As part of their statutory missions, the Commissions maintain an independent policy voice within the three branches of state government, collaborating with the Governor’s office, Senate President's and House Speaker's offices, legislators, and judicial branch, in support of mutual areas of public policy concern, addressing long standing issues and lifting lesser known but important policy areas into prominence with advocacy, equity-focused policy research, partnerships and community engagement.
Community Partnerships:
The Oregon Commissions on Asian and Pacific Islanders Affairs, Black Affairs, Hispanic Affairs, and the Commission for Women work with their constituent community partners to grow the voice of underrepresented and marginalized communities in public policy statewide. Together with community partners, the OACs plan legislative advocacy, host joint legislative days at the Capitol, co-host community forums, and study long standing community challenges.
Departmental Partnerships:
The Oregon Advocacy Commissions engage with state departmental leadership to plan and conduct equity-focused joint policy research; develop partner research/data sharing agreements; present research outcomes; advance equity-focused legislation and administrative rules, and access to granular data and equity-focused analytics.
Governor's Initiatives Partnership:
The Oregon Advocacy Commissions have a long history of working with Oregon governors to bring community voice and equity focus into their strategic initiatives to build a more equitable Oregon. This has included voter registration, supporting key initiatives around family leave, affordable housing, home ownership, diverse work forces, access to higher education, excellence in schools, and diversion from prisons, mental and behavioral health services.
Legislative Partnerships:
The Oregon Advocacy Commissions build policy partnerships with legislators during interim around emerging issues and policy considerations, with OAC presentations to legislative committees, joint policy research, legislative partner discussions, issue forums, shared listening sessions, and OAC workgroup engagement.
Research Partnerships:The Oregon Advocacy Commissions develop ongoing collaborations and partnerships with interested universities statewide for equity-focused policy research with the Advocacy Commissions. This may include research with graduate/PhD students or faculty, jointly writing grants, and co-authoring research articles impacting equity in the OACs’ constituent communities.