Portland Drafts Business Development Plan

Having a strong economy is important not only to Portland, but to the region and entire state.  Where you aware that work has been going on to create what is being call a unified Economic Development Plan?  The Plan aims to build upon past work, done at the neighborhood level,  to create one unified vision for Portland going forward.  You can read the most recent draft at: Portland City Business Development Plan.

This task, which is nearly complete, is being done in collaboration with the Portland Chamber of Commerce, the Creative Portland Corporation and the Downtown Portland Corporation.

As a member of the Portland Chamber’s Economic Advisory Committee, I can tell you that this effort is both exciting and encouraging for the long-term business future of the greater Portland area.

The process has gone on for well over a year, and at this time it is expected that a final will be completed within the next 30 to 60 days.  A draft of the Executive Summary focuses on business retention and growth and for the first time features aspects of the “creative economy” which includes innovations, entrepreneurship, arts and culture.

Interestingly, the first phase of this project involved a Graduate Studies Class in Economic Development Planning from MIT, under the direction of Professor Karl Seidman, whose objective was to prepare a complete economic profile of the city.  The complete DUSPMIT  report is also available for review on the city website – but beware, it’s 256 pages long – but worth a quick look.

Coordinated Marketing Efforts:

An important vehicle for marketing this plan going forward is Creative Portland website at: Live Work Portland.   The goal will be to develop a web and social media plan on a national level that incorporates as aspects of the city. It is an interesting new site that has existed for about one year.  You might also want to visit their Facebook page at: Facebook/LiveWorkPortland.

Hopefully if you have a chance to read the plan you will see that it aims at providing direction to City staff,  Council, and community organizations regarding focused ways to support business retention, expansion, and attraction, and incorporates Portland’s strengths and economic diversity.

Additional details and information for download area available at the City of Portland website.