Portland State University’s Mark O. Hatfield School of Government is helping local jurisdictions with a variety of timely issues. Read on to find out how the Hatfield School of Government has partnered with counties, become a leader in cyber research, and supported local and state government organizations through a variety of important processes such as reevaluating high school graduation requirements and redistricting.
Fellowships build capacity
As public-facing agencies scale organizational operations and capacity as part of Oregon’s rebound from COVID-19, short-to-mid-term fellowships can be key resources for recruiting new talent. To that end, the Center for Public Service (CPS) Fellowship Program matches pre-screened candidates with public service opportunities and is designed to fill sponsor needs with exceptionally qualified master’s and Ph.D. students. These budding professionals serve as high-level project managers providing meaningful contributions to their public service organizations.
“My fellowship experience has been a stepping stone to public service; for an entry-level professional like me, it has shaped me for future professional endeavors and taught me where to set my professional expectations,” says Shahinur Bashar, current Hatfield resident fellow who has spent the past seven months doing policy development and process improvement work for Oregon Metro.
Metro and other agencies like Washington County, the Oregon Health Authority, the City of Portland, and Clark County have found that graduates like Shahinur represent a cohort of fellows that are versatile, well-prepared, and technologically savvy.
As of April 2022, more than 60 Master’s and Ph.D. level Fellows are currently available for placement. “CPS has a 20-year track record of placing graduate students in public service work. Because our operations environment is geographically flexible, we are excited to welcome project sponsors from across the Pacific Northwest,” says Dr. Margaret Banyan, CPS senior fellow.
“We can get a sponsor from project inception to having the selected fellow in place, virtually or otherwise, fairly quickly. Whether it starts with just an idea, a project outline, or even a full blown scope of work, we have a proven track record of filling any capacity gaps among our partnering agencies with highly talented project managers,” says Dr. Banyan.
PSU’s Mark O. Hatfield Center for Cybersecurity
Portland State University was certified as a National Center for Academic Excellence in Cyber Research by the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security in 2020. They are the first and, so far, only, four-year university to receive this designation in the state of Oregon. The Mark O. Hatfield Center for Cybersecurity was founded in order to take advantage of this expertise and provide Oregon’s local governments, tribes, and nonprofits the training they need to prepare for cyber attacks and develop systems that are more resilient.
The new Professional Certificate in Building Cyber Resilience program is intended to help local government and nonprofit leaders identify, assess, and communicate cyber risk; and how to conduct the first step in mitigating threats through a risk assessment. No technical experience is required; the course’s primary focus is on identifying, assessing, communicating, and mitigating attacks when they happen.
Oregon Consensus helps preserve Elliot State Forest
Earlier this month Governor Kate Brown signed Senate Bill 1546 which will preserve Elliott State Forest by keeping it in public ownership and transforming it into a state research forest. This collaborative effort, with facilitation assistance from Oregon Consensus, has been in the works since 2017 and is a significant victory for conservation efforts in Oregon. In a press release announcing the bill’s success, Secretary of State Shemia Fagan said, “The Elliott State Research Forest will provide infinite opportunities to understand and address so many of the challenges facing Oregon and the world — particularly climate change. […] In addition to making a significant and final contribution to the Common School Fund, creating this world class research forest will allow us to continue working in partnership with the original people of this land, Oregon tribes.”
Redistricting Clatsop County
Clatsop County’s charter required a relatively quick decision on resetting county commissioner election district boundaries following the decennial census. At the same time, the Board of Commissioners sought a robust public engagement process to help provide input on different options for boundary adjustments. Two centers within PSU’s Hatfield School of Government–the CPS and the National Policy Consensus Center–teamed up with the university’s Population Research Center to work with the county’s staff and board on the process. In spite of the COVID-related restrictions, the team was able to get extensive community input through virtual meetings, surveys, and outreach.
Working with the county’s Geographic Information System (GIS) staff, the team developed several options for rebalancing populations within the five districts that addressed the criteria that had been established by the board. As a result, the Board of Commissioners was able to adopt new boundaries within the deadlines set by the charter, while being responsive to the input gained through the public involvement process. (See Clatsop County District Boundary Review Results.)
Oregon’s Kitchen Table helps local government organizations communicate with their constituents
Oregon’s Kitchen Table (OKT), a part of the National Policy Consensus Center, is committed to giving a voice to all Oregonians by providing them with a platform to share their ideas, opinions, beliefs, and resources in order to improve Oregon and our communities. Recently, they have worked on projects related to high school graduation requirements, Clatsop County’s updated comprehensive plan, and Hillsboro City Council’s ward redistricting.
In summer 2021, Oregon State Legislature passed Senate Bill 744, which directed the Department of Education to review high school graduation requirements. OKT has been supporting the Oregon Department of Education in a state-wide effort to find out what Oregon’s citizens believe students should know before graduating high school. So far, OKT has received about 3,000 responses from all over the state with responses representing every county. These responses have been collected through regional community conversations, an online survey available in seven languages, and culturally specific outreach and engagement. Fifty percent of participants identify with or have a student who identifies with one of the following communities:
- Tribal member,
- LGBTQ2SIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, 2 Spirit, Intersex, Asexual, plus other non-heterosexual orientations or genders),
- From a racial or ethnic group that has experienced academic disparities,
- Experience a disability,
- Have been or are without a house,
- Immigrant or refugee,
- Migrant worker or student,
- Child in foster care, and
- Students who have changed high schools.
These community engagement activities will be completed in April at which time a summary report will be submitted to the Department of Education and posted on the Oregon’s Kitchen Table website.
OKT has also been working with Clatsop County. The Clatsop County Board of Commissioners would like to hear from residents of the county as the county planning commission finalizes its recommendations for its updated comprehensive plan. OKT is working with Clatsop County to host community meetings in May and June (two in-person and one virtual), an online survey in English and Spanish, and culturally specific outreach and engagement with Spanish speaking community members. OKT will provide a summary report of what people shared to the county later this summer as the county considers what updates to make to their comprehensive plan.
Several centers within the Hatfield School of Government have come together to support the City of Hillsboro’s ward redistricting process. Oregon’s Kitchen Table is working with the city to gather public input on what matters most to people about the city’s ward boundaries through multiple approaches, including community meetings, culturally specific outreach and engagement, and an online survey in six languages. The CPS and the Population Research Center will also be providing support to the city in developing criteria to guide changes to the boundaries and in applying that criteria to create options and maps for new boundaries. The National Policy Consensus Center’s Teaching and Training Program will then work with the Hillsboro Civic Leadership Academy participants to learn about the city’s wards, review what the public shared during the OKT process, the criteria, and the map options, and provide a recommendation to the city council about the boundaries this fall.
Email the Mark O. Hatfield School of Government at consog@pdx.edu with any questions or requests for assistance.
Contributed by: Mark O. Hatfield School of Government