The Regional Connections Project (1998-99)

The Regional Connections project was developed to create a new understanding of the economy of the six-county Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area useful to decisionmakers, citizens, and economic and workforce development interests. The project develops a review of regional economic performance, a comparison of the performance of this region to other major metropolitan areas, a description of the key clusters of firms in the traded or export sector of the regional economy, and an analysis of the relationships within key clusters capable of securing the metropolitan area's hold on a place on the global economic map. The Regional Connections project was a project of the Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies, located in the College of Urban and Public Affairs at Portland State University.

This project could not have occurred without the assistance and support of numerous partners. Funding for the project came from the Regional Strategies Board of Multnomah and Washington Counties, through funds provided by the Oregon Economic Development Department. The Economic Development section of the Portland Development Commission was, from the beginning, a central partner and critical participant in shaping the project.

The reports produced by the Regional Connections Project are available for reading, downloading, and printing as .pdf files. You will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to open these files. (Download Acrobat Reader here.)

Regional Connections Reports

The Progress of a Region: The Metropolitan Portland Economy in the 1990s. (Regional Connections Phase I Final Report.)

The Ecology of the Silicon Forest: Exploration of Metropolitan Portland's High Technology Industry.

Overview of the Silicon Forest: Working Paper 1 of the Regional Connections Project.

Portland's Knowledge-Based Economy: Working Paper 2 of the Regional Connections Project.

Spin-offs, Startups and Fast Growth Firms in the Portland Regional Economy: Working Paper 3 of the Regional Connections Project.

A Comparison of High Technology Centers: Working Paper 4 of the Regional Connections Project.

Metropolitan Portland's Nursery Industry Cluster: An investigation into the nursery product industry.

Memo to Oregon Metals Industry Council: Summary of Impresa's analysis of the metals industry in Oregon.