COC HELPS ENSURE SMOOTH SAILING FOR STATE MARINE BOARD

Welcoming change while honoring the agency’s history.

This is the over riding theme of the 2011-2016 strategic plan just completed for the Oregon State Marine Board.  Cogan Owens Cogan, with our subconsultant, Berger ABAM, worked closely with the board, staff and stakeholders to complete a plan which sets sights on meeting the growing challenges of serving all boaters in Oregon.  Gathering opinions and comments through interviews, surveys and meetings throughout the state, we fashioned a set of strategies, goals and action steps that will serve Oregonians well into the future.  Elaine Cogan, Ellie Fiore and Nancy Marshall were the COC professionals on this project.  Jim Gladson represented Berger ABAM.

For more information http://www.boatoregon.com/OSMB/admin/strategicplan.shtml.

COC Facilitates Contentious Community Meeting

How do you design and facilitate a community meeting on a controversial subject with 175 people who have strong and often conflicting opinions and still keep it civil and productive?  Elaine Cogan and Alisha Dishaw of Cogan Owens Cogan met that challenge recently in Union, a small community southeast of LaGrande in eastern Oregon.  The subject was an application from a national company to establish a wind farm on private property on Antelope Ridge above the city.   Working with our client, the Oregon Department of Energy, Elaine and Alisha employed several successful facilitation techniques that allowed opportunities for all who cared to express themselves within a respectful, welcoming environment during a 2 1/2 hour meeting in the town’s elementary school gymnasium.   Interested?  Read more at http://www.lagrandeobserver.com/News/Local-News/Hundreds-turn-out-for-wind-farm-hearing-in-Union.

Multnomah Food Initiative Action Plan Released – Please Sign On!!

Cogan Owens Cogan was instrumental in facilitating the process resulting in Multnomah County’s Office of Sustainability, 15-year community Food Action Plan to create a more intentional food system for our region. The Multnomah Food Initiative with major community and stakeholder input  — over two years — resulted in the Multnomah Food Action Plan, a truly collaborative community plan.

With the Multnomah Food Action Plan our community embarks on a 15-year journey of strategic alignment, clear goals, and collaborative actions that will leverage results to achieve a local, healthy, equitable, and regionally prosperous food system.  The Multnomah Food Action Plan presents an opportunity for your organization to support this community wide effort.

We encourage you to sign on as supporters by signing the online Declaration of Support to join this local healthy food movement.   This will be a great start to  2011!

Please contact Bob Wise at bob.wise@coganowens.com or 503.225.0192 x 213 if you have any questions or would like to discuss the Multnomah Food Action Plan in more detail.  Happy New Year!

Eat well and enjoy!

District energy systems coming to Portland.

Cogan Owens Cogan, LLC (COC) is part of the team selected by the City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability to develop as strategy to take district energy to the next level in Portland.  The Portland Sustainability institute (http://www.pdxinstitute.org/with), Compass Resources Management, Ltd, (http://www.compassrm.com/w/index.htm) and  COC formed a District Energy Collaborative to work with the City and its partners to:

-          convene stakeholders;

-          research and develop governing and financing options;

-          develop the most promising business models;

-          research code and other barriers and recommend solutions;

-          develop and deliver an outreach campaign; and

-          assess the viability of district energy locations in the City Of Portland.