Daily Journal of Commerce

Oregon's business plan a model for other states



Libby Tucker
January 12, 2006 


Oregon is the only state in the nation so far to have adopted a statewide business plan for economic development, but others, including Washington, aren't far behind. Oregonians' friendliness, however, gives Oregon a competitive advantage, say outsiders.

The bipartisan collegiality of the Oregon endeavor sets it apart from other state initiatives, making it the envy of state business leaders across the country.

"Oregon has a strong linkage between Senators Smith and Wyden, members of congress and its state officials," said Don Brunell, president of the Washington Association of Businesses. "We don't have that, in terms of a shared vision. I think that's why Oregon is ahead of Washington" in creating a statewide business plan.

Sens. Gordon Smith and Ron Wyden of Oregon, along with Oregon congressional delegates, flew from Washington, D.C., to attend the Oregon leadership summit, held Monday in Portland. The senators, along with Gov. Ted Kulongoski, spoke of the importance of a unified approach by state and federal legislators in order to best benefit Oregon.

"I was incredibly impressed with how [Oregon] state's political leadership appears to be on the same page," said conference attendee Bill McSherry, director of economic development with the Puget Sound Prosperity Partnership. "They seem to have built a rapport and a mutual commitment to the issues."

Washington has made some strides in developing its own business plan. The Prosperity Partnership, which involves 160 organizations in the Seattle metropolitan area, released its first regional business plan in September of 2005.

And Gov. Christine Gregoire of Washington convened a state global competitive council charged with creating a state business plan when she entered office last year. But Gregoire is in her first term as governor, delayed four months from gaining traction by contested election results, and progress on the plan has come slowly.

Oregon first developed its business plan in 2002 in response to a statewide economic recession that saw 7.5 percent unemployment.

"We're not nearly to the point Oregon is at," said Brunell, who also serves on Gov. Gregoire's council. "We have looked at the Oregon plan and think it's quite well done. It would serve as a model for us."

This year, Oregon's business plan included Gov. Kulongoski's "education enterprise" initiative to reform education planning and funding in the state as well as initiatives to focus state resources on key industry clusters such as forestry, sports apparel and sustainable businesses.

The Portland metropolitan region also launched its first business plan Monday. The regional plan, modeled after the Oregon business plan, proposes a series of initiatives to create family-wage jobs and support economic growth by focusing on the region's education and work force, freight mobility, land use and cluster competitiveness. It marks the first large-scale effort to involve the region's entire business community in public planning for economic development.

"Nobody knows how much you folks (in Oregon) have done and what the payoffs are going to be," said Dan Barr, vice president of Tor Dahl & Associates, a Seattle-based economic development consultant who attended Monday's conference. "It's an amazing stealth effort that will launch Oregon way out to the forefront."

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