Governance
We believe: The public sector can and should serve the collective good.
• Improve government’s capacity to provide services and address challenges effectively.
• Support voter engagement.
Our Goals
SPUR Report
Designed to Serve
San Francisco’s governance structure has evolved to distribute authority and maximize oversight. As a result, policies don’t always meet the needs of the people they intend to serve. SPUR outlines how San Francisco can choose to design a better system.
SPUR Voter Guide
The SPUR Voter Guide
The SPUR Voter Guide helps voters understand the issues they will face in the voting booth. We focus on outcomes, not ideology, providing objective analysis on which measures will deliver real solutions.
SPUR Report
Making Government Work
Many of the challenges Oakland faces are worsened by its unusual government structure, which makes it harder for the mayor and other officials to do their jobs well. SPUR explores how the city can adapt its governance structure to better serve Oaklanders.
Updates and Events
November 2014 Voter Guide
Voter Guide
SPUR provides in-depth analysis of the 12 local propositions on San Francisco's November 2014 ballot. For each measure we ask: Is it necessary and appropriate to be on the ballot? Is it practical, and if enacted will it achieve the result it proposes? And most important: Is it a worthy goal, one that will make San Francisco a better place to work and live?
June 2014 Voter Guide
Voter Guide
SPUR provides in-depth analysis of the two City of San Francisco measures on the June 2014 ballot: Prop. A, a $400 million bond to rehabilitate or replace seismically vulnerable fire and public safety facilties; and Prop. B, an ordinance that would require voter approval for increases to existing height limits on Port of San Francisco property.
2014 Good Government Awards: How Zoon Nguyen United 500 Couples in One Weekend
News /
SPUR’s 34th annual Good Government Awards recognized Zoon Nguyen for rolling out the San Francisco assessor-recorder’s electronic system, increasing regular assessments and helping the city issue 500 marriage licenses in one weekend after the federal court announced the resumption of same-sex marriages.
2014 Good Government Awards: How the LEAP Team Keeps Kids Out of Trouble
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SPUR’s 34th annual Good Government Awards recognized the City of San Francisco’s Legal Educational Advocacy Program Team for improving educational outcomes for youth in the juvenile justice system and curbing the cycle of young people who go back into the system.
2014 Good Government Awards: How SF’s Rim Fire Team Defended City Resources
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SPUR’s 34th annual Good Government Awards recognized San Francisco’s Fire Rim Emergency Response Team for its quick, collaborative and strategic response to the 2013 Rim Fire, the third largest wildfire in California history.
Forecasting San Francisco’s Economic Fortunes
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Earlier this month, San Francisco’s leading economists met to predict the future. Each year, SPUR’s Municipal Fiscal Advisory Committee brings together city staff and independent economic experts from sectors including real estate, hospitality and retail. This year’s Annual Economic Briefing illuminated several key economic trends impacting the city this year.