Progress on Transition Effort

As part of a process to migrate programmatic support for Washington County's Citizen Participation Organizations (CPOs) away from Oregon State University's Extension Service by early 2016, a consulting team has been hired to provide facilitation and conduct research concerning best and promising practices for community engagement nationwide. The transition process was prompted by OSU Extension's announcement in the fall of 2014 that it would not provide staff support to the program in the future.

The consulting team will include:

• Solid Ground Consulting based in Portland, Oregon. Joe Hertzberg, principal at Solid Ground, will provide facilitation support for the project. Hertzberg has led both large- and small-scale community engagement efforts for over 30 years, including work with school districts, city councils and county boards of commissioners throughout Oregon. He has also facilitated numerous public-sector boards, commissions, advisory committees and task forces. Hertzberg holds graduate degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and Yale University and has been a member of the Yale faculty and an instructor in the Master of Business Administration program at Marylhurst University.
• Portland State University's College of Urban and Public Affairs. Research regarding best and promising practices in the field of community engagement programs will be provided by Meg Merrick and Andrée Tremoulet, both research associates with PSU. Meg Merrick's work has focused on helping communities make better informed choices about their collective future using global information systems (GIS) and other visual and place-based tools. Merrick has earned a doctorate in urban studies and a master's degree in geography, both from Portland State University. Tremoulet has extensive experience in neighborhood planning and participation, including work with Washington County's Office of Community Development and the Aloha-Reedville Study and Livable Community Plan. Tremoulet has earned a doctorate in urban studies from Portland State University and a master of city and regional planning from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

Transition Planning Team
In other news regarding the programmatic transfer, the board of county commissioners is scheduled to hear about potential nominees to the project's Transition Planning Team at their worksession on April 7. With the board's approval, the Transition Planning Team will be charged with identifying options for the county to consider among a broad range of public participation models and strategies. The committee will include individuals currently involved in the program, professional community involvement practitioners, representatives from city, county and special district organizations and individuals representing historically under-represented communities.

More information about the transition process can be found at: http://www.co.washington.or.us/CPO/transition.cfm

The public is encouraged to make comments or ask questions throughout the transition process. Community input will be gathered by sending email to [email protected] or by calling 503-846-8685.

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