The Kentucky Long-Term Policy Research Center was created by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1992 during an era of remarkable progress. Envisioned as a source of independent research that would enable the state to seize opportunities and avoid problems, governance of the Center was assigned to a 21-member board with the largest contingent (11 members) drawn from the at-large community. Thus, citizens from all walks of life were given the most significant role in overseeing the Center’s work. They were complemented by representatives from the executive (4) and legislative (6) branches.
Charged by the General Assembly with the mission of acting as “a catalyst to change the way decisions are made in government,” the Center was assigned a range of tasks, including: develop reports, articles, and briefs about issues of importance to Kentucky; prepare a biennial report on trends affecting the state’s future; conduct routine scans of news sources for early indicators of trends; and engage citizens and policymakers with periodic conferences and symposia. The data and information compiled by the Center, leaders believed, would enable greater understanding of the broader context in which decisions were being made and permit timely consideration of the long-term implications of larger forces, trends, and issues.
Over the subsequent 18 years, a modest budget would enable a staff of no more than six people to compile a remarkable body of work and use groundbreaking communications tools to inform policymakers and the public about their findings.
However, during the 2010 session, the Kentucky General Assembly suspended all funding for the Kentucky Long-Term Policy Research Center.
Because it had been valued as a resource of unbiased scientific research and data collection since 1992, the bulk of the Center′s work has been preserved here.