Custom Portals: Expanding the use of Greater Portland Pulse through customized data Liza Morehead, PhD Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies

Greater Portland Pulse: A tool for Regional Engagement and Decision making Provide background

GPP tracks the outcomes important to our community Themes: BUSINESS PROSPERITY EDUCATED & INFORMED COMMUNITY MEMBERS EQUITY HEALTHY NATURAL ENVIRONMENT INDIVIDUAL & FAMILY PROSPERITY QUALITY HOUSING RESPONSIVE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM SAFE COMMUNITIES STRONG SENSE OF COMMUNITY THRIVING KIDS

Why regional indicators? How many of you have every been on a Dragonboat? Winning team isn’t the strongest team --it’s the team that is most in sync. Golden dragons, 65+ team -- beating younger, stronger teams, not because they’re so strong, but because they do such a good job of coordinating their timing so they are all in sync and they are all pulling in the same direction. Same can be said for Metropolitan regions. Especially a region that is as hyperpluralistic as ours. 4-county region, there are 44 cities and dozens of special districts. Research on shared governance tells us… regions that have structures for coordinating efforts on things like economic development, infrastructure investment, and other key policy initiatives are more prosperous because the public, private, and nonprofit sectors are leveraging their resources They are all pulling in the same direction. how do we make sure we are pulling in the same direction?   We need a north star by which to navigate… Our intention in putting together this project was to create that common destination by which we could navigate And a means for coordinating our action. Our community’s north star is a set of indicators that measure the outcomes that are most important to us….and the dialogue that brings us together the ask and answer important public policy questions… Like…are we moving toward or away from our most important goals? How do we navigate away from the rocks? Do we move left or right? Which paddlers should speed up and which should slow down? Who is falling out of the boat? Why regional indicators? Let’s all pull in the same direction! Can we get our strokes coordinated? A shared sense of our preferred destination A common data system-our North Star for navigation A common basis for discussion and coordinating action

Some communities couldn’t see themselves in the data

Custom Data

Custom Design

Custom Geography

Tracking their goals

Benefits Broader reach Explore new indicators Obtain data from partners Reinforce our role Help partners meet their goals

Challenges Complicated Workflow Increased Opportunities for Error

Next Steps Workflow review Infrastructure upgrades?