Report Outlines Trends and Issues That Will Dominate the Future Agenda

FRANKFORT, KY (January 8, 1999) — The Kentucky Long-Term Policy Research Center today released its third biennial report on trends influencing the future of the Commonwealth. The Leadership Challenge Ahead: Trends that will dominate the future agenda examines four broad trends affecting Kentucky: the rise of the wired community, a shifting economic paradigm, a deepening divide, and changing governmental responsibilities.

As envisioned by the Kentucky General Assembly, the 56-page report offers citizens and policymakers alike a body of information about opportunities, problems and uncertainties on the horizon that can be used, in the words of 1998 Center Board Chair Penny Miller, "to help chart a path toward a more prosperous future."

These four broad trends are certain to have a significant effect on the future of our state and to compel the attention of citizens and policymakers alike for years to come. The report considers the rise of the "wired" community, that is, the electronic network that is knitting the fabric of a new economy and a new social order. Then the report explores the effects of information technology on Kentucky’s economy, then society, and last government. By speeding the processes of globalization, information technology is changing our industries and businesses, and consequently is making brains increasingly more valuable to employers than brawn. The rising demand for what might be termed "knowledge workers" is polarizing wages and increasing inequalities in education and health care. Other changes in our society—most notably the aging of the population—will add to the financial burdens of the public sector. Consequently, the federal government is shifting some responsibilities to state and local governments, which in turn are relying more on the private and the nonprofit sectors to provide services. As governments at all levels strive to become more efficient, information technology will become the centerpiece of reform.

The Center was created by the General Assembly in 1992 to bring a broader context to the decisionmaking process. The Center’s mission is to illuminate the long-range implications of current policies, emerging issues, and trends influencing the Commonwealth’s future. The Center has a responsibility to identify and study issues of long-term significance to the Commonwealth and to serve as a mechanism for coordinating resources and groups to focus on long-range planning.