10 Year Plan for Oregon Project
Economy & Jobs Policy Vision
April, 2012
Economy and Jobs Outcome:
Oregon has a diverse and dynamic economy that provides jobs and prosperity for
all Oregonians
Each national or world recession casts a harsh light on a persistent problem for Oregon. The state
remains trapped in a “boom and bust” pattern that makes Oregon over-sensitive to national and global
economic dislocations. Oregonians feel the effects throughout the state, with high unemployment and
stagnant personal income, as well as repeated protracted funding crises for Oregon’s public services
(such as transportation, education and healthcare) that form the foundation of a strong, competitive
economy. As explained in the 10-year strategy on Healthy People, a robust economy with ample mid-tohigh income jobs is a baseline for a state-wide high quality of life, which includes healthcare, food
security and quality housing.
Breaking the cause of this cycle is the single most immediate and important issue facing Oregon.
Oregonians have many of the ingredients necessary for a strong, resilient economy, but there are critical
gaps, and a need to put these elements together as a strategy.
Though the private sector creates jobs, the public sector creates the fertile environment the private
sector needs to build a vibrant and innovative economy based on Oregon values. As explained in the 10year strategy on Education, Oregon is committed not only to improving educational attainment for its
citizens, but also to becoming one of the best-educated populations in the world. Policy makers must be
intentional about creating opportunities for Oregon’s small and medium homegrown businesses,
Oregon’s entrepreneurs, Oregon’s universities and spin-offs from traded-sector companies –
strengthening Oregon’s economy from the bottom up.
Oregon must also address growing disparities across regions and demographic groups. Achieving a
standard of “livability” must be a goal for all Oregon communities. Given the significant demographic
shifts that have and will continue to occur over the coming decades, policy makers must ensure that all of
Oregon’s citizens state-wide are prepared to benefit from economic development opportunities and
growth along career pathways.
Oregon will have a strong, diverse, globally engaged and recession-resistant economy that generates at
least 25,000 jobs a year to keep Oregon consistently below the national average unemployment rate.
Oregonians in every region of the state will enjoy jobs with rising incomes consistently above the national
average. Communities of color will achieve decreases in disparities and proportionate increases in
economic health. The Oregon economy, coupled with a stable system of public finance, will generate
adequate public revenue to support services critical for the health, safety and success of the state.
Oregon will protect and manage the state’s natural landscape to provide a sustainable flow of economic
and quality of life benefits that promote investments to create jobs and communities where people want
to live.
1
This policy vision provides context and guidance for the 2013-2015 budget development process; the resulting two-year budget will define initial 10-Year Plan implementation actions.
However, this document is not the 10-Year Plan which will identify outcomes, strategies, and measures linked together over five budget cycles and connected to long-term financial goals.
10 Year Plan for Oregon Project
Economy & Jobs Policy Vision
Existing industries in sectors such as agriculture, timber, fisheries, outdoor apparel and high technology
will grow and thrive, continuing to lead the world in industry-led innovation and efficiencies. Continued
innovation in these industries is essential to Oregon’s future prosperity. Meanwhile, Oregon must retain
critical manufacturing and workforce skills capacity fundamental to future production.
Emerging industries in renewable energy, energy efficiency and clean technology will thrive. Through
energy savings, wind, sun, biomass and wave energy communities will keep dollars circulating in the
region that would otherwise be lost to imported energy. Oregonians will harness the innovation in their
local communities to support these endeavors, create new ones, and help the whole economy become
more productive and sustainable.
Across different industries, Oregon will be a great place to start and grow businesses, continuing to be
one of the best places to do business because of lower costs such as health care, energy, and worker
compensation, and increased certainty through predictable, consistent, and timely regulatory systems.
Companies will find skilled workers who will help them innovate and grow in an inclusive and welcoming
business environment.
A robust economy with ample mid-to-high income jobs is the foundation for Oregon’s high quality of life
and is necessary to fund quality education and other public services. Adequate public infrastructure and
services in turn are necessary to support Oregon’s growing economy. This virtuous “circle of prosperity”
will be the foundation upon which the state will build all initiatives to improve Oregon.
Strategy 1: Focus on sustainable business development, advanced manufacturing and
the chain of innovation through market-based cluster strategies and creative
partnerships
In an environment of diminished public resources, policy makers must streamline and focus state efforts
to attract and support business. Policy makers must engage all of the state’s available resources, both
public and private, and leverage those limited resources to ensure growing businesses have access to
capital.
Policy makers accomplish this by engaging the private sector through the Oregon Cluster Network and
the Oregon Business Plan, Oregon’s research institutions who drive innovation, and the formal structure
of economic development agencies and networks. Entities include Business Oregon (and related entities,
such as the Oregon Innovation Council), Oregon Department of Agriculture, Regional Solutions Centers,
Small Business Development Centers, regional economic development entities, some of which are
recognized by the federal Economic Development Administration (EDA), ports, chambers of commerce,
federal agencies such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Small Business Administration, universities,
community colleges, and workforce entities, including the Oregon Entrepreneurs Network and local
development funders.
By engaging these partners, policy makers can help foster ideas to grow into concepts and ultimately to
products that bring additional jobs and dollars into Oregon’s state and local economies. A central
component of Oregon’s economic strategy has been and should continue to be “traded sector”
businesses, those that market goods and services outside Oregon. While these employers account for
2
This policy vision provides context and guidance for the 2013-2015 budget development process; the resulting two-year budget will define initial 10-Year Plan implementation actions.
However, this document is not the 10-Year Plan which will identify outcomes, strategies, and measures linked together over five budget cycles and connected to long-term financial goals.
