A2SI

At the Austin Area Sustainability Indicators (A²SI), we aim to measure quality of life, sustainability trends, and serve as the foundation for a systems approach to address challenges in Central Texas.

The initiative is led by Patrick Bixler at the RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service in the LBJ School of Public Affairs, where we report on indicators to inform the community on critical Central Texas issues in need of attention. Indicators describe context, identify trends, and translate data into points that are easier to communicate. Our indicators span population demographics, civic life, education, health, mobility, economy and environment.

We operationalize our mission within the Collect, Connect, Catalyze framework. Collecting primary and secondary data, analyzing it, and reporting it are the foundational tasks of the project. Connecting refers to ensuring that the data that is collected and reported is in service of the community. This includes the dissemination of the results to a wide range of stakeholders and community members. Given the RGK Center’s position between non-profits, policy, and academia, A²SI can benefit from being at the center of this stage to effectively connect and catalyze. The result is catalyzing action by different segments of the community. This action can take many forms, but generally reflects how philanthropy, non-profits, government, and community can use data to improve decision-making and policy design.