A Year of Shared Progress and What Comes Next

As the year winds down, I’ve been spending time reflecting on what 2025 has held and who made it possible. Back in the summer, we brought government leaders from across the country together in person to think seriously about what’s next as they step into a new era of emerging technology.  The insights that emerged were clear and continue to guide our work as we look ahead to 2026.

Technology has enormous potential to improve how government serves people and advances in AI are rapidly expanding what’s possible. But experience reminds us that potential isn’t inevitable. Real progress takes more than the newest tech tools. It takes a deep understanding of the problem space, safe spaces for experimentation, communities for shared learning, and trusted partnerships, to name a few. 

In the months since we were all together, what’s stood out most to me isn’t any single initiative or milestone, but the seriousness and care with which government leaders are approaching this work. Again and again this year, leaders reached out not just to learn about AI, but to wrestle with how to implement it responsibly and in ways that actually serve people and earn trust.

We’ve seen many move from questions to action: developing formal AI adoption plans, piloting tools with trusted partners, and navigating a fast-changing landscape with care and intention.

At the Center for Civic Futures, we’ve been fortunate to grow alongside this demand. Over the past year, we’ve expanded our capacity and deepened our partnerships to better serve as connective tissue in supporting state, Tribal, and territorial governments as they shape what comes next with emerging technology.

This year:

• Our Public Benefit Innovation Fund (PBIF) Summer Open Call received more than 450 proposals, resulting in $8.5 million allocated across seven projects. These projects test how AI can improve access and program administration across 11 states, reaching programs that serve 7 million Americans.

• We launched a strategic partnership with The Rockefeller Foundation to create the AI Readiness Project, building on our community of practice of 30+ state AI advisors and leaders. Together, we’re developing an AI Knowledge Hub to support shared learning and infrastructure across states.

• We deepened partnerships with civic tech organizations including InnovateUS, United States Digital Response, the National Governors Association, and the Aspen Financial Security Program with the goal of connecting state leaders to practical resources that support responsible, effective AI implementation.

• And we are expanding our own team, welcoming new staff and distinguished fellows who bring real operational and subject-matter expertise to this work.

Because of these foundations, 2026 will focus on building forward, together. In the year ahead, we will:

• Scale the AI Readiness Project, supporting deeper state decision-making and expanding the AI Knowledge Hub;

• Launch our next PBIF Open Call next spring and support the 2025 PBIF cohort as they begin their work;

• Develop clearer, field-wide insights into where states are and what they need most, especially around workforce impacts and AI oversight and monitoring;

• Deepen partnerships across philanthropy, the private sector, nonprofits, and academia to strengthen this shared work;

None of this happens in isolation. It’s the result of government leaders willing to lead in uncertainty; funders and partners willing to invest with care; and a small but mighty team doing the often unglamorous work of building connective tissue across the field. It also builds on more than a decade of civic tech leaders working alongside government to modernize how technology is delivered in the public sector.

To everyone who has been part of this work in any way this year: thank you.  I’m genuinely grateful for your trust, your partnership, and your commitment to getting this right.

Cass

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