10 Year Plan for Oregon Project
Economy & Jobs Policy Vision
only about one-third of Oregon’s jobs, they have a huge ripple effect on the businesses that sell goods
and services inside Oregon. Valued local businesses such as education, construction, tourism, public
sector, retail merchants, professional services, utilities and restaurants, account for two-thirds of
Oregon’s jobs and provide their products and services exclusively or primarily on a local basis. Oregon is
the ninth most trade-dependent state in the nation, which underscores the need for maintaining,
preserving and strategically improving transportation infrastructure and services to assist the Oregon
businesses market be competitive.
Direct fiscal implications relate primarily to Business Oregon and the Oregon Department of Agriculture,
as it supports a number of partners. Funds specifically related to economic development activities could
also flow directly to higher education and workforce-related institutions.
1.1 Focus on sustainable business development and the chain of innovation
Three main ideas work together to accomplish this strategy:
1. Use a “cluster strategy” focused on key traded sector industries with the greatest potential for
job growth, paying higher wages, and bringing new capital into the state’s economy.
2. Focus Oregon’s academic and research institutions on innovation related to the identified
traded sector industries; coordinate workforce systems to identify skills required for emerging
industries; and coordinate economic development activities with those institutions.
3. Access markets outside of Oregon and encourage inbound domestic and international
investment.
Companies selling their products and services outside of Oregon drive the state’s economy, bringing in
fresh dollars and supporting families, local businesses, and government services. These traded sector
companies tend to “cluster” because they draw competitive advantages from their proximity to
competitors, to a skilled workforce, to specialized suppliers, and to a shared base of sophisticated
knowledge about their industry. Clusters can help lower costs, accelerate innovation, and ultimately
increase economic activity in Oregon. By identifying Oregon’s key traded sector industries and paying
special attention to their needs, policy makers have a way of thinking about how to grow Oregon’s
economy and create more high-paying jobs. These key industries have developed a list of priorities,
updated annually and posted online at www.oregonbusinessplan.org.
Existing Oregon key industries include:
Natural Resource Industries
Agriculture
Fishing
Food Processing
Forestry and Wood Products
Nursery Products
Tourism
Advanced Manufacturing
Aviation
Fabricated Metals
Transportation Equipment
Medical Equipment
High Technology
Bioscience
Education Technology and Services
Semiconductors
Electronic Components
Software
Footwear, Outdoor Gear and Apparel
Clean Technology
Biomass
Green Building and Development
Electric Vehicles
Sustainable Transportation
3
This policy vision provides context and guidance for the 2013-2015 budget development process; the resulting two-year budget will define initial 10-Year Plan implementation actions.
However, this document is not the 10-Year Plan which will identify outcomes, strategies, and measures linked together over five budget cycles and connected to long-term financial goals.
10 Year Plan for Oregon Project
Economy & Jobs Policy Vision
Energy Efficiency
Environmental Technology
Environmental Services
Solar
Wave Energy
Wind Energy
Other Industries
Defense
Creative Industries
Distribution
To support these traded sector industries in Oregon, the chain of innovation must begin with
Oregon’s research institutions and related efforts, such as commercialization efforts through the
Oregon Innovation Council. The state supports these efforts by helping with deployment of new
technologies, fostering a good environment for manufacturing and marketing, and helping
provide a skilled workforce. With few new public resources on the horizon, policy makers must
ensure this cycle is integrated and streamlined.
During the recent economic downturn, several capital gaps became painfully apparent. Using
limited public resources in a flexible way, Oregon can act to leverage attraction of large private
investments through traded sector activities and inbound domestic and international investment.
1.2 Amplify local and state economic effects and make Oregon’s economy more resilient
Seven main ideas work together to accomplish this strategy:
1. Support a bottom up network for identifying and prioritizing local, regional and statewide needs, opportunities, and economic development priorities.
2. Promote and foster in-state supply chains and foster the purchasing power of local
and state governments with intentional outreach to historically underrepresented
businesses.
3. Promote and protect the inherent value in local communities, recognizing available
resources at hand, such as energy, water resources, forests, rangelands, recreation,
waste streams, food and agriculture, and ecosystem services that Oregon can
produce, maximize and conserve. These resources bring both direct and indirect
economic benefit.
4. Invest in a long-term energy policy that adds resilience and certainty to a low cost
system that diminishes reliance on carbon intensive fuels.
5. Work with state and federal land management agencies and partners with an interest
in federal lands to improve forest health and produce a steady and increased supply
of timber for Oregon’s forest products industries.
6. Ensure a cost effective and coordinated wildfire protection system that provides for
the protection of life, natural resources and communities by minimizing large
wildfires.
7. Ensure a cost effective and coordinated use of funds that mitigate economic impacts
associated with lost fishing opportunities.
Resilience is a related concept to sustainability, and describes Oregon’s need to better insulate
itself from global forces that have, in part, nudged it from boom to bust in the past. While
changes in tax policy that reserve revenues for leaner economic times can significantly ease the
disparities over time, policy makers also have the opportunity to offset some variation in
economic fortune by strengthening the internal fabric of Oregon’s economy.
4
This policy vision provides context and guidance for the 2013-2015 budget development process; the resulting two-year budget will define initial 10-Year Plan implementation
actions. However, this document is not the 10-Year Plan which will identify outcomes, strategies, and measures linked together over five budget cycles and connected to longterm financial goals.
10 Year Plan for Oregon Project
Economy & Jobs Policy Vision
Economic impacts multiply when dollars attracted into Oregon end up staying in the state longer
and the state focuses its buying power on Oregon’s own providers. As an example, the recently
passed HB 3000 (2011) allows the state to give a preference to locally produced goods and
services, encouraging state dollars to stay in Oregon. Policy makers must make certain
Oregonians are capturing and maximizing value at the local level, ensuring Oregon’s resources
bring maximum benefit to Oregon. This means recognizing and capturing value from local
systems, such as energy conservation, food production and Oregon’s waste streams, as well as
responsibly using and protecting Oregon’s natural resources such as forests, water resources,
rangelands and fisheries.
