Regional Performance and Innovation Consortia Oregon’s Road to Change

1. Regional Performance and Innovation ConsortiaOregon’s Road to Change Presented by Tom Clancey-Burns, Executive Director Community Action Partnership of Oregon Region 8/10 Conference May 13-15, 2014 Boise, ID

2. Oregon’s Road To Change • Public Will, Public Action & The Role of Government • Messaging Recommendation to CAPO

3. PublicWill, PublicAction& TheRoleof Government CommunityActionPartnershipofOregon March10,2010 Patrick Bresette-pbresette@demos.org PublicWorks: theDēmosCenterforthePublicSector Dēmos:ANetworkforIdeas&Action www.demos.org • Understandhowdominantcultural stories, perceptionsandframeseffectpublicwill toaddresssocial problems • Explorethedominantpublic attitudestowardgovernment&poverty • Learnkeyelementsforcreatingamoreproductivepublicconversationabouttheseissues • DiscussandPracticenewapproachesandhowtoapplythelessonstoyourwork.

4. WeNeedto BuildPublicWill Publicsentimentiseverything. Withpublicsentiment, nothingcanfail; withoutitnothingcansucceed. Consequently, hewhomoldspublicsentiment goesdeeperthanhe whoenactsstatutesorpronounces decisions. He makesstatutesanddecisionspossibleor impossibletobe executed.“ -AbrahamLincoln

5. TheGreatDisconnect,Circa2006 • How PublicConfusionImpedesPoliticalSolutionstoSomeof OurBiggestProblems • Condition#1: publiccynicism,negativism,andskepticismaboutgovernment. . . at thehighestlevels in30years ofdoing quantitativeandqualitativeresearch inOregon. • Condition#2:decreasingawarenessandknowledgeaboutgovernment. . . about30%ofthe generalpubliccannotnameasingletaxthatisusedto helppayfor publicservices. • -AdamDavis,CityClubSpeech,May12,2006

7. TheTriumphant Individual TheBenevolentCommunity “Self-MadeMan”–IreneRitter DaveKolpack/AP Independence Interdependence

8. THEPROMISEOF COMMUNITY ACTION CommunityActionchangespeople'slives, embodiesthespiritofhope,improvescommunities,andmakesAmericaabetterplacetolive.We careabouttheentirecommunity,andwearededicatedtohelpingpeoplehelpthemselvesandeachother

9. PovertyStory • Each individualis responsibleforhis orher ownsuccess orfailure; • With hardworkcomes reward; • Thegoalisequalopportunity, notequaloutcome;and • Anyonecanachievethe “AmericanDream”. Source:MegBostrom, ForandEconomy thatWorksforAll

10. Some Public Beliefs work for us… • Hardwork shouldbevaluedandrewarded • Workingpeoplearestruggling • Thecountryneedstoacttoimpacttheeconomy • Peopletendtojudgetheeconomybasedontheirperceptionsofhow theyand peoplelikethemaredoing. • Wecanallwork togethertofindsolutions

11. “...atalentforspeakingdifferently,ratherthanforarguingwell,isthechiefinstrumentofculturalchange...”“...atalentforspeakingdifferently,ratherthanforarguingwell,isthechiefinstrumentofculturalchange...” -RichardRorty

12. Messaging Approved by CAPO Board of Directors • We all want to live in communities where all people can be successful and families can thrive. • We remove barriers to opportunity and build upon strengths so that families can succeed and lasting change is possible. • We work with our communities to address common concerns, improve systems and influence policy for the benefit of all. • We know that every life we impact improves our lives together.

13. From Theory to Action • Theoretical Framework of Poverty • OSU Project Update • Next Steps • Theory of Change Models

14. STRUCTURAL CAUSES OFPOVERTY Economic Processes Economic Restructuring Economic Inequality:increasein relative poverty because only some to be better off Economic Growth: decrease is absolute poverty • Globalization • Depressed Wages • Skills mismatch • Technological Changes Jobs available to low skill workers do not support family above poverty line Joblessness Poverty Typologies/ Conditions Transitory: In and Out of Poverty Chronic: Continual state of poverty Lifecycle: Poverty Due to stage of life High vulnerability to unanticipated life events Social Policies/Programs do not adequately address the needs of the poor Low Political Capital: Makes it difficult to influence policy that directly impacts them Exclusion/Inclusion: Based on gender, race, ethnicity, class, etc. Social Stratification

15. Transitory: In and Out of Poverty This group includes individuals and households who occasionally dip below the poverty line. Examples include working families facing unanticipated events such as medical costs, households experiencing the loss of an income earner, households gaining an income earner, individuals who experience a decrease in pay, etc. Chronic: Extended State of Poverty This group includes individuals and households who are extremely marginalized and therefore often cannot or do not earn wages. Examples include individuals with disabilities that prevent them from working, individuals with drug/alcohol addiction, individuals with mental health issues, or even individuals living in an area with scarce resources and limited access to low-skilled jobs. Lifecycle: Poverty Due to Stage of Life This group includes individuals and households who experience poverty during a certain stage of life and is usually connected to limited human capital and assets. Examples include young adults working in entry-level jobs, young adults still attending school, seniors with insufficient assets, new parents facing the increased costs associated with rearing children, etc. TYPES OF POVERTY

17. The proposed Theory of Change should more explicitly reflect CAPO’s sphere of influence. Since Community Action Agencies are geared toward stabilizing and moving households out of poverty, emphasis should be placed in these areas (versus addressing structural causes of poverty). • While indicators should rise above the level of individual programs or funding sources--they should ideally be sensitive enough to capture client "progress" regardless of starting or exit points. For example, one idea was to employ a scale that would measure how much "better off" a household is as a result of CAA services.

18. We continue to scour the national landscape for existing anti-poverty outcomes and indicators that could be incorporated into CAPO’s Theory of Change. This includes paying special attention to indicators that might potentially measure the movement or progress of households receiving various Community Action services.

19. We are also spending time on the ground to investigate existing Community Action Agency program reporting and data collection requirements. Using Community Services Consortium (Albany) as our “home-base”--the goal of this research is: • To assure that our recommended outcomes and indicators account for existing required reporting elements (in an effort to streamline data collection and reporting). • To isolate common, cross-cutting outcomes among various programs. • To identify what data are currently available, as well as areas where further data collection may be valuable. • To better understand current data collection and reporting systems.

20. Here’s Where We Are Today • Theory of Change Models

23. With gratitude to the Washington Community Action Partnership and the Community Action Partnership of Oregon, for providing inspiration and insight into this theory of change model

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