Why This Effort?

The Framework
Overview
Oregon's Economy
Four P's
New Initiatives

Summits & Regional Meetings

View Plan Documents

Initiative Tracker

The Oregon Business Plan in Brief

The Four-Part Framework for the Oregon Business Plan:

  • The Goal: Quality Jobs. The Oregon Business Plan supports the vision of Oregon Shines II, in particular the key goal of creating more quality jobs for all Oregonian statewide.  Learn more about the goal of quality jobs.
  • The Vision: Importance of the Traded-Sector Industry Clusters.  To achieve this goal, we must pay special attention to the primary sources of Oregon’s prosperity – our traded-sector industries. Businesses in these industries sell their goods and services primarily outside the state, creating jobs and bringing in new dollars that benefit local communities. Learn more about traded-sector industries.
  • The Strategy: Four Ps, the Ingredients for Success. The ability of Oregon’s traded-sector industries to produce economic prosperity and quality jobs for Oregonians calls for creating an economic climate with the right mix of education and workforce capabilities, an attractive quality of life, reasonable business costs, and an innovative, entrepreneurial spirit statewide. We call these ingredients the four Ps – people, place, productivity, and pioneering innovation. They serve as a way to think about Oregon’s economic assets and liabilities, and potential strategies for our economic future. A fifth P, public finance, is also vital to our long-term success. We must find a way to fund public services that enable Oregon’s industries to thrive.  Learn more about the four Ps.

In 2006, Harvard Business School Professor and Economic Competitiveness Guru Michael Porter reviewed the Oregon Business Plan and offered his advice at the 4th Annual Oregon Leadership Summit.  Porter advised the OBP Leadership and Steering Committee to refine the plan by creating a "unique value proposition" for the Oregon economy.  In 2007, plan leaders advanced sustainability as that proposition-arguing that by being better than other places embracing long-term economic, social and environmental health, Oregon's traded sector clusters will be more competitive in the global marketplace.  

  • The Initiatives: The Action Items for the Plan.  The challenge of the Oregon Business Plan is to identify the best mix of the four Ps – and to craft policy recommendations to move the economy forward. The Oregon Business Plan Steering Committee currently has nine initiatives that it supports and tracks.  The initiative agenda is developed and refined by talking directly with representatives of Oregon's traded sector industry clusters.  Learn more about the initiatives.

We encourage business, community, and elected leaders to submit policy papers with suggestions for new Oregon Business Plan initiatives. See new initiative guidelines.  We also encourage people to participate in te Oregon Cluster Network by visiting www.oregonclusters.org.  

back to top

Who is Behind the Oregon Business Plan?

The Steering Committee

Development of The Oregon Business Plan is guided by a steering committee, which includes leaders from businesses, business associations, and public agencies with responsibility for Oregon's economic progress.

Every year the steering committee gathers information and views statewide about what Oregon needs to support thriving businesses that create more quality jobs. This information is gathered through this website, business interviews, industry focus group sessions, regional meetings with business and community leaders, and the annual Economic Leadership Summit.  View highlights and results from Business Plan meetings.

Steering Committee Members

Chair:  Steve Pratt, ESCO Corporation; OBA Chair:  Wade Mosby, The Collins Company; OBC Chair:  Bill Thorndike, Jr, Medford Fabrication; AOI Chair:  Ben Fetherston, Clark, Lindauer, Fetherston LLP; AEA  Chair:  Bob Dekoning, Routeware 

PBA Chair:  Sam Brooks, S. Brooks and Associates

Board of Higher Ed. Chair:  Kirby Dyess, Austin Capital Management; Governor's Small Business Council Chair:  Christine Chin-Ryan, Synergy Consulting; Oregon Innovation Council Chair; David Chen, Equilibrium Capital; Economic and Community Development Commission Chair:  Wally Van Valkenburg, Stoel Rives; Oregon Transportation Commission Representative:  Mike Nelson, Nelson Real Estate

At-large member 1:  Nancy Tait, Tait and Associates; At-large member 2:  Randy Miller, The Moore Company; At-large Member 3:  Brett Wilcox, Summit Power Alternatives; 

 

Ex-Officio Member:  Oregon Economic and Community Development Department Director; Bob Repine

 

Leadership Committee

This effort also receives critical input and support from a bipartisan Oregon Business Plan Leadership Committee comprised of U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Gordon Smith, Governor Ted Kulongoski, Senate President Peter Courtney, and House Speaker Jeff Merkley.  The Leadership Committee hosts the annual Economic Summit.

Supporters

In addition to the Oregon Business Plan Steering Committee, the plan has been endorsed by many organizations.  Click here to view a list the groups and associations that have endorsed the Plan. 

Initiative Leaders

 

The initiatives are the action items of the Oregon Business Plan.  In Stepping Up, the Original Oregon Business Plan, there were 12 initiatives.  

 

Currently the initiatives are broken down into 5 main categories that we call "the big five."  The big five include Public Finance, Education and Workforce, Economic Innovation, Health, and Transportation.

 

Each initiative category has a team of leaders who are responsible for advocating for and tracking progress on the recommendations, identifying opportunities for the broader community to engage,   reporting to the Steering Committee on progress throughout the year and updating Oregon business, elected and community leaders at the annual Oregon Leadership Summit.  

 

Public Finance:  Malia Wasson, U.S. Bank: Brett Wilcox, Summit Power Alternative Resources; Ken Thrasher, Compli 

 

Education and Workforce:  Eileen Drake, PCC Structurals; Sam Brooks, S. Brooks and Associates 

 

Economic Innovation:  David Chen, Equilibrium Capital; Chair, Oregon Innovation Council

 

Health:  Peggy Fowler, Portland General Electric; Mark B. Ganz, The Regence Group  

 

Transportation:  Steve Clark, Community Newspapers; patrick Reiten, Pacific Power

                    

 

You can give the Steering Committee your input and suggest new ideas at the connect page. 

View the initiatives & initiative leaders for the Oregon Business Plan.

Download the policy documents for the Oregon Business Plan.

back to top