2024-2027 Strategic Plan

Business Oregon is proud to announce the agency’s new 2024-27 Strategic Plan and associated Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Plan, released in the Summer of 2024.
These plans were developed through a three-phase approach beginning back in October 2023. The process started with a robust research and discovery phase with diverse community and business partners across the state. Then a strategic phase which took the insights from the first phase and focused in on the priorities and strategies that will best serve Oregon. Then the final phase pulling everything together into a final strategic plan. The Coraggio Group and RALLY consulted with Business Oregon to facilitate the development of this work.
Now that both plans are finalized, the next phase in this process is taking action. The Business Oregon team is currently working to develop the projects and tracking framework for how the agency will put action to the strategies identified in the final plan, and we look forward to sharing our progress along the way.
Mission
Business Oregon invests in Oregon businesses, communities, and people to promote a globally competitive, diverse, and inclusive economy
Vision
Prosperity for all Oregonians
Values
- Equitable: We hold ourselves accountable to advancing equity in all aspects of our work to ensure Business Oregon staff and the communities we serve can thrive.
- Agile: We adapt, affect change, and move at the speed of business.
- Collaborative: We solve problems through partnerships and seek opportunities to build effective coalitions.
- Respectful: We are attentive and courteous, and we value our customers and partners.
- Innovative: We look for new methods, new solutions, and new approaches to solve problems and advance opportunities.
Equity Statement
Through a commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility we can advance towards our vision of prosperity for all. As the state of Oregon’s economic development agency, Business Oregon advances socio-economic justice by applying a diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility lens to our programs, partnerships, and investments. We expand collaboration with sovereign nations and under-resourced communities, and ensure DEI plays a central role in decision-making, resource allocation, and the development of all policies and practices within our agency.
The 2024-27 Plans
No organization is more committed to furthering economic development across Oregon than Business Oregon. As the state’s economic development agency, we are in a unique position to impact positive change, address economic inequities, and strengthen existing competitive advantages. Below you will find links to our Strategic Plan documentation.
Priorities | Strategies |
Enhance Proactive Engagement and Communication | Build and Execute Communications Plan: Leverage insights from Strategic plan and DEI plan to reinforce positive perceptions, address negative perceptions, and expand awareness of agency impact. Modernize Website: Improve User Experience (UX) for website and incorporate compelling visual design in line with agency IT Strategic Plan. Engage Businesses and Stakeholders: Expand and formalize comprehensive business and stakeholder community engagement processes. |
Create Economic Opportunities through Excellence in Customer Service | Advance User-friendly Online Tools: Pair external web improvements with programmatic modernization that simplifies the process for community organizations, local governments, and businesses. Connect Resources: Connect local and regional partners to resources and provide technical assistance. Expand Staff Training and Staff Levels: Ensure that all staff is trained and operating at a high level to provide exemplary customer service. Ensure adequate capacity to effectively deliver programs through modeling of processes and resource needs. Use Customer Input: Through multiple diverse and linguistically targeted channels, use customer input to focus, improve, and modernize programs and services. |
Cultivate Community and Business Growth through Diverse and Responsive Services. | Infrastructure Services for Rural Communities: Provide targeted technical assistance and advisory services to assist communities in identifying, structuring, and implementing infrastructure projects that address their specific challenges and opportunities. Resources for Small Businesses: Develop and or communicate customized solutions tailored to meet the unique needs and characteristics of different communities, businesses, organizations and project types, all to benefit small business. Traded Sector Industry Support: Focus industry development work on targeted traded sector industries and foreign markets where Oregon is competitive, or emerging as competitive, to maximize economic impact, focusing on top market strengths identified in market profiles for the top ten markets for both export and investment. |
Lead Development in Oregon’s Economic Development Strategies | Capitalize on Regional Strengths: Leverage unique talent and resources from partners including (philanthropic, academic, private, and public) to gather and coordinate regional economic development approaches while acknowledging the unique needs of regions and industry sectors. Assess Current State Approach: Conduct a review of existing state efforts regarding economic development to leverage those strategies, fostering change where appropriate. Invest in Oregon’s Economic Growth: Use programs to make investments that enhance state competitiveness, capitalizing on regional and industry sector strengths. Elevate Economic Development in Oregon: Work collaboratively with lawmakers, government agencies, and advocacy groups to elevate economic development as a state priority and implement targeted strategies. |
Care for our People and Culture | Expand our Whole Employee Initiative: By investing in the employee’s well-being including training and professional development, addressing burnout and other efforts that contribute to healthy, whole employees. Define our Culture: Create a shared understanding of how we work and interact with each other in alignment with our agency values in support of a positive and inclusive workplace Deepen Employee Engagement: Conduct stay interviews, increase transparency, enhance internal communication and include employees in decision making. |
Strengthen our Relationships with Tribal Partners | Consultation Plan: Co-Develop a Tribal consultation plan focused on economic development needs of Tribal Nations. Work in partnership with Tribal Nations and the Governor’s Tribal Affairs office. Cluster Meetings: Take leadership role and continue active participation in Tribal Economic Development and Community Services Cluster meetings Impact Study: Work in partnership with Tribal Nations to produce an Analysis on Oregon Tribal Economic Impact |
Prioritize Underserved Communities to Reduce Barriers to Prosperity, in Alignment with the Agency DEI Plan | Improve access to resources, programs, and services: Work to expand and diversify the businesses, partners, clients, and communities who are aware of and have access to Business Oregon services. Improve internal and external understanding of Business Oregon’s approach to DEI: Ensure all stakeholders understand Business Oregon’s diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts and how they support the state in advancing prosperity for all Oregonians. Build engagement with Oregon communities: Foster ongoing, collaborative relationships with community stakeholders. Grow engagement authentically, from a general awareness of Business Oregon’s work to sustainable, collaborative, and mutually supportive relationships. Build an equitable communications practice: Consistently inform, educate, and engage internal and external stakeholders around DEI practices and outcomes. Prioritize accessibility, sharing diverse perspectives, centering the strengths and power of Oregon people and communities, and highlighting solutions that advance equity, with an emphasis on advancing racial equity. Equitable communications is critical for fostering inclusivity in the way the agency communicates to and about the business and communities it serves. Apply an equity lens to data systems: Improve agency processes for collecting and utilizing data to identify and address opportunities for improvement, community needs, and equity gaps pertaining to Business Oregon’s services, partnerships, and contracts. |
The full plan can be read here.
https://www.oregon.gov/biz/Publications/OBDD_Strategic_Plan.pdf
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