STRATEGIC PLAN Final Report A summary and lessons learned from Prosper Portland’s 2015 -2020 Strategic Plan AUGUST 2021 Building an equitable economy Connect with us Prosper Portland FACEBOOK TWITTERinstagram 220 NW Second Avenue, Suite 200, Portland, Oregon 97209 503-823-3200 | prosperportland.us YOUTUBE Linkedin-In TABLE OF CONTENTS Letter from the Executive Director 05 Background 06 Neighborhoods 10 Jobs 16 Prosperity 22 Partnerships 28 Effective Stewardship 34 Lessons Learned 38 The COVID-19 Era 40 Next Steps 44 Appendix 45 15 13 19 25 19 18 27 24 26 33 18 “We are grateful for the collaboration and support of our many public and private partners whose contributions have been invaluable in the advancement of our strategic goals." Letter from the Executive Director AUGUST 2021 Those accomplishments cover a Racial, ethnic, gender, and geo- broad range of activity and have been graphic inequities demand our driven consistently by a people-first continued dedication of resources approach to help all Portland residents and partnerships to mitigate dis- thrive. parate impacts. From the Inclusive Business Resource Network and the As we close out our 2015-2020 Stra- Neighborhood Prosperity initiatives to tegic Plan and prepare for the years our traded sector business develop- ahead, many of the programs and ment, Portland Means Progress and projects we began putting in place five community-based action plans, our years ago remain critical to ensuring focus will be economic stabilization, an equitable economic recovery in adaptation, recovery and resilience to the future. KIMBERLY BRANAM support our city and its residents. Executive Director Portland currently faces what is We are grateful for the collaboration expected to be the most significant and support of our many public and economic downturn since the Great When we launched our 2015-2020 private partners whose contributions Depression. Unemployment claims Strategic Plan, we declared our have been invaluable in the advance- in Multnomah County totaled more commitment to growing quality jobs, ment of our strategic goals. than 52,000 between March and April advancing opportunities for prosper- 2020; many businesses in the city have The Interim Stabilization Strategy ity, creating vibrant neighborhoods permanently closed. Wealth, income, outlines our work and our critical and communities, and collaborating and health inequities, stark before the partnerships in the coming months, with partners to create an equi- pandemic, are exacerbated by the as we face the pandemic and its table city, with prosperity shared by current crisis. economic impact. We remain steadfast Portlanders of all colors, incomes and in our commitment to equity as we set neighborhoods. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the stage for a an inclusive economic the recognition that public health is This report focuses primarily on four- recovery and future for Portland. the precondition for economic health. plus years of the Plan implementation, Over the past year, we’ve seen that from 2015 through 2019. It highlights business, community and government the five central objectives - healthy responsiveness and creativity can neighborhoods, jobs, wealth creation, make a meaningful impact to provide partnerships and a sustainable economic relief and household agency- and the key accomplishments stability when we work together. that have supported each objective. Kimberly Branam The Plan's Five Objectives Background To attain the goal of widely shared prosperity among all Portland residents, Prosper Portland de- livered work that was deliberate As Prosper Portland began and centered on building healthy the process of developing communities, maintaining economic competitiveness, and creating equi- this strategic plan with table opportunities for all Portland- partners, the city of Portland ers. To achieve this, the agency faced great promise and focused on five primary actions: perilous inequities. The 1 Create Healthy, Complete city continued to rebound Neighborhoods Throughout from the Great Recession Portland in spectacular fashion, with 2 Support Access to High Quality Employment for steady job growth, increased Portland Residents wages, and scores of young, 3 Foster Wealth Creation within eager new transplants Communities of Color and moving here each month. Low-Income Neighborhoods Beneath this veneer of 4 Form 21st Century Civic Networks, Institutions and progress, however, lower- Partnerships income Portlanders and 5 Operate an Equitable, members of communities Innovative and Financially of color faced broader gaps Sustainable Agency in opportunity than before This report will break down the economic rebound. To the key accomplishments and challenges of implementing the stem this disturbing