Consulting and Applied Research Reports

The collaboration between the Center for Public Service (CPS) and the Oregon Health Authority’s Acute Communicable Disease Prevention (ACDP) and HIV, STD, and TB (HST) sections began in July 2023. The goals were to capture employee knowledge, behavior, and understanding of the health equity goals set forth by the Health Equity Working Group (HEWG) as well as identify any gaps in health equity practices.

The CPS research team analyzed financial data contained in some 7,000 revenue and expense line items in the city’s general ledger, reviewed budget and financial report data, and interviewed department heads and members of the city council. The goal has been to identify possible strategies for long term fiscal stability, identifying options on both the revenue and expenditure sides.

In June 2021, the Oregon Department of Justice issued a final audit report regarding the Scappoose Community and Senior Citizens Center.

Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) has commissioned the Center for Public Service at Portland State University (PSU-CPS) to research possible changes in the governance of wastewater treatment services in the Seattle/King County metropolitan region. This executive summary explains how the PSU-CPS team came to understand the issues and concerns facing Seattle, King County, and local government regional system members; provides key background context for understanding the issues; summarizes PSU-CPS recommendations; and lists the governance options developed and evaluated for the study.

Portland Fire and Rescue (PF&R) is committed to equity and inclusiveness. To reaffirm and strengthen its commitment to equity and inclusiveness, PF&R commissioned the Center for Public Service (CPS) at Portland State University (PSU) to conduct an assessment of its workplace culture. The study involved three types of data collection: (1) leadership interviews, (2) focus groups, and (3) a survey. Data collection occurred during January 2018 to July 2018.

Based on survey responses from 86 out of 270 heritage organization leaders (32% response rate), and 186 volunteers from across approximately 25 heritage organizations, this report highlights the importance of volunteers in supporting and making the work of Oregon’s heritage organizations possible.

In order to obtain input from DAS customers and employees, the Department of Administrative Services (DAS), in partnership with the Executive Leadership Institute (ELI) at Portland State University, and Pivotal Resources Inc, conducted two surveys: one for customers and one for DAS employees. The purpose of the survey was to provide information to the HB 5002 External Working Group, and to inform and guide the change initiative at DAS.

Building on the first two phases of this engagement, this Phase III report offers a number of specific recommendations that we believe are essential – not just to enable Oregon Corrections Enterprises (OCE) to offer far more prison inmates meaningful work opportunities in the future, but to ensure OCE’s long term effectiveness and viability as a self-sustaining organization.

In 1994, Oregon voters overwhelmingly approved Measure 17, a ballot initiative that created new requirements for the Oregon Department of Corrections (DOC) to operate prison inmate “work and on-the-job training programs.” (Oregon Constitution: Article 1, Section 41).To help implement Measure 17, in 1999 the Oregon Legislature subsequently established Oregon Corrections Enterprises (OCE) as a semi-independent agency, with broad authority to create and operate inmate work and training programs on a financially self-supporting basis. These statutes were crafted to be consistent with Measure…

The Oregon Corrections Enterprises (OCE), a self-supporting and semi-independent agency of the State of Oregon reporting to the Director of the Department of Corrections (DOC), signed an agreement with the Center of Public Service (CPS) at Portland State University (PSU) to conduct a strategic assessment in early 2012. The goal of this strategic assessment is to co-produce a long term (3 year) mission-related strategy for the OCE that identies: what services will be oered and by whom; who they will be provided to, how they will be nanced, and what internal and external improvements…

In the fall of 2017, the North Star Civic Foundation contracted with the PSU Center for Public Service team to look at the current and near-term fiscal fortunes of 35 representative local governments in Oregon. The backdrop for this analysis is a reality that’s long been acknowledged: many Oregon local governments’ revenues are growing more slowly than their expenses due to a combination of many factors.

The purpose of this memo is to provide the City of Portland with a high-level roadmap of immediate next steps that it can take as it launches the 2015 Innovation Fund and the second phase of its strategic innovation initiative. This roadmap includes a comprehensive strategy that deploys communication, learning and incentive strategies and tactics. Once implemented, the result will be increased capacity and capability in city employees to create, test and roll-out new, creative ways of delivering public services to Portland citizens. City employees know that the government can do things…