West Coast Climate and Materials Management Forum Strategic Planning

The West Coast Climate and Materials Management Forum is a collaboration of state, local and tribal governments that develops ways to institutionalize sustainable materials management practices. Due to recent changes in federal funding, the Forum has been forced to significantly curtail programming. As a result, the Forum’s Leadership Team requested support to guide a strategic planning effort to help determine future options for the Forum’s organization, leadership, funding, scope, programming, and membership. One of the Leadership Team members, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, provided funding for the project. 

ERG conducted interviews with Leadership Team members to document the Forum’s history, mission, challenges, and opportunities; presented findings in a memo; and facilitated a Leadership Team meeting to align understanding and confirm next steps. Building on this input, ERG gathered additional insights through interviews with external entities, developed draft strategic options, and worked with the Leadership Team to refine and prioritize those options. ERG summarized these activities in memos and produced a comprehensive strategic options report describing the research process, key findings, and a prioritized set of recommendations to guide the Forum’s future direction.