trend, 2015-2020 Strategic Plan by the Prosper Portland reoriented five objectives. and explicitly focused its work on bridging these gaps to achieve widely shared prosperity across the city. 6 In 2015, Portland as a whole enjoyed the attributes to thrive prosperity among all residents of Portland by harnessing in a global economy, one that rewards cities possessing and expanding Prosper Portland’s tools for job creation, a high quality of life, distinctive competitive advantages, placemaking, and economic opportunity. A three-pronged diverse, open communities, and a culture that promotes vision drove the work: that Portland would be one of the innovation and entrepreneurship. Yet the city also faced most globally competitive, equitable, and healthy cities serious challenges that undermine its long-term ability in the world; that Prosper Portland would stimulate job to compete and Portlanders’ ability to participate in the creation, encourage broad economic prosperity, and foster gains from economic growth, among them insufficient job great places on behalf of the City of Portland; and that growth to meet the needs of the city’s growing popula- Prosper Portland would be a workplace of choice with pas- tion, lack of affordability in close-in neighborhoods, and sionate staff excelling in an open and empowering environ- the consequences of a long history of institutional racism ment and sharing a commitment to our collective success. driving wide disparities in employment, income, and wealth The process of developing the plan was multifaceted. First, between white communities and communities of color. the agency engaged consultants to study how Portland This was the context for the 2015-2020 Strategic Plan, stacked up against peer cities and how effective Prosper which set forth an ambitious goal: to achieve widely shared Portland had been in delivering on the 2009 Economic 2015-2020 Strategic Plan Download the plan at prosperportland.us/2020plan 7 Development Strategy and 2011 Neighborhood Eco- The plan necessitates that an equitable economy must nomic Development Strategy. The quantitative analysis be inclusive as our city becomes more racially and showed both strengths and weaknesses, but indicated ethnically diverse. that in general, Portland was faring worse than its The plan emphasized the importance of partnerships. peers in most socioeconomic indicators. The qualitative Prosper Portland alone cannot create widely shared research suggested that a new strategic plan prosperity – it must work with and rely on should better integrate equity-focused public, private, and non-profit partners and pro-growth approaches across whose work complements its own. the agency. Prosper Portland also relied on an approximately 25- Most critically, The plan embraced growth. member advisory committee Prosper Portland believes that providing expertise on com- the plan by welcoming new residents munity economic develop- and businesses, it can both ment, redevelopment, and asserted grow the economy and workforce development, as provide opportunities to fill well as on public outreach that it must equity gaps for Portlanders and input from a network of who historically have been public, private, non-profit, always consider hurt by the city’s growth. and institutional partners. ‘who benefits’ The plan recognized that the The Plan marked a distinct tool the agency has relied on for turn in the agency’s work in a from its work. decades, tax increment financ- number of ways. Most critically, it ing, is dwindling; that new sources asserted that it must always consider of capital and operations funding are ‘who benefits’ from its work. Without critical to delivering on the plan objectives; intentionally applying a racial equity lens to its and that the agency needed to create a long-term projects, programs, and internal operations, Prosper financial sustainability plan to complement its strategy. Portland will fail to address past wrongs or meet cur- Inclusive Growth rent and future needs. The plan outlined the need for inclusive growth, The plan established an ambitious vision for the city of positing that the growing ethnic and racial diversity in Portland that would show a dramatic increase in the Portland should be catalyzed into a competitive ad- percentage of households at or above self-sufficiency. vantage for the city’s employers. The plan highlighted In 2015, 63 percent of Portland households were self- that an inclusive economy is more than just good social sufficient; the Strategic Plan aimed to increase policy, it is vital to the long-term economic success of that to 68 percent by 2020, with a long-term goal of Portland’s companies and communities. The plan was 80 percent. informed by historical data. Median wage data showed The plan