees awarded in STEM disciplines. Improvement on all indicators across all ethnic and income groups.

GOAL 4
Make healthcare more available and affordable.
Arizona citizens will have access to quality, cost–effective health care and health insurance, and they will be better able to prevent and manage chronic disease – a major cost driver.

Long–term objective: Arizona's will rank among the top 10 states in health and well–being, accessibility of health care, quality and cost–effectiveness of health care and reduced incidence of behaviors that contribute to chronic health conditions such as obesity and tobacco use. Current rankings, target goals and progress going forward will be tracked by national research provided by America's Health Rankings, Commonwealth State Scorecards, Kaiser Health Facts, National Healthcare Quality Report, Surescripts and the Gallup–Healthways Health and Well–being Index.

Suggested strategies:
To improve accessibility: Increase the number of primary care physicians, expand the availability of training programs statewide, enhance the cultural competency of healthcare professionals, and create a health insurance marketplace where consumers and small businesses can easily compare insurance options and receive subsidies to purchase coverage.

Key Indicators include (with current Arizona rank): Percentage of population who have health insurance (46th) and number of primary care physicians per 100,000 (44th). Percentage of those who always got an appointment for illness/injury/condition (40th) and for those adults on Medicare managed care who had good communication with their providers (43rd).

To improve quality and cost–effectiveness: Change insurance payment practices to reward quality, coordination of care and cost effectiveness. Provide Arizonans with information that helps them compare the quality and value they get from private insurance options.

Key indicators include (with current Arizona rank): Medicare hospital readmissions as a percentage of admissions (33rd). Percentage of at–risk adults who have visited the doctor for a routine check–up in the past two years (24th). Percentage of children who have a regular healthcare provider (45th). The number of Physicians e–prescribing (28th). Poor mental health days (25th).

Medicare (Part A and Part B) expenditures per enrollee (32nd). Average monthly premium (per person) in the individual market (40th).

To improve overall citizen health and well–being: Make policy and environmental changes that encourage people to eat healthy, be physically active and live tobacco free.

Key indicators include (with current Arizona rank): Percentage of Arizonans who are obese (19th). Percentage of children ages 10–17 who are overweight (24th). Percentage of Arizonans who smoke (11th). Public health funding per person (43rd). Percentage of citizens who rate their health status as “fair” or “poor” (25th).

GOAL 5
Protect Arizona's natural environment, water supplies and open spaces.

Arizona will be internationally recognized for its ability to leverage its commitment to the environment in ways that also support economic prosperity.

Long–term objective: All regions of the state will have water management plans in place that ensure sustainable water resources and delivery. New development will ensure the advantages of growth while preserving the natural open spaces, wildlife habitat and recreational assets that define Arizona's quality of life to citizens. Renewable energy will support economic development statewide, and will become one of Arizona's most valuable exports.

Suggested strategies:
To ensure water supplies: Develop state regional and municipal plans that ensure water delivery via all providers, natural and commercial. Identify water sources and watersheds vital to future water supplies and the natural environment, and develop funding plan to protect and enhance these waters and lands.

Key indicators include: Increasing numbers of Arizona rivers that are flowing and healthy by national standards. Positive trends in water use on all metrics.

To achieve balanced growth: Develop 2012 ballot measure that modernizes state trust land management in ways that conserve ecologically important lands, create more livable communities and increase funding for Arizona schools. Work with the Governor's Forest Health Council to identify incentives to increase the number of acres of healthy forests in Arizona, and to support business development for sustainable wood products.

Key indicators include: Percentage of people living with 5 miles of publicly accessible natural open space. Percentage of state forests meeting national health forest standards. Amount and proportion of new development proposed in areas identified as important wildlife habitat and open space by jurisdiction. Increasing investments in and acres of wildlife habitat and natural open protected by jurisdiction.

To develop renewable energy resources: Work with the Governor's office to achieve policies and practices that encourage the growth of the renewable energy resources as a core industry and key driver of job creation in Arizona.

Key indicators include: Increasing reliance among all user groups on renewable energy resources, growth in renewable energy exports.



ABOUT THE SCORECARD PROCESS
Scorecard development for Goal 3, make Arizona “the place to be” for talented young people, and Goal 6, build the transportation and communications infrastructure Arizona needs for the future, will begin in fall 2011. Key indicators for Goal 7, increase citizen engagement, and Goal 8, increase the sense of connection that citizens feel to one another, are tracked and measured by the Arizona Civic Health Index.

Visit www.TheArizonaWeWant.org/Scorecards to follow efforts to develop indicators to track and measure progress on the citizens' agenda. In addition, a partnership has been established with the Arizona Indicators Project (AIP) to provide a special dashboard for The Arizona We Want.