The Institute for Innovation in Social Policy devotes its full capacity to the analysis and publication of social indicators. Established in 1985, the Institute has worked on social indicators at the national, state, and international levels as a way to improve the reporting and understanding of social conditions. The Institute's work has had significant impact on public policy, public education, and the academic community.
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The Institute's most recent projects:
America's Social Health: Putting Social Issues Back on the Public Agenda calls for a fundamental change in the focus of public policy in America. It paints a vivid picture of the nation's social health, shows that America's social progress has stalled in recent decades, and recommends that our energies be directed at critical domestic issues in the years ahead.
The Social Health of the States 2008 compares the social performance of the fifty states, based on sixteen social indicators that measure the well-being of Americans in such critical areas as education, health, work, safety, and income.
The Index of Social Health, the centerpiece of the Institute's work, monitors the social well-being of American society. It has been released annually by the Institute (formerly the Fordham Institute for Innovation in Social Policy) since 1987.
Arts, Culture and the Social Health of the Nation is designed to monitor the artistic and cultural experiences of Americans. Based on the Institute's National Social Survey, it probes new issues and looks at changes in participation since the Institute's previous report in 2002.
The Social State of Connecticut is the twelfth report in an annual series established to monitor the social health of Connecticut. It includes the Connecticut Index of Social Health--the first such measure in the country to be developed under the auspices of a state government.