As a general matter, the fiscal impact of many of these activities relates to administration, as
regulatory improvements would be the focus of activity. Financing for some opportunities,
including tax expenditures, could add fiscal costs. A mechanism that can help identify and
communicate opportunities at the local level and regulatory changes that can help create
markets, largely drive this strategy.
Oregon should complete projects that address regional priorities at a number and a scale that
improves the economic environment and social condition of Oregon’s unique regions. The state
should intentionally include public, private and civic members of the community, and increase
communication between federal, state and local governments through innovative new tools for
project identification, priority setting, information gathering, data dissemination and
responsiveness. Community engagement requires both accessibility to information for local
residents and a direct engagement of citizens in the planning and implementation process, not
just a gathering of opinions.
Existing Regional Solutions Centers provide the foundation for a bottom up network to identify
and prioritize local, regional and state-wide needs, opportunities, and economic development
priorities. The Centers, guided by advisory committees appointed by the Governor, co-locate
agencies to provide a high level of integrated service. Integrating the work of Area Commissions
on Transportation (ACTs) and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) into the Regional
Solutions Centers decision-making forum could leverage and more efficiently use state, regional
and local resources. Making Oregon’s economy more resilient will require the state to:
Provide support for public-private partnership in cluster building.
Promote retention and recruitment of cluster-related businesses and research.
Build and fund programs that help Oregon businesses access to local, domestic and
international markets.
Work with private and charitable communities to identify resources to address capital
gaps and contribute state resources to leverage significant private capital.
Promote direct international investment.
Integrate state agency activities when undertaking community projects that address
regional priorities.
Partner with local communities to identify local solutions that balance economic,
equity and environmental grass-roots values.
Be a proactive partner in state’s pursuits through data collection, research, facilitation
and leveraging of resources.
Integrate and streamline planning, project development and implementation at the
state, regional and local level on issues pertaining to social equity, the economy and
the environment.
5
This policy vision provides context and guidance for the 2013-2015 budget development process; the resulting two-year budget will define initial 10-Year Plan implementation
actions. However, this document is not the 10-Year Plan which will identify outcomes, strategies, and measures linked together over five budget cycles and connected to longterm financial goals.
10 Year Plan for Oregon Project
Economy & Jobs Policy Vision
Coordinate with all interested parties including local jurisdictions to leverage more
than one narrow objective – keep people, air, water and the environment healthy
while providing for a vibrant economy in all areas of the state.
Support local and regional efforts to develop sustainable uses of federal lands and
access to those lands.
Additional expectations for amplifying local and state economic effects and making Oregon’s
economy more resilient:
Double state exports to international markets.
Enhance local and domestic markets.
Create mechanisms through the Oregon Investment Board to cover significant
capital gaps.
Align policies and investment strategies, and integrate Economic Development
Districts, Workforce Development Boards and Metropolitan Planning Organizations
with state agencies through Regional Solutions Centers and the Governor’s Regional
Solutions Advisory Committees to promote and accelerate job creation and maximize
public dollars.
Complete 50 projects per year, identified through the Regional Solutions Centers,
that create and sustain jobs and address regional priorities; in year five, complete
100 projects that address the state’s sustainable community objectives and regional
priorities; and in year ten, complete 150 projects per year that address regional
priorities and respond to a regional decision-making process that involves federal,
state and local government.
Produce sustainable timber volumes from working forests (private, state and federal
public lands) at levels consistent with state and federal policy, forest health and
providing a stable base for the forest economies in timber-dependent communities.
Implement key priority actions of the state’s Integrated Water Resources Strategy.
Meet the goals outlined in the Governor’s 10-year energy plan.
10-Year Outcomes for Strategy 1: Focus on sustainable business development, advanced
manufacturing and the chain of innovation through market-based cluster strategies and creative
partnerships
By the end of 2013, there will be a proposal to the Chief Operating Officer (COO)
and Governor on how to align Economic Development Districts, Workforce
Development Boards, Metropolitan Planning Organizations and Oregon Regional
Solutions Centers (ORSC).
ORSCs will provide tracking and summary of work annually to the Governor and
COO. This report will provide the total number of projects to date since founding, and
the projects completed that year with the estimated number of jobs or investment
brought to the community by the member agencies of the Oregon Regional Solutions
Centers.
Produce a long-term annual average timber volume of 4.5 billion board feet from
Oregon’s 30 million acres of private, state and federal forests.
Develop place-based regional water resources plans on a pilot basis and fund new
water supply projects that lead to at least 20,000 additional acres of irrigated
agriculture.
6
This policy vision provides context and guidance for the 2013-2015 budget development process; the resulting two-year budget will define initial 10-Year Plan implementation
actions. However, this document is not the 10-Year Plan which will identify outcomes, strategies, and measures linked together over five budget cycles and connected to longterm financial goals.
10 Year Plan for Oregon Project
Economy & Jobs Policy Vision
Strategy 2: Be more effective, integrate economic and community planning,
project finance, infrastructure and regulatory services from the bottom up for
efficiency
The following sub-strategies work together to support and implement Strategy 2. The substrategies focus on funding, fostering Oregon’s economic environment and planning at the
regional and local level.
2.1 Create a next generation financing mechanism for infrastructure and business
development that combines local, regional, state and multi-state opportunities to attract
private capital
Three main ideas work together to accomplish this strategy:
1. Identify infrastructure needs and create a “pipeline” of projects to fund, along with
new means to finance those projects.
2. Develop a regional, multi-state financing mechanism that can attract private funds to
invest in identified infrastructure projects.
3. Explore new ways to generate the revenues necessary to pay for key infrastructure
projects in coordination with local governments.
