Oregon Benchmarks as Rural Sustainability Indicators

1
Oregon Benchmarks as Rural Sustainability
Indicators

• Presentation by Oregon Progress Board Executive
  Director Rita Conrad to
• OSU class on Community Indicators and Rural
  Sustainability, October 2, 2006

2
Whats ahead

• Goal of sustainability
• Oregon Benchmarks as sustainability indicators
• Oregon Benchmark county data
• Benchmarks mapped by county
• Customized county slide shows
• Coos County data
• So what?

3
Goal of sustainability

• To ensure that human activity meets the needs of
  the existing residents of the planet without
  compromising the ability of future generations to
  meet their own needs (World Commission on
  Environment and Development, 1987).

4
Do we have a sustainability problem?

• The writing is on the wall
• National, state and local indicators
• Burning platform examples affecting all areas,
  including rural
• Natural systems GLOBAL WARMING
• Human systems SOCIAL INEQUALITY
• Economic systems FEDERAL BUDGET

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Oregon Benchmarks
2005 BPR

• 90 quality of life indicators for Oregon
• 30 can be tracked reported by county
• Oregons progress towards three statewide goals
• Quality jobs for all Oregonians
• Engaged, caring and safe communities
• Healthy, sustainable surroundings
• Monitored by the Oregon Progress Board since 1989

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Oregon Benchmarks reflect the triple bottom line.
Economy
Economy Education
7
Benchmarks fit the bill for sustainability,
mostly.

• Benchmarks satisfy most of the Bellagio
  Principles for sustainability indicators
  (International Institute for Sustainable
  Development)
• 60 of the benchmarks had equivalents in eight
  other international sustainability indicator
  programs (Adam Zimmerman thesis)

8
Who uses Oregon Benchmarks?

• Counties
• Grant writers
• State policy makers (hopefully)
• State agencies link to Oregon Benchmarks
• Business community (Competitive Index)
• And more

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1/3 of benchmarks - county data

• Net job growth
• Professional services
• Income
• Wages
• Unemployment
• Ready-to-learn
• 3rd 8th reading math
• HS dropout
• College and HS degrees
• Voting
• Teen pregnancy
• Prenatal care
• Infant mortality
• Immunizations (new)

• HIV
• Premature Death
• Child care availability
• 8th grade substance abuse
• Child abuse
• Alcohol/tobacco during pregnancy
• Poverty
• Homelessness (new)
• Independent seniors
• Crime rates
• Juvenile arrest rates
• Home ownership
• Housing affordability
• Solid waste

Economy
Community
Surroundings
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How we get the word out

• Website links to
• County Data Books
• Benchmarks mapped by county
• County slide shows
• On the road

www.oregon.gov/DAS/OPB/
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www.oregon.gov/DAS/OPB/
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CDB - Benchmark pages
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CDB - County pages
Example Ford Scholars exercise...
14
More county data

• SnapshotBenchmarks mapped by county
• Trend dataCustomized county slide shows

15
So what?

• How can benchmark data help counties be more
  sustainable?
• How can benchmark data be improved?