Today’s Puget Sound Business Journal carries a good commentary on our Opportunity Score by Association of Washington Business president Kris Johnson and Washington Roundtable president Steve Mullin.
Last January, our two organizations were among a coalition of civic and business advocates that launched Opportunity Washington, a road map for expanding a culture of opportunity and shared prosperity statewide.
To develop our plan, we traveled the state, invested in research and asked communities directly – what changes are needed? We met with entrepreneurs, educators and employers. Almost unanimously, they identified three priorities, things our state must do well to ensure all Washingtonians can take advantage of great career and life opportunities in our state.
We categorized those priorities as “Achieve,” for education quality and outcomes; “Connect,” for transportation and infrastructure reliability and efficiency; and “Employ,” for economic vitality.
The two point out that for each priority area Opportunity Washington established goals and strategies for achieving those goals. The Opportunity Score was a logical next step.
Spreading Washington’s culture of opportunity statewide requires a long-term commitment. So there must be a reliable way to measure progress.
To meet that need, we developed an “opportunity score” for each state, measuring performance on Achieve (education), Connect (transportation) and Employ (economic vitality).
Please read their op-ed, which closes with optimism and an invitation:
Together, we can create the conditions that will offer everyone, in every community in our state, the tools and opportunity to prosper. Join our effort at Opportunitywa.org.
Learn more about the Opportunity Score here.
