Oregon’s Kitchen Table is committed to trying new and different approaches to bringing more people into public-decision making. We partner with other Oregon organizations who hold this same commitment on a variety of Special Projects.
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April 2023
City of Portland PEP Talks
As part of the City of Portland Office of Civic Life’s Portland Engagement Project (PEP), the City convened a series of PEP Talks on April 27, 28, and 29, 2023 in partnership with Oregon’s Kitchen Table and the Center for Public Service, both housed in the Hatfield School of Government at Portland State University. The PEP Talks were supported by the City of Portland staff, OKT staff, students and faculty from the Center for Public Service, and numerous community partners. The PEP Talks identified four international guests whose expertise was relevant to questions being posed by the City of Portland. The international guest experts were joined by local community leaders and experts who provided the context and history of engagement in the City of Portland.
This summary of the effort emphasizes three themes of equitable engagement organized into the broad categories of people, place, and practice. The results of the PEP Talks Summit also revealed three anchoring needs for equitable engagement in the City.
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Connecting McKenzie River Valley Residents to Rebuild and Recover
In 2022 Oregon's Kitchen Table supported the outreach and engagement efforts of McKenzie Rebuilds to connect residents impacted by the 2020 Holiday Farm Fire recover and rebuild. OKT supported a group of McKenzie High School students and project team members from McKenzie Rebuilds to connect with residents who haven't yet received information about services and resources.
The McKenzie Rebuilds project will help McKenzie River Valley communities prepare to rebuild in the wake of the 2020 Holiday Farm Fire. While there was a tremendous response from first responders and county residents after the onset of fire, the county says the fire’s aftermath has exacerbated several chronic issues in the area, including inadequate communication networks, aging and failing septic infrastructure, high levels of poverty, and a declining economy.
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Summer 2020
Oregon Citizens Assembly
In summer 2020, Oregon’s Kitchen Table and Healthy Democracy co-convened Oregon’s first Citizen Assembly. 36 Oregonians from all walks of life met over seven weeks via Zoom to discuss, deliberate, and develop a set of recommendations for Oregon’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and economic and social aftermath.
The Assembly models the kind of participatory democracy growing around the globe in recent years.
The pool of participants were randomly selected to reflect the demographic makeup of Oregon (you can read about the selection process and watch a video of it here). The Assembly met for two hours each week, for six weeks, to consider and discuss key questions put forth by state decision-makers.
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Civic Crowdfunding
From 2013 to 2018, Oregon’s Kitchen Table hosted a series of civic crowdfunds on its own crowdfunding platform. We wanted to offer a way for Oregonians to invest in the public projects communities care about all over the state. We partnered with seven organizations to raise funds for eight projects that served communities of different types, sizes, and interests. Together, we raised over $775,000 for:
- Gateway Green and Dirtlab @ Gateway Green
- Oregon’s World War II Memorial
- Josephine Community Libraries: First Chapters
- Vanport Mosaic
- Footbridge Over Burnside
- Leach Treewalk
- Be There for The Gorge