Mapping Bend's Economic Development Future

The Bend Economic Development Advisory Board's (BEDAB) three year strategic plan guides the work of the City board charged with advising the Bend City Council on business and economic development issues. 

The Plan

City code requires the BEDAB to create a three-year strategic plan, identifying projects and guiding the work of the city’s nine-member board as it seeks to:

• Advocate: Provide input into City policy and procedures from a private sector perspective.
• Facilitate: Broker entrepreneurial support among existing community resources.
• Market: Brand and guide marketing efforts of Bend as “Open for Business.”
• Coordinate: Organize and oversee City resources applied to economic development.

This plan also provides strategic direction for the City of Bend’s Economic Development Department. Policy direction for City of Bend staff and committees comes from the Bend City Council, who create their own goals every two-years (available here). 

After holding a number of discussions in late 2021 and early 2022, the BEDAB voted to approve the plan 8-0 at their meeting on June 6, 2022. City Code requires the Bend City Council to consider the plan before formal adoption.

Both the 2022-2024 BEDAB Strategic Plan and the Bend City Council goals share a focus on land supply, housing availability, and infrastructure development.