Oregonians should have equal access to reliable infrastructure and services, including energy,
water, transportation, food, housing, justice and jobs. Oregon, like many states, has significant
gaps in capital available to its businesses, essentially depriving them of the oxygen they need to
breathe. The Oregon Community Foundation, in partnership with the Treasurer’s office, recently
conducted a study that showed significant gaps in business lending and some early stage
investment. If Oregon’s businesses are going to keep growing and, in fact, stay in Oregon,
policy makers must develop a tool for leveraging Oregon’s limited public dollars to encourage
significant private capital.
In addition, Oregon must protect, preserve and invest in its infrastructure assets. The state has
a backlog of improvements it must make to its existing traditional infrastructure as well as an
interest in growing investment in new infrastructure capacity such as smart grid and broadband
data capacity, water resources, transportation and sophisticated waste management. Ensuring
viable forest products and agriculture infrastructure is also critical to maintaining forest health,
agricultural lands health, and the economic and social health of Oregon’s rural communities.
Solving deficits of available funding in these areas will require Oregon to use its scarce public
dollars to leverage much more private capital. In order to do so, policy makers must identify
opportunities and capital gaps and develop a mechanism for aggregating resources. This will
involve state agencies with significant roles in infrastructure development, such as the Oregon
Department of Transportation and Business Oregon, engaging in a new structure and a
broader, all encompassing view of public infrastructure. It also means making investments in a
strategic way that minimizes long-term costs. A strategic approach will require improved
coordination between transportation, land use and economic development planning. Fiscal
impacts are likely to be a result both in design of a new system and, to a larger magnitude, for
use in leveraging private funds.
7
This policy vision provides context and guidance for the 2013-2015 budget development process; the resulting two-year budget will define initial 10-Year Plan implementation
actions. However, this document is not the 10-Year Plan which will identify outcomes, strategies, and measures linked together over five budget cycles and connected to longterm financial goals.
10 Year Plan for Oregon Project
Economy & Jobs Policy Vision
Providing a positive business creation and growth climate for Oregon requires positive publicprivate partnerships to provide infrastructure. Oregon must continue to focus on priorities where
the state's role is clearly identified. The state can play several roles with communities when it
comes to completing small and large infrastructure projects: coordinator; financing partner; and
aiding in access to external capital financing resources. The Regional Solution Centers and
regional transportation and land use planning are important to helping define regional visions
and prioritizing projects that make those futures possible. State agencies can also contribute by
using the 10-year budget capital program reporting as an opportunity to coordinate and leverage
the many different pots of funding to finance priority regional projects. Creating a next
generation financing mechanism will require the state to:
Address a lack of information on state and local projects where a general need has
been identified or the project is in planning, engineering or ready to construct,
Oregon must accomplish “pipeline tracking” through the Regional Solution Centers
between 2013 and 2015. For the long-term, the Governor’s office with relevant
partners will determine whether external matchmaking investment mechanisms or
the State Infrastructure Bank is necessary to attract outside investment.
Assess the role of the state and the Regional Solution Centers to connect local
infrastructure projects to institutional investors, as well as maximize public
investment in infrastructure.
Enable local governments and taxing districts to use a range of tools, some of which
can be aggregated, to provide long-term revenues necessary to finance key
infrastructure development, and align those tools with other state and local policy
priorities.
Include information of investment risk on energy consumption, regional
competitiveness and equity in criteria for prioritization of state capital projects.
Align transportation, land use and other infrastructure planning so that investment of
state resources reflects state and local priorities and assures the value of those
investments over time.
2.2 Create a fertile economic environment in Oregon for all businesses
Five main ideas work together to accomplish this strategy:
1. Provide access to capital for growing businesses.
2. Increase the level of certainty as to timing and requirements in regulatory permitting
processes, including a proactive approach to available industrial lands.
3. Provide “one stop” access for business formation, technical assistance, business
incentives, capital tools, permitting, and other regulatory requirements.
4. Ensure basic government responsibilities such as licensing, permitting, issuing
certificates, conducting inspections and more are professional, respectful, timely and
responsive to customer needs.
5. Support Oregon’s public, private, citizen network for seizing and prioritizing local and
regional needs, opportunities, and economic development priorities from the
bottom up.
At least in the short-term, Oregon will not have adequate resources to compete with many other
states and regions for economic opportunity based on straight cash, for both those businesses
the state aims to retain as well as to attract. However, a range of both direct and indirect
8
This policy vision provides context and guidance for the 2013-2015 budget development process; the resulting two-year budget will define initial 10-Year Plan implementation
actions. However, this document is not the 10-Year Plan which will identify outcomes, strategies, and measures linked together over five budget cycles and connected to longterm financial goals.
10 Year Plan for Oregon Project
Economy & Jobs Policy Vision
costs exist that the state can help diminish, thus providing an advantage over other states.
Long-term, regardless of whether new resources exist, reducing costs and giving certainty and
responsiveness to Oregon’s regulatory structure will provide a significant advantage. Creating a
fertile economic environment will require the state to:
Partner with local communities to identify local solutions that balance economic,
equity and environmental grass-roots values.
Be a proactive partner in the state’s pursuits through data collection, research,
facilitation and leveraging of resources.
Foster and facilitate economic connections through coordination, communication and
cooperation and create a data repository for integration.
Create and maintain a broad and diverse network of economic development interests
that help generate opportunities and make connections for implementation.
Maintain a competitive environment with costs for business such as health care,
energy, and workers compensation premiums.
Develop a next generation system for paying for and developing critical public
infrastructure (see strategy 3).
2.3 Integrate at a regional and local level planning for transportation, land use, housing,
workforce development and infrastructure
Three main ideas work together to accomplish this strategy:
1. Localize decision-making within broad ranges provided by state and regional
interests, by including a diversity of residents, neighborhoods, civic organizations
and businesses.
