The SACOG Board and its staff have a national reputation of success in innovation, policy, project planning and implementation.

Highlights and awards and recent years include:

• High-performance Metropolitan Transportation plans that integrate transportation, land use, air quality, emissions reductions, housing, and cost-benefit analysis (Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration Transportation Planning Excellence Award, Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations National Award for Outstanding achievement in Transportation Planning)

• Creation and implementation of the Sacramento Region Blueprint Growth Strategy (Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Award for Smart Growth Achievement, American Lung Association Clean Air Award, Harvard Kennedy Center Innovations in Government recognition)

• Key role in writing and implementing nation’s leading statewide regional planning legislation, The Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act of 2008 (SB 375)

• Programs average $125-150 million in funds for transportation projects biannually. Uniquely in the country, California law sub-allocates 75 percent of major funding streams to regional agencies

• SACOG is also active in California’s new Climate Change Cap and Trade program, a multi-billion dollar program statewide that targets over 60 percent of the funds to transit, housing and other projects that help to implement regional plans

• SACOG currently is managing efforts to implement a streetcar system, a regional bike share system, and a universal transit fare card to better connect regional transit operators

• A one of its kind Rural-Urban Connections Strategy (RUCS) is designed to help the region’s substantial rural communities achieve economic sustainability and success. (National Association of Development Organizations Innovation Award, Harvard Kennedy School Innovations in Government recognition)

• A high-caliber professional staff with a strong reputation for leading edge data processing, analytics, geographic information systems (GIS) mapping, as well as community involvement practices that support performance-based regional planning. SACOG plays a leading role in statewide and national initiatives that promote improvement and greater use of open source scenario planning tools. (ESRI) Special Achievement Award in Geographic Information Systems, Women in Transportation Seminar – Advancing Women in Transportation Employer of the Year, multiple awards for public involvement and communications from the California Association of Public Information Officers