Leadership Summit: Shaping Oregon's Economic Future
Senator Ron Wyden, Summit Co-Chair
Senator Gordon Smith, Summit Co-Chair
Governor-elect Ted Kulongoski, Summit Co-Chair
Oregon Convention Center
December 9, 2002
Portland, OR

Overview

On December 9, 2002, more than 1,300 business and political leaders came together to help form a common economic agenda at the "Leadership Summit: Shaping Oregon's Economic Future."

The Public Forum Institute partnered with the Oregon Business Council to organize the summit to present the findings of Stepping Up, the Oregon Business Plan, a year-long, statewide, business-led project to take stock of Oregon’s economy and what it needed to prosper in the decades ahead. The project held a series of regional meetings and in-depth focus groups to sound business and community leaders on their stories – how they have succeeded, the challenges ahead, and what Oregon could do to help them meet those challenges. The project also assessed the state of the Oregon economy, as well as the public infrastructure, services, and regulatory climate needed to help businesses succeed.

The summit considered a series of initiatives to help Oregon nurture world-class, competitive industries. These included steps to build high performing K-12 and higher education systems, make better use of natural resources, amend land-use laws to nurture new Oregon industries, repair and replace deteriorating roads and bridges, increase Oregon’s global access for people and goods, streamline permitting, and refocus economic development. In light of Oregon’s public finance crisis, the summit also considered what should be done to find greater efficiencies in public services and to improve the way state and local jurisdictions raise revenue.

While the summit was the culmination of the statewide dialogue with business and community leaders, it was also the beginning of efforts to improve the way Oregon grows leading-edge industries and quality jobs.

SUMMIT LINKS

Overview 

Oregon Business Plan

Agenda

Summit Materials

White Papers

Press Clips

Summit Partners

Summit Sponsors