2. Create greater coordination at all levels of government.
3. Create positive public-private partnerships to provide infrastructure.
Localization of decision-making aims to create complete and livable communities, and supports
state and regional planning that integrates housing, land use, economic and workforce
development in a manner that creates and sustains jobs and economic opportunities. A
complete and livable community is one in which people can afford to live near where they work,
shop, recreate, socialize, and obtain services.
A livable community is one in which people:
Feel their voice is heard
Feel safe where they live and work
Have pride in their community
Have equal access to reliable infrastructure and services including health care,
education, transportation, food, housing, justice and jobs
In a time of decreasing resources and increasing community needs, greater coordination
between state agencies is needed at all levels, but especially at the level of those managing
investment programs. Agency staff in charge of program investment decisions and policy
implementation should be working together to improve community livability. The state should
intentionally include public, private and civic members of the community, and increase
communication between federal, state and local governments through innovative new tools for
project identification, priority setting, information gathering, data dissemination and
responsiveness. Community engagement requires both accessibility to information for local
9
This policy vision provides context and guidance for the 2013-2015 budget development process; the resulting two-year budget will define initial 10-Year Plan implementation
actions. However, this document is not the 10-Year Plan which will identify outcomes, strategies, and measures linked together over five budget cycles and connected to longterm financial goals.
10 Year Plan for Oregon Project
Economy & Jobs Policy Vision
residents and a sincere engagement of citizen input in the planning and implementation
process, not just a gathering of opinions.
Existing Regional Solutions Centers provide the foundation for a bottom up network to identify
and prioritize local, regional and state-wide needs, opportunities, and economic development
priorities. Integration will require the state to:
Partner with local communities to identify local solutions that balance economic,
equity and environmental grass-roots values.
Be a proactive partner in local pursuits through data collection, research, facilitation
and leveraging of resources.
Integrate and streamline planning and project development and implementation at
the state, regional and local level on issues pertaining to social equity, the economy
and the environment.
Coordinate with all interested parties including local jurisdictions to leverage more
than one narrow objective, rather keep people, air, water and the environment
healthy while providing for a vibrant economy in all areas of the state.
Foster and facilitate coordination, communication and cooperation and create a data
repository for integration.
Additional expectations for integrating at a regional and local level, planning for transportation,
land use, housing, workforce development and infrastructure:
The department of Transportation (ODOT), Housing, Energy, Environmental Quality,
Public Health, Parks, Business Oregon, Land Conservation and Development and
Oregon Growth Board will work with the Governor’s Office to improve coordination,
investment and policy development across state agencies. At the project level, these
agencies will work with local communities and Oregon Regional Solutions Centers to
help implement local priorities. Together, these agencies will develop a set of best
practices for each investment portfolio that leverage investments to meet multiple
program goals including equity and design, and promote citizen and community
empowerment in decision-making.
ODOT must work to integrate the work of Area Commissions on Transportation
(ACTs) and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) into Oregon Regional
Solution Centers’ decision-making forum to leverage and more efficiently use state,
regional and local resources by the end of 2014.
Agencies should coordinate funding cycles to make resources more accessible and
understandable to local governments.
Agencies should partner with communities to help build local expertise so
communities have the ability to compete for funding at the state and federal levels.
All departments and agencies will determine how to promote a culture of innovation
and inclusion, and encourage on-the-job training in multiple disciplines to
successfully address the complexities of building a livable community.
Too frequently “siloed”, public investment often meets only one objective at a time. This
approach does not maximize the use of scarce resources because it fails to consider or achieve
multiple objectives across varying policy areas. Oregon needs greater coordination at all levels
of government, both in terms of policy development and program design, and in terms of project
implementation. The Regional Solutions Centers can play a key role in fostering coordination
10
This policy vision provides context and guidance for the 2013-2015 budget development process; the resulting two-year budget will define initial 10-Year Plan implementation
actions. However, this document is not the 10-Year Plan which will identify outcomes, strategies, and measures linked together over five budget cycles and connected to longterm financial goals.
10 Year Plan for Oregon Project
Economy & Jobs Policy Vision
both at the project level, and in terms of investment programs. Agency staff in charge of
program investment decisions and implementation should work together to improve community
livability.
One department’s narrowly defined mission cannot usually solve a community’s problems. In
order to identify possible solutions and implement a series of positive actions, the state must
leverage different aspects of community infrastructure investment.
Internal to state agencies, policy makers must continue to leverage scarce resources so each
investment meets more than just one or two of the 10-year budget goals. Additional strategies
for integrating require the state to:
Inventory regional infrastructure needs, including water, sewer, multi-modal transport
projects (bike, transit, road, air, marine and rail), energy, utilities, housing and site
remediation through the Oregon Regional Solution Centers for the near-term.
The Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) must look at
opportunities for partnering with local communities on streamlining decision-making
on development opportunities for jobs and affordable housing within existing Urban
Growth Boundaries and work on partnerships that bring much needed investment
into communities (Healthy Environment Strategy 4).
The Oregon Department of Transportation and DLCD should re-evaluate the
Transportation Growth Management Program as a funding tool to achieve integration
on local projects.
Business Oregon should develop criteria that evaluate potential job creation
opportunities as well as full cost and benefit accounting to evaluate potential
investments in public needs.
Business Oregon should identify lands and redevelopment opportunities within the
Urban Growth Boundaries that are available closer to work force housing or in
existing designated Industrial Areas.
