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Consultants identify health care, professional services, tourism and small-scale manufacturing as priority target sectors for Bend
Summary
Echo Northwest recommended health care, professional services, tourism/recreation and specialty small‑scale manufacturing as priority growth targets for Bend, and advised linking any incentive eligibility to clear, data‑driven rationale.
Consultants from Echo Northwest told the Visitor Development Advisory Board on Jan. 9 that Bend's strongest and fastest‑growing employment concentrations are in health care and social assistance, professional/scientific/technical services, construction and tourism‑related sectors, and they recommended those clusters as candidate targets for city economic-development incentives.
"Bend's growth since ... 2007 is really mirrored in the growth of Deschutes County in Central Oregon," consultant Beth Goodman summarized, and she described the work as a data‑driven input to a larger Economic Opportunities Analysis and a forthcoming Economic Development Strategy.
Why it matters: the city will use target‑sector recommendations to inform land‑use planning (EOA) and to determine which projects might qualify for site‑specific incentive tools, such as tax‑increment financing or other development incentives. Consultants advised tying target sectors to specific, data‑backed policy choices rather than treating the list as a change in land‑use entitlements by itself.
Key findings and next steps
- Growth and concentrations: consultants used QCEW and shift‑share analysis to isolate sectors where Bend has both above‑average concentration and local strength (high location quotient) — notably health systems, professional/scientific/technical services and tourism/leisure. Management and R&D‑adjacent professional services also showed locally stronger growth than national trends.
- Small‑business and entrepreneurship profile: consultants stressed Bend's high share of small establishments and sole proprietors and recommended policy approaches that recognize entrepreneurship and local manufacturing niches (food and beverage, specialty manufacturing).
- Stakeholder validation and gaps: Echo Northwest said interviews with EDCO, the Chamber, the Oregon Employment Department and OSU Cascades generally validated the data and provided nuance, for example around workforce and workforce training needs.
- Timeline and council process: consultants said a draft report will go to the board before Feb. 3; staff will bring target‑sector recommendations to Council on March 5. Cyrus (city staff) indicated any adopted target sectors would be used to shape eligibility for site‑specific incentive programs (for example, urban renewal/TIF assistance).
What the board asked for: members requested more diagnostic and prescriptive analysis to complement descriptive employment trends — specifically, why certain sectors grew locally and what interventions (workforce development, land supply, utility or infrastructure investment) would most effectively attract higher‑wage jobs. Several members asked consultants to expand the qualitative outreach that links employers' choices to place‑based advantages in Bend.
Ending
City staff said the target‑sector work is a foundation for subsequent incentive policy discussion and for the Economic Opportunities Analysis; consultants will deliver a draft report next week and return for BDAB discussion in February before the March council briefing.
