New Economy Observatory

Project Overview

For several years the Institute engaged in an analysis of the performance of the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area economy, and the major industrial clusters within our 6-county economy. That project, the results of which can be downloaded from the Institute's Regional Connections web page, has provided a unique and strategic overview of the economy in metropolitan Portland.

That work has revealed several clear messages for policy makers about the future of our economy:

  • Intellectual capital is key to our present prosperity and future success. We succeed today because of the talents of our people, not the cost of our water, electricity, or land.
  • The environment for creative accomplishment and entrepreneurship should be a critical public concern. High quality neighborhoods, great schools, environmental quality, the availability of venture capital, and building and sustaining the Portland "brand" are inter-related issues that need to be addressed with a coordinated strategy.
  • The industries of the future will extend and modify current local strengths. The seeds of what we will become are already planted here
  • Our most important industries are rooted here. Contrary to popular belief, they are not footloose. Place matters, and the relationships that make key firms successful here are not transportable.

Nonetheless, our work also points out forcefully that this is a time of transition and unprecedented economic change. Our desires for a more diverse economy have been met, but the result is fast becoming a new economic mix that has implications for much more than simply the economic life of the city and its region. Rapidly changing technology and shifting markets make this an exciting and challenging time to achieve and maintain prosperity.

Although easily taken for granted, the region's economic prosperity is no accident. Other metropolitan areas have waited for a downturn to catalyze serious interest in understanding the forces that shape their economic destinies. This metropolitan area, we think, is more inclined to make conscious choices about how to shape its future.

In response to the dynamic nature of the economy in our region, and in light of our findings, the Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies has created the "New Economy Observatory." The mission of the New Economy Observatory (NEO) is to provide economic development professionals and local decisionmakers with strategic information regarding the:

  • performance of the region's economy, both in absolute terms and relative to other competitor metropolitan regions;
  • nature and formation of new businesses, the cutting edge of change in the new economy; institutions, actors, and processes that support of impede the creation of new knowledge-based businesses in the region; and
  • inter-relationships between the region's quality of life and distinctive character, and the number and kind of new businesses being created.

We have consciously chosen the term "observatory" to name this initiative. By definition, an observatory is intended to provide both descriptive information and analysis useful for explaining the dynamics of the system under study. There is currently no central clearinghouse for monitoring and analyzing the emerging knowledge-based economy in this region. We believe that NEO is critically needed both to help inform local economic development efforts and to benchmark this region against others attempting to make the same kind of economic transition.

Neo Reports (.pdf files)

Cluster Monitor: A Guide for Analyzing Industry Clusters in the Portland-Vancouver Metropolitan Region : A paper by Heike Mayer, Ph.D., 2003

Year One Reports (2001): The work of the New Economy Observatory in its first year was made possible primarily by a contract from the Portland Development Commission. In response to both the needs of the Economic Development Department of PDC, led by Robin Roberts, and our interest in the region, we developed the following sections of this document: