The Aging Matters Initiative is committed to enhancing quality of life for older adults who are poor, frail or incapacitated, and who have little support. The initiative is a forum for identifying and promoting innovative policies and programs that respond to housing, health, and social concerns. Aging Matters is a project of the Institute on Aging … Read more
Ecosystem services are life sustaining processes of nature, such as wetlands purifying drinking water, vegetation preventing erosion, healthy soil producing crops, and clean rivers supporting abundant fish populations. Owners whose lands produce ecosystem services historically have been compensated only through sales of products, such as food and timber. Ecosystem services marketplaces provide a system for … Read more
An interdisciplinary team from Portland State University’s National Policy Consensus Center, Oregon Consensus, and the Department of Planning, Public Policy and Management at the University of Oregon conducted a study in 2010 examining the mechanisms for integrating land use and transportation in metropolitan regions and assessing these arrangements based on current practice and future potential. … Read more
The 2009 Legislative Assembly heard heated debate about proposed legislation authorizing Oregon psychologists to prescribe medication for certain mental illnesses. 2009 House Bill 2702 addressed the conflict by directing formation of a work group to develop recommendations for legislation to address the issue. In 2010, Oregon Consensus facilitated the work group, which reached agreement on … Read more
“I believe we have all worked well together to help OHA set a high standard for how to truly engage the public in Oregon.”—Marti Kantola, Director, Six Rivers Community Mediation Center The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) is leading the effort to create quality affordable health care in Oregon. In 2010, The OHA citizen-led board selected … Read more
“It was a good process that led to a satisfying agreement….” —OLAA participant In 2008 through 2010, Oregon Consensus brought together dozens of representatives of Latino community organizations, agencies, and educational programs in 2010 to collaborate on creating a vision for meeting the needs of Latino communities across Oregon. Through a series of open meetings … Read more
“The project is remarkable due to the determined efforts of the community of Seaside, ODOT, and consultants to address the congestion issue from a new perspective and the city’s commitment to support and invest in alternative modes, access management, and land use changes” — WTS Portland Chapter After years of bitter conflict about how to … Read more
The Oregon Transportation Commission (OTC) created Area Commissions on Transportation (ACTs) to help prioritize transportation infrastructure investment and to advise about development of the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP). ACTs coordinate discussion between the OTC, the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), local officials, private and community representatives, and provide input on statewide policy issues. Twelve … Read more
“Cooperation between diverse interests can lead to a better understanding of the issues from multiple points of view. It will help lead to a balanced problem solving approach.”—Participant, Federal Forest Lands Advisory Committee project Nearly 60% of Oregon’s 30 million acres of forest is federally owned—about 25% of Oregon’s land base. Forests provide rural jobs, … Read more
The Exempt Groundwater Well Policy Consensus Work Group worked toward stakeholder consensus about whether changes should be made to Oregon’s policy on exempt groundwater wells. Legislation modifying the state’s exempt groundwater well policy was proposed during the 2007 legislative session and previously. In late 2007, State Representative Jackie Dingfelder requested assistance from Oregon Consensus in … Read more
The housing industry, affordable housing advocates and other stakeholders convened to generate ideas for meeting affordable housing needs in Oregon. They worked toward consensus on funding, minimizing costs, reducing permitting obstacles to private and public housing, encouraging the availability of land for housing, and promoting home ownership. Issues and Challenges Housing stakeholders have disagreed during … Read more
Legislators receive many proposals each session to expand or narrow health care scopes of practice. Scopes of practice define services licensed professionals may legally provide. The review process is time-consuming, and stakeholders are often polarized. Like many states, Oregon has no clear process for evaluating these requests. Legislators, striving to uphold public safety, face challenges … Read more
Several preliminary permits had been issued and several more were pending for wave energy development projects on the Oregon coast. As the exposure and discussion of impacts increased, questions arose about the role of state government in developing policy and planning for wave energy. In 2007, in response to those questions, the Oregon Governor’s Office … Read more
In 2006, under the direction of the Oregon Geographic Information Council (OGIC), the Oregon Bioscience Framework Implementation Team (Bio-FIT) delegated the development of a draft Fish Passage Barrier Data Standard to its Fish Passage Barriers Work Group. The work group, composed of representatives from federal, state, tribal, regional, and county government agencies, met seven times … Read more
In 2004, Oregon Consensus facilitated a collaborative process to assist the University of Oregon’s Office for Community Dispute Resolution in developing administrative rules governing the allocation of grants to counties for community dispute resolution services. The project’s charter was: “To develop concepts for administrative rules related to grant funding under ORS 36.155 by early fall … Read more
The Oregon School Based Health Care Network and related stakeholders collaborated with medical insurance providers to develop sustainable funding sources for School-Based Health Care Centers in Oregon. In 2005, Oregon Consensus provided technical assistance and facilitation services to assist in developing an initial forum to identify the obstacles and issues, and to lay the groundwork for further joint … Read more
Oregon Consensus assisted The Oregon Department of Transportation’s Region 2 office to assess and improve its Statewide Transportation Improvement Plan (STIP) prioritization process through collaborative participation of all the Area Commissions on Transportation in the region and the Lane County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO). Oregon Consensus interviewed a large number of stakeholders and facilitated two … Read more
In early 2004, at the Governor’s request, Oregon Consensus convened an Aggregate Mining and Farmland consensus process to develop a recommended state policy for siting and regulating aggregate mines on farmlands, within the context of the long-term demand for aggregate and the availability of other aggregate resources. Considerable data was compiled and presented to the … Read more