State partnerships on state and community capital projects should consider these
design elements:
o Design – Design streets, buildings and public spaces to human scale to
ensure pedestrian access.
o Community Cores – An economically vibrant downtown or town center
combining commercial, cultural, civic and recreational uses strengthens a
community. These areas should be accessible to a large proportion of the
community by means other than automobiles.
o Public Spaces – Livable communities require open spaces that serve the
entire community in the form of parks, squares and greens. Design
boulevards, streets and paths to be beautiful, pleasant places.
o Balanced Transportation – Transportation should balance pedestrian,
transit, and auto access to reduce dependence on autos and provide secure,
convenient and affordable mobility for all citizens.
o Diversity – Livable communities contain a mix of housing and employment
opportunities for all citizens including underserved communities.
o Environmental Sustainability – Livable communities respect the natural
terrain, drainage, landscape and vegetation of the community with superior
examples contained within parks or open space. Protect, restore and
maintain natural systems to provide a sustainable flow of values and benefits.
11
This policy vision provides context and guidance for the 2013-2015 budget development process; the resulting two-year budget will define initial 10-Year Plan implementation
actions. However, this document is not the 10-Year Plan which will identify outcomes, strategies, and measures linked together over five budget cycles and connected to longterm financial goals.
10 Year Plan for Oregon Project
Economy & Jobs Policy Vision
o
Public Safety – Livable communities are places where streets, buildings and
public spaces are designed to human scale so that pedestrian safety is
ensured.
10-Year Outcomes for Strategy 2: Be more effective, integrate economic and community
planning, project finance, infrastructure and regulatory services from the bottom up for efficiency
Use Attitude and Awareness Survey to begin tracking community customer
satisfaction.
Increase the use of inter-disciplinary teams within the Oregon Regional Solution
Centers by 30percent by 2017 and 50percent by 2022.
Align and coordinate agency funding cycles by 2014.
Leverage investments, incentivize actions, and coordinate agencies at state, regional
and local levels to maximize resources.
Increase the long-term average of federal, state, local and private investment in local
transportation, water and sewer infrastructure to meet or exceed the long-term
growth rate in the state’s population.
By 2014, all agencies report their capital expenditures to a single point of contact in
Budget and Management. Agencies have coordinated to identify opportunities for
cross-cutting policy outcomes, and have adopted criteria to push for such outcomes
in making investment decisions.
Inventory regional infrastructure needs including water, sewer, transportation,
utilities, housing and site remediation. Identify infrastructure needs and create a
“pipeline” of projects to fund.
Regional Advisory Boards will be comprised of a diverse set of individuals, reflective
of the community.
State agencies will propose and implement the regionalization of problem and
solution identification through the Oregon Regional Solution Centers by 2013.
Project pipeline database created and summaries provided to each Region by 2013.
Increase the long-term average of overall public and private expenditures on key
infrastructure to at least keep pace with the rate of population growth in the state.
Percentage of projects moving from development to engineering increases by 20
percent over the next 5 years and 50 percent over the next 10 years.
Percentage of projects moving from engineering to construction increases by 25
percent over the next 5 years and 50 percent over the next 10 years.
Strategy 3: Focus on Oregon’s long-term economic prosperity and resiliency
through people-based strategies designed to lift up Oregon workers, innovators
and entrepreneurs
The following sub-strategies work together to support and implement Strategy 3. The substrategies focus on cultivating a skilled workforce to grow entrepreneurs and support Oregon’s
business community.
12
This policy vision provides context and guidance for the 2013-2015 budget development process; the resulting two-year budget will define initial 10-Year Plan implementation
actions. However, this document is not the 10-Year Plan which will identify outcomes, strategies, and measures linked together over five budget cycles and connected to longterm financial goals.
10 Year Plan for Oregon Project
Economy & Jobs Policy Vision
3.1 Use Sector Strategies to assure a highly skilled workforce that can help sustain and
grow priority industry clusters
Sector strategies are a proven approach to supporting the growth of companies by removing
barriers to their competitiveness. Sector strategies are industry-driven partnerships between
education, training, economic development, community-based, labor management and other
organizations that work to jointly solve the workforce and other challenges of a critical industry
in a specific region. An intermediary, such as a Local Workforce Investment Board or trade
association, typically convenes sector strategies. These strategies help individuals obtain work
and advance in careers by targeting education and training to meet the needs of high demand
industries, moving low wage and unskilled workers into employment and higher wage jobs, and
increasing the skills of current workers to assure industry competitiveness.
Oregon’s sector strategies should target existing “traded sector industry clusters” (identified in
Economy and Jobs Strategy 1) and also those industries that are not traded sector, but critical
to the well being of local economies, such as health care and other high wage professionals.
Oregon’s Local Workforce Investment Boards in collaboration with state and local economic
development organizations have implemented a number of strong sector and cluster initiatives
throughout the state. Policy makers should scale these existing initiatives and expand them to
include more industries and communities, including underserved and at-risk communities.
Use of a sector strategy should result in evaluation of what works best to move people into jobs
and up career ladders most effectively, as well as a rethinking of whether Oregon’s current
approaches are the most effective way to achieve those goals. It is critical that employers
engage in the process of evaluating how current workforce service models could be improved to
better prepare job seekers for employment and increase retention.
Strategies should also include evaluation for what blend of foundational skills, technical skill
enhancement and site-based learning can most improve employment and retention outcomes
for all workers, including those new to the workforce, or re-entering the workforce after a period
of unemployment. Proven and promising practices include foundational skills training, career
pathways, youth employment, current worker training, work experience, internships, on-the-job
training, better use of available employer incentives and credits, registered apprenticeships,
better use of technology mediated education and more.
Services to apprenticeship seekers including pre-apprenticeship programs, basic skills
improvements, career counseling, remedial training, better use of technology mediated
education, and accelerated programming that reduces the time required for completion, provide
a foundation for a qualified and diverse workforce.
Using sector strategies will require the state to:
Set the expectation that workforce development activities will support targeted
sectors and clusters.
Provide data collection, analysis research, facilitation and resources for sector
strategies.
