RD330 - The Virginia Report 2013


Executive Summary:
This report was prepared pursuant to § 2.2-2686 of the Code of Virginia, which requires the Council on Virginia’s Future to:

“develop and submit annually to the General Assembly and the Governor and publish to the public a balanced accountability scorecard containing an assessment of:

• current service performance,
• productivity improvement, and
• progress against long-term objectives.”

This report presents a high-level assessment of Virginia’s progress in areas that are important to its quality of life. It is issued annually to help track progress over time, highlight challenges, and provide analytic information for leadership and decision-making.

The main report consists of four sections: A brief profile of Virginia, an assessment of Virginia’s progress, a section on Virginia’s regions, and a brief discussion of the Council’s areas of emphasis during 2013.

The first section, "A Profile of Virginia," provides a brief snapshot of the Commonwealth.

The next section, "How Is Virginia Doing?," examines the progress being made toward long-term goals for both Virginia and its state government.

The third section, "A Regional Perspective," provides a discussion of selected regional indicators, as well as detailed comparisons of each region’s performance.

The final section, "Council Areas of Emphasis," includes a brief introduction to the Council on Virginia’s Future and a summary of recent developments in the evolution of Virginia Performs.

All levels of Virginia Performs continue to be updated and improved. For instance, societal-level data are updated as new information becomes available, and new measures and links are added when they can help improve assessment. In addition, agencies are now using the new Performance Budgeting System for strategic planning and performance reporting. More information on all these and other improvements and initiatives will be provided in the Council’s annual Executive Summary, to be published in January 2014.