| Current Projects: Regional Connections
Two Oregons
Oregon Fiscal Flow Analysis
Workforce Myths &
Realities
Principals:
Joseph Cortright
Laurel Dukehart
|
Impresa is a Portland-based consulting firm providing
economic analysis, policy development, communication,
capacity building and evaluation services. Nearly all of
our work deals with helping our clients--businesses,
governments, non-profits, individuals--understand and
deal effectively with unfolding changes in the economy.
Impresa, by the way, is an Italian word meaning
"business enterprise." We believe a central
and recurring aspect of this changing economy is the role
that knowledge creation plays in driving economic
success. The ability to create economically valuable new
ideas, not simply to access information, seems to explain
the difference between workers, businesses and communitie
s that are flourishing, and those that are floundering.
Consequently, strategies for coping with economic change
revolve around four dimensions of learning:
- learning for workers - higher skills,
including problem-solving, teamwork and
communication
- learning for firms - structuring work
organization to promote innovation and tap the
talents of all workers
- learning for industries - building the
connections among firms that stimulate progress
in clusters, and
- learning for communities - nurturing
those aspects of local culture and institutions
that stimulate innovation and learning by
workers, firms and industries.
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| 1424 NE Knott
Street Portland,
OR 97212
503/515-4524
Fax: 503/284-9320
|
Impresa's principals are Joseph Cortright and Laurel
Dukehart. Cortright is an economist who served as the
chief economic development staff person for the Oregon
Legislature over a twelve-year period in which Oregon
produced a number of nationally-recognized innovations in
development policy, including the Oregon Benchmarks,
sector strategies, workforce policies, and
entrepreneurial development. Dukehart brings substantial
experience in marketing and communications, and in
connecting the public and private sectors to creatively
solve problems. She has developed state-wide strategies
for community outreach, and advises clients on developing
messages for audiences ranging from legislators, to
stockholders, to the media. |