Use the expertise of Oregon Manufacturing Extension Partnership, the Oregon
Innovation Council, and other experts to drive innovation.
13
This policy vision provides context and guidance for the 2013-2015 budget development process; the resulting two-year budget will define initial 10-Year Plan implementation
actions. However, this document is not the 10-Year Plan which will identify outcomes, strategies, and measures linked together over five budget cycles and connected to longterm financial goals.
10 Year Plan for Oregon Project
Economy & Jobs Policy Vision
Invest in convening, planning, policy direction, evaluation and other leadership
activities at the local level.
Use the Oregon Business Council’s Cluster Network to support greater state-wide
learning and alignment among sector practitioners.
Expand career pathways for prioritized sectors.
Expand opportunities for women and minorities for on the job and pre-employment
learning such as work experience and internships.
Expand opportunities for women-owned, minority-owned businesses and
disadvantaged populations to participate through targeted outreach and incentives
where appropriate.
Engage employers in assessing what service model can best support job readiness
to increase job retention and productivity.
Set outcome measures and performance targets and monitor progress for
populations served.
Identify credentials critical to worker success along career pathways in targeted
industries and increase the number of these credentials achieved.
Evaluate and publicize results, create learning opportunities, identify and promote
best practices.
Invest in proven, successful models.
Leverage Oregon’s public education investment (K-12, about $3.4 billion annually) to
integrate with skill outcomes demanded by the targeted sectors and clusters.
3.2 Strengthen and align Oregon’s workforce to meet the labor skill demand of employers
and move people into career pathways via workforce achievement compacts
Oregon’s workforce development system consists of at least 1,819 programs across seven state
agencies that work together to develop skilled workers to meet business needs. Oregon has a
number of nationally recognized workforce initiatives, and yet still has high unemployment.
Meanwhile, many key employers, especially in manufacturing and health care, indicate they still
cannot find the skilled workforce they need. Changes in the economy and uncertain future
funding make it necessary to rethink Oregon’s workforce system with an emphasis on providing
services based on people’s need to advance along career pathways and companies’ need to be
competitive, rather than the specific requirements of federal and state programs.
Workforce compacts will integrate and align the workforce system to focus more effectively on
skill development and placement of Oregonians into work along career pathways. These
workforce compacts will clarify roles, responsibilities and expectations of the outcomes for
workforce programs. The compacts will support the creativity to develop workforce solutions at
the level closest to the job seeker and business customers, the local level. Compacts will
include outcomes to support Oregon’s 40-40-20 goals (see Strategy 3.4), and the other
strategies outlined in Economy and Jobs Strategy 3. Workforce program providers will have the
creativity to develop workforce solutions to meet the outcomes based on the opportunity to
invest in needs of their communities, their job seekers and business customers by identifying
and investing in those strategies that bring results, rather than investing in what is currently
available. Strengthening and aligning Oregon’s workforce will require:
Governor’s Office to work with stakeholders to create a workforce compact.
State agencies participate in the development of compact outcomes at the state and
local level.
14
This policy vision provides context and guidance for the 2013-2015 budget development process; the resulting two-year budget will define initial 10-Year Plan implementation
actions. However, this document is not the 10-Year Plan which will identify outcomes, strategies, and measures linked together over five budget cycles and connected to longterm financial goals.
10 Year Plan for Oregon Project
Economy & Jobs Policy Vision
Governor’s Office and workforce system establish metrics for measuring system
improvement, including equity measures.
Governor’s Office and workforce system promote data-based solutions.
Oregon Workforce Investment Board is evaluated annually.
Identify opportunities for integration and consolidation where practical and efficient.
Proactively work to include all stakeholders to achieve the end goal of services to
Oregonians so businesses can find the skilled workers they need to grow, and
Oregonians have opportunities to progress along career pathways.
3.3 Create Work Ready Communities
The economic downturn has left many Oregonians on the sidelines of the economy,
unemployed and having difficulty reentering the workforce. As Oregon shifts to a growing
economy many Oregonians are finding their skills are not readily transferable to the emerging
job opportunities. These Oregonians need new tools and approaches to return to work. The
downturn has also created significant challenges for those attempting to enter the job market for
the first time, as emerging workers have few opportunities to gain work experience. These
challenges are amplified for Oregon’s underserved and vulnerable populations.
Work Ready Communities bring together the needs of workers with the requirements of
employers who are ready to hire. A Work Ready Community commits to improving its local
education and workforce systems and certifying a pool of skilled workers. Work Ready
Communities involve all key stakeholders to create better results for citizens and companies.
Creating Work Ready Communities will require the state to:
Certify and promote Work Ready Communities.
Promote the use of the certification across a greater number of programs and
partners.
Assure that adult job seekers have the foundational skills necessary to advance in
their careers.
Ensure investment of adequate resources to support the development of
foundational skills.
Change the way the state invests in remedial education to create greater efficiencies
and eliminate barriers to student success.
Integrate that National Career Readiness Certificate into the 40-40-20 goals (see
Strategy 3.4).
3.4 Build the middle 40 – support two-years of post-secondary education or equivalent
technical training
In 2011, the Oregon Legislature established the “40-40-20” goal. The goal declares that by
2025, Oregon will ensure that:
40 percent of adults will have earned a bachelor's degree or higher.
40 percent of adults will have earned an associate degree or post-secondary
credential.
20 percent of adults will have earned a high school diploma, modified high school
diploma or the equivalent of a high school diploma.
15
This policy vision provides context and guidance for the 2013-2015 budget development process; the resulting two-year budget will define initial 10-Year Plan implementation
actions. However, this document is not the 10-Year Plan which will identify outcomes, strategies, and measures linked together over five budget cycles and connected to longterm financial goals.
