In 2010, the Western High-Speed Rail Alliance, a group of Metropolitan Planning Organizations from Colorado, Utah, Nevada and Arizona, contracted with the Utah Foundation to undertake a background study of high-speed rail (HSR) systems worldwide to assist the Alliance as it begins to assess the feasibility of implementing a high-speed rail system in the region.

The report reveals a number of features and characteristics common of high-speed rail systems and the environments they exist in. First, most countries with high-speed rail systems are economically well-developed, geographically small and densely populated. This is likely because high-speed rail requires significant capital investment and works best when connecting major population centers less than 600 miles apart. Second, most countries with high-speed rail systems have governments that are relatively centralized and cultures that are less individualistic compared to the United States. This could be due to the fact that implementing high-speed rail requires the coordination of finance, policy and regulation across regional and local governments, as well as unified national policy directives and often national funding.

The federal system of government in the United States would likely require one of two arrangements to implement high-speed rail across the country, due to the inability of most states to finance high-speed rail on their own: 1) a federally funded, owned and operated high-speed rail network, or 2) regional coalitions of state governments that collectively fund, own and operate high-speed rail on a regional basis, possibly, and perhaps requisitely, with some federal funding.

Political and cultural differences between the U.S. and other HSR countries show that development of HSR in the U.S. may be more difficult than in other countries.

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This report, compiled through the use of budgetary documents published by the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget, analyzes state expenditures in seven categories: public education, higher education, other operations, health and human services, transportation, law and order, and capital and debt service. Changes in each category are analyzed by calculating a ratio of government spending per $1,000 of personal income, which roughly illustrates the proportion of Utahns’ earnings that are dedicated to funding state government.

Examining spending changes shows total state expenditures per $1,000 of personal income were declining steadily from the early 1990s until Fiscal Year 2007. This does not mean the actual dollars of spending decreased in those years, but that the increases in spending were slower than the increases in Utahns’ incomes. This trend changed in 2007 and 2008, as surplus revenues from the economic boom were spent on state programs. However, spending has declined significantly since Fiscal Year 2008, as the economy fell into a deep recession. Nevertheless, the declining state economy has not resulted in across-the-board cuts in Utah’s public services, as the proportion of personal income dedicated to certain categories and departments, such as Workforce Services and the Labor Commission, actually increased during this period.

Although federal funds are not factored into this report’s calculation of state-level expenditures per $1,000 of personal income, they are, nevertheless, critical to the state’s budget. Since FY 2009, federal funds have become larger than the other two main funds in Utah’s budget, replacing the Education Fund as the number one source of revenue. The influx of federal funding seen since the recession is a temporary phenomenon, made possible by the federal stimulus packages. Federal funds have been critical to categories such as other operations and health and human services, supplementing declines in state funding.

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During the first stage of the assessment, Utah Foundation held focus groups with UWSL’s Change Councils, main funders, and staff to determine and gain consensus about what the vision of change is for each of UWSL’s priority areas (income, education, health, safety-set services, and immigrant/refugee integration). The information from these focus groups were compiled into a survey, which was distributed to a larger audience of UWSL affiliates who were asked to rate the importance of each objective.

The second stage involved collecting baseline and trend data for each of the indicators measuring change and success in UWSL’s priority areas. Utah Foundation collected, graphed, and analyzed over 300 indicators for UWSL, which allowed for an initial prioritization of objectives according to need.

The third stage of the assessment was to identify underlying causes and barriers to individuals achieving each objective. Utah Foundation held focus groups with UWSL’s Change Councils to gain consensus about the underlying barriers. These barriers were then categorized into five or six main ideas and implemented into a survey distributed to UWSL affiliates. The purpose of the survey was to help UWSL understand the public’s perspectives in order to build community consensus as it transitions to a community impact United Way. Utah Foundation also reviewed academic literature on the underlying barriers for each objective.

The fourth stage was to examine UWSL’s external and internal capacity for change. Utah Foundation developed five surveys to be administered to UWSL Change Council members and other stakeholder groups. These surveys asked participants to assess UWSL’s organizational capacity to impact particular issues.

The fifth stage involved collecting the opinions and perspectives of populations most affected by economic and social challenges are represented in UWSL’s decision-making framework. These are the populations that use the services provided by UWSL partners and grantees and are most helped by UWSL’s advocacy efforts. In order to collect this information, Utah Foundation held six different focus groups; four at United Way Community Learning Centers located in Salt Lake and Davis Counties, one at the Utah State Prison, and one at the YWCA of Salt Lake. A one-page paper survey was also distributed to clients of UWSL partners and an online version of this survey was sent to AAA Fair Credit Foundation clients.

Finally, Utah Foundation developed a UWSL Donor Priority Survey to collect information from UWSL donors about which objectives they prefer to fund. Imagining they had $1,000 to invest in the areas of education, income, and health, participants were asked to select the one objective from each priority area they would choose for their investment. The information collected from these six stages was then organized into a decision-making framework, which allowed UWSL to prioritize the objectives on which it will focus its community impact work.

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Assessment Data Reports
More information about UWSL’s Community Impact Planning Process

Among the many findings in this detailed survey are:

• Voters’ priorities for action by elected officials are focused around education, the economy, crime, elected officials’ ethics, states’ rights, water supply, and decreasing state spending.
• The priorities of Republican state convention delegates are about limiting government power, improving the economy, and preventing illegal immigration.
• The priorities of Democratic delegates are about human services, elected officials’ ethics, and protecting the environment.

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Executive Summary
Full Report (Data from Dan Jones and Associates)

As the introduction to the 2010 Utah Priorities Project, this report provides a summary of the findings of a statewide Dan Jones and Associates survey assessing which issues are most important this year and how voters feel about Utah’s economy, society, and politics. The full report is available online at www.utahfoundation.org. The goal of this survey is to determine the most important public policy issues for voters, their level of concern about each issue, and to provide details about why voters care about some of the major issues. The survey was not designed to gather voters’ prescriptions for solving these problems, but rather to provide a solid list of priority issues for candidates and voters to focus on through this election cycle.

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Executive Summary
Full Report from Dan Jones & Associates

This report evaluates a list prepared by Utah’s Department of Workforce Services of the best high-growth, high-wage jobs Utah officials expect to see in the next decade. It provides detailed information about the educational and training requirements for each of Utah’s top jobs, as well as data on the current levels of attainment of the degrees or training necessary for each job. The purpose of this report is to inform current workers, future workers, employers, and policy makers about the opportunities that exist in Utah’s economy and the steps that are necessary for Utah workers to take advantage of these opportunities.

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Executive Summary
Full Report

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Utah Foundation chapter
Entire ERG at Governor’s website

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Press Release