Good Government

Our goal: Support a high-functioning public sector that serves the collective good.

SPUR’s Five-Year Priorities:

• Provide voters in San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland with in-depth analysis and recommendations for all ballot measures at the state, regional and city level.

• Improve the functioning of city government through structural reform.

• In each of our policy areas, develop the government capacity necessary to address the region’s challenges.

Find more good government research

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.

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SPUR Event

Good Government Awards

The Good Government Awards honor outstanding managers working for the City and County of San Francisco, recognizing them for their leadership, vision and ability to make a difference in city government and in the community.

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SPUR Report

Back in the Black

San José has the highest median household income of any major city in the country, but years of budget cuts and staffing reductions have left the city in a precarious position. SPUR and Working Partnerships USA explore how San Jose can bolster its resources and deliver high-quality public services.

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SPUR Event

SPUR Impact Awards

The Impact Awards Luncheon, honors the outstanding contributions by employees of city and county governments, public agencies and nonprofit organizations in Santa Clara County. The awards celebrate significant accomplishments in the areas of housing, transportation, placemaking and urban design, community advocacy, and sustainability and resilience.

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Updates and Events

Where Do We Go From Here? SPUR Sets New Vision and Long-Range Goals

News /
With vaccines rolling out and stable national leadership in place, we can trust that we will, eventually, reemerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. The question now is: Reemerge into what? To return to “normal” would be to reembrace a way of living that was neither sustainable nor equitable. To meet this moment, SPUR has articulated a bold vision statement and evolved our organizational mission.

November 2020 Election Results

News /
This year, SPUR’s Voter Guide provided Bay Area voters with analysis and recommendations on 35 local, regional and state measures. Now that the dust has settled, a historic election in a historic year has produced a number of critical local wins in the Bay Area, despite some significant defeats.

Silicon Valley Roundtable: Recovering From the Pandemic Means Addressing Systemic Injustice

News /
Leaders in Silicon Valley are looking at the innovations that might emerge in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. One thing is clear: This time, it won’t be an engineering solution. The Silicon Valley Recovery Roundtable, launched to help businesses safely reopen, realized that its goal was not to return to “normal” but to repair the systemic disparities that existed before the pandemic.

How Should We Rebuild Government After COVID-19?

News /
Should some smaller Bay Area cities merge as a way to weather the economic fallout wrought by COVID-19? The pandemic will have a significant impact on local governments — but it might also present a once-in-a-generation opportunity to rebuild a governance system that better serves the Bay Area.

A Budget Priorities Evaluation Framework for Oakland

Policy Letter
SPUR believes that a city’s budget is one of the clearest statements of its priorities and as such it should reflect the city’s values. Amidst this uncertainty SPUR has offered a Budget Priorities Evaluation Framework to Council to help guide deliberations
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