10 Year Plan for Oregon Project
Economy & Jobs Policy Vision
Economists say the payoff for coming anywhere near the 40-40-20 goal is that Oregon would
see financial gains along with declines in poverty and all the social problems that come with it.
To achieve those rates, Oregon schools must contend with their current rates:
Two in three high school students graduate on time. One in four drops out.
One in five Oregon full-time community college students earns a two-year degree
after four years; 8 percent of part-time students do so.
Two-thirds of full-time students in Oregon's seven public universities earn a
bachelor's degree within eight years; only 29 percent of part-time students do so.
Despite reports that indicate America’s economy will consist only of highly skilled jobs and low
skilled jobs, the reality is that a larger percentage of Oregon’s jobs are middle skill jobs – those
that require more than a high school diploma, but less than a four-year degree. Many of these
jobs require vocational and on-the-job training, the very programs that are in short supply in
Oregon’s education and workforce systems. Many of these jobs require the certifications that
are included in the “middle 40” of Oregon’s 40-40-20. This middle 40 will be the hardest for the
state to reach based on current certification levels.
Building the middle 40 will require the state to:
Assign responsibility to prepare Oregon's "middle skills" jobs to community colleges,
apprenticeship programs, workforce programs, other providers in the technical
education community and align with high school Career Technical Education efforts.
Strengthen “entrepreneurial” education, millennial studies indicate increasing
entrepreneurial interest.
Change state funding for such efforts from a general allocation to an investment
approach that can anticipate and adjust to changes in Oregon's high demand and
developing middle skills job categories, recognizing changing demographics.
Leverage the resources of the entire education and workforce system, including
programs outside of the education system, such as agency apprenticeship programs,
to achieve 40-40-20 goals for in-demand technical areas.
Ensure investment of adequate resources to support the development of
foundational skills.
Change the way the state invests in remedial education to create greater efficiencies
and eliminate barriers to student success.
Incent the employer community to become an active partner in education and
training by providing on-the-job training opportunities.
Specific expectations should measure for the following items:
Wage gains
Skill gains
Reductions in unemployment, including underserved populations, sector strategies
and work ready communities.
16
This policy vision provides context and guidance for the 2013-2015 budget development process; the resulting two-year budget will define initial 10-Year Plan implementation
actions. However, this document is not the 10-Year Plan which will identify outcomes, strategies, and measures linked together over five budget cycles and connected to longterm financial goals.
10 Year Plan for Oregon Project
Economy & Jobs Policy Vision
3.5 Support entrepreneurism and highly skilled individuals
Policy makers must be intentional about creating opportunities for Oregon’s small and medium
homegrown businesses, Oregon’s entrepreneurs, Oregon’s universities and spin-offs from
traded-sector companies, strengthening Oregon’s economy from the bottom up. Oregon’s
workforce system has at least three approaches to supporting those who create companies and
jobs: Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs); Oregon Entrepreneurs Network (OEN);
and the Self Employment Assistance Program (SEAP).
SBDCs provide educational services for small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs.
OEN is the largest entrepreneur assistance organization in Oregon. OEN's mission is to provide
support activities and mentoring to the entrepreneurial community to foster business growth and
employment opportunities in Oregon. SEA is an option for unemployment insurance claimants
identified as likely to run out of unemployment benefits before they return to work. All enrolled
SEAP workers must attend self-employment assistance training (if directed to do so), complete
a market feasibility study, a written business plan and be engaged in self-employment activities
on a full time basis for each week unemployment insurance benefits are claimed.
There is also a vast network of private and educational supports for entrepreneurs. In order to
best use resources to support entrepreneurism, Oregon needs to first map these resources and
then develop a plan to better connect and align these supports for maximum benefit. Supporting
entrepreneurism and highly skilled individuals will require the state to:
Develop goals and outcomes for this work.
Map resources to support entrepreneurs in Oregon.
Convene workgroups to identify the gaps and opportunities for greater coordination
and alignment.
Recommend a strategy for getting better leverage out of efforts to support
entrepreneurs.
10-Year Outcomes for Strategy 3: Focus on Oregon’s long-term economic prosperity and
resiliency through people-based strategies designed to lift up Oregon workers, innovators and
entrepreneurs
Increased per capita wages so that Oregon meets and exceeds the national average
by 2025.
Increased competitiveness among companies in targeted sectors.
Oregon is a recognized leader in its support for advanced manufacturing and related
supply chain industries.
Historically underrepresented communities experience decreases in disparities and
increases in economic health.
Streamlined, more efficient workforce system with reduced overhead costs related to
facilities, duplicate systems and more.
Greater customer satisfaction reported by both businesses and job seekers
accessing the workforce system.
Increased placements into employment for those who access workforce services.
Reduced unemployment and increased employment.
More Oregonians above 250 percent of poverty.
Certify every county in Oregon as a Work Ready Community by 2020.
17
This policy vision provides context and guidance for the 2013-2015 budget development process; the resulting two-year budget will define initial 10-Year Plan implementation
actions. However, this document is not the 10-Year Plan which will identify outcomes, strategies, and measures linked together over five budget cycles and connected to longterm financial goals.
10 Year Plan for Oregon Project
Economy & Jobs Policy Vision
Over 100,000 Oregonians hold National Career Readiness Certificates.
National Career Readiness Certificate is available to any Oregonian who wants it.
Over 3,000 Oregon businesses report using the National Career Readiness
Certificate as part of their hiring process.
Skills set databases are established in all regions of Oregon.
Progress toward 40-40-20 goals by 2025.
Establish a plan to better support the growth of entrepreneurs in Oregon.
18
This policy vision provides context and guidance for the 2013-2015 budget development process; the resulting two-year budget will define initial 10-Year Plan implementation
actions. However, this document is not the 10-Year Plan which will identify outcomes, strategies, and measures linked together over five budget cycles and connected to longterm financial goals.