Results! What we heard about Oregon's water strategy update and considerations for the future of community engagement in Portland

Day 2 of the PEP Talk Summit

A couple of sets of results from recent OKT projects are here!  Check them out over at our results page.

Oregon's Water Strategy

We've had the joy of listening to and reading from 1900 Oregonians as you shared what you want to see in the update to Oregon's water strategy.  And now we get to share with you what we heard

Across the different forms of engagement, people responded to questions and held conversations about:

  • What are your major water issues/concerns (both now and in the future)?
  • What are some ideas for solving these issues/concerns?
  • How can OWRD and other state agencies better work with your community going forward on water issues?

Portland Engagement Project (PEP): PEP Talk Summit

This past spring, the City of Portland, OKT and our Portland State University sister center, the Center for Public Service, brought together international and local experts for 3 days to talk about what the future of community engagement could look like for Portland.  We shared meals and traveled to different locations throughout Portland - starting at Zenger Farm in East Portland, moving to the June Key Delta Community Center in Northeast Portland, and ending at the Native American Student and Community Center downtown at PSU. We talked about what is happening in other communities - from Bogota to New York to Syracuse to Alexandria - and what the context and history of engagement in Portland has been.  Then we worked together to offer some ideas for the future as the City considers next steps in its work to develop a framework for equitable engagement.  Our faculty and graduate student team created this summary report of the three days.  The City will also be sharing video recordings from the Summit (currently in process).