The project captures and preserves the policies, reports, and debates that shape daily life for millions—school funding, zoning, housing subsidies, environmental protections, health regulation, and more.
Millions of documents (2000–present) from across all of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean will support research in law, political science, economics, sociology, environmental studies, and history.
At a glance
5+ million
documents and growing—a living collection that will continue to grow
40
countries: US states, territories; Canadian provinces, territories; Mexico; Central America; entire Caribbean
Users can...
Identify organizational and faculty impact in local communities
Enhance systematic reviews with broader source coverage, including empirical data, policy evaluations, and administrative statistics
Discover rare or obscure documents missing from traditional databases
See how the voices of boards, task forces, and commissions shape laws and policies
Perform cross-border comparisons of practices and policies easily—because all materials include English-language titles and summaries. How have US states handled disaster planning differently? How do policing in Canada and Mexico compare with practices in the US? How is the Caribbean creating environmental policy?
At-risk content preserved—and stabilized for reliable citing
Coherent preserves backup copies of thousands of reports, inquiries, and publications—safeguarding material that’s increasingly at risk of disappearing from websites. Persistent identifiers let you cite with reliability and include links in syllabi, LibGuides, and papers, with no more broken links.
Content—a comprehensive, integrated record of executive, legislative, and judicial activity
Millions of records from more than 1,500 organizations across all thirty countries in North America, including Central America and the Caribbean. The database is a living collection that will grow indefinitely—with more than a million items added every year.
Executive materials include...
presidential and executive-office documents, executive orders
national addresses, press releases
annual departmental reports and policy frameworks
strategy and white papers
audits, budgets, and statistical yearbooks
the daily work of offices, bureaus, auditors, ombudsmen, and records authorities
Legislative content spans...
hearings
laws and statutes
legislative gazettes
committee analyses
draft-legislation summaries
policy reviews
Judicial materials cover...
legal-reform commission reports
advisory opinions
access-to-justice studies
case filings
and more
Social media coverage
Social media content offers deep insights into policymaking, public communication, and organizational priorities—with unmediated records of governance, public statements, legislative debates, policy announcements, data releases, and government-commissioned research. Included in the database are:
1,700+ video channels
100+ blogs
100+ podcasts
Part of the Coherent Digital Government Suite
North American State, Provincial, and Territorial Governments is cross-searchable with other Policy Commons modules, enabling comparative research. Users can connect local governance to global debates.
The Government Suite comprises three Policy Commons modules that unify millions of documents across national (World Governments), subnational (North American State, Provincial, and Territorial Governments), and local (World Cities and Local Governments) levels. The suite transforms fragmented born-digital policy materials into an interconnected, searchable archive of more than 13 million items—from more than 180 countries, over 100 subnational governments, and thousands of cities around the world.
The three modules in the Coherent Government Suite support a library’s mission to preserve vital public information, meeting the demands for transparency and accountability.
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