Benton & Franklin Trends

Geographic Scope

Multi-County

Issue Areas

Arts and Culture, Children & Youth, Civic Engagement, Demography, Economy, Education, Employment, Environment, Health & Wellbeing, Housing, Land Use, Poverty, Public Safety, Recreation, Transportation

Description

The Trends of Benton and Franklin Counties, in south central Washington, are presented by a coalition of interested parties. The steering committee included the following organizations: Benton Franklin Health District, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Port of Benton, the Three Rivers Community Foundation, and the Tri-City Herald. The information contained among these many indicators offers residents and visitors alike a comprehensive view of our community.

Our specific goals are to:
•Inform, based on the best-available data
•Measure progress
•Focus community attention on key issues
•Ultimately, inspire broadly shared action

Our process has been deliberative and inclusive. To arrive at the current set of indicators, we engaged focus groups around eight of the ten categories on the site. This involved nearly 150 community leaders and subject experts. Their votes determined the choices of indicators you see in each category.

A set of principles informed the votes. We asked our fellow residents to consider that their choices of indicators be based on the following criteria:
•Important to large numbers of the community
•Based on valid measurements, as defined by good science and social science
•Understandable to the general public
•Defined to allow comparisons to Washington State trends or to those in similar sized communities
•Available repeatedly over time to allow trend analysis
•Easily accessible
•Sourced from credible sites, largely federal, state & local governments

Over time, the mix of indicators will undoubtedly change. For now, these represent the best approximation of the most important views of life in the two counties. Most are annual, so the insights offered by the future path of these trends will take time.

Our Community Partners in creating and underwriting Trends of Benton & Franklin Counties are:
•City of Richland
•Columbia Basin College
•Pasco Chamber of Commerce
•Visit Tri-Cities

Project URL

http://www.bentonfranklintrends.ewu.edu/index.cfm

Indicator Domains

People; Agriculture; Economic Vitality; Education; Environment; Health; Housing; Public Safety; Recreation & Tourism;Transportation; Population Health Trust

Reporting Format

Online Reporting

Project Contact:

Patrick Jones
Institute for Public Policy & Economic Analysis - Eastern Washington University - Educational Organization
dpjones@ewu.edu
Cheney WA USA