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
SPUR Impact Awards 2019: Vallco Town Center Team Leads an Inclusive Process to Rethink a Declining Mall
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The 2019 SPUR Impact Awards, held on March 22, recognized outstanding job performance of those serving San Jose and the neighboring communities. The ceremony honored The Vallco Town Center Specific Plan team for transforming the declining mall into a mixed-use area that offers a wide variety of housing choices for all income levels and abilities.
SPUR Impact Awards 2019: Consuelo Hernandez Manages Finances to Increase Affordable Housing
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The 2019 SPUR Impact Awards, held on March 22, recognized outstanding job performance of those serving San Jose and the surrounding communities. The ceremony honored Consuelo Hernandez for building and leading a team that manages funds from the 2016 Measure A Affordable Housing Bond and the state’s No Place Like Home Program to increase supportive and affordable housing units in Santa Clara County.
SPUR Impact Awards 2019: Better BikewaySJ Transforms City Streets into a Network of Bike Lanes
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The 2019 SPUR Impact Awards, held on March 22, recognized outstanding job performance of those serving San Jose and the neighboring communities. The ceremony honored Better BikewaySJ for allowing hundreds of thousands of people to safely bike (or scoot) for their daily transportation needs, and transforming the role of San Jose streets into public spaces.
Good Government Awards 2019: SF Prepared Team Keeps Disaster Support Services Running
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The 2019 Good Government Awards, held on March 6, recognized outstanding job performance of those serving the City and County of San Francisco. The event honored the SF Prepared team for executing complex but essential finance and administrative projects and a “Disaster Academy” curriculum to prepare city finance and admin staff to respond in an emergency.
Good Government Awards 2019: Child Support Services Team Pilots a New Approach to Collecting Child Support
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The 2019 Good Government Awards, held on March 6, recognized outstanding job performance of those serving the City and County of San Francisco. The ceremony honored The Child Support Services team for piloting a new approach to address delinquent child support so that parents can focus their financial attention on their children.
Good Government Awards 2019: Gigi Whitley Transforms San Francisco's Approach to Homelessness
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The 2019 Good Government Awards, held on March 6, recognized outstanding job performance of those serving the City and County of San Francisco. The ceremony honored Gigi Whitley for building a new Department of Homelessness from the ground up and creating tools and systems that are radically transforming how San Francisco approaches homelessness.