Business Oregon releases 2024 Innovation Index and it’s not pretty

Chalk it up to aggressive humility, but time and time again, one of the challenges often cited by folks who are curious about the Portland startup community is that they suddenly realize that Oregon tends to be fairly anecdotal about startups and innovation. Ask “How many startups do we have in Oregon…?” And you’ll get something like “More than most states, but fewer than others.” Ask “How much impact are those startups having on the local economy…?” All that results in something like “Seems positive.”

I’m not casting aspersions. I’m as guilty as anyone in this regard. (Many a day have I dreamt of having the time and wherewithal to dedicate time to analyzing these very topics and metrics. But alas, that shall remain a dream. Sorry. I digress…)

So when folks like Business Oregon take the time to actually mung the numbers, share metrics, and visualize statistics, I sit up and take notice. And you should too. Even if it doesn’t paint the rosiest of pictures. Take for example the new 2024 Innovation Index for Oregon (PDF). Which is designed to do exactly that sort of thing we need: quantify what’s happening here.

Oregon’s Innovation Index is an ongoing report that was first published back in 2004. This is the 7th update to the index with the last version published in 2022. Although there is a lot of continuity from one version of the index to another there have been subtle changes to the indicators included or the methodology over the years. As a result, the innovation index should not be used as a time-series where rankings are compared between versions. The index is a snapshot in time attempting to use the best available data to identify the innovative environment of each state.

The goal of the index is to capture the entrepreneurial and innovative activity within all states and, new for this version, the District of Columbia. Eighteen different metrics were tracked that measured a diversity of economic activity that is largely tied to innovative economies. These 18 metrics can be grouped into three broad categories: commercialization, business environment, and skills/ talent. We will go into more detail about each of these metrics and Oregon’s score for each later in the report. A complete list of these metrics, along with their measures and sources, can be found at the end of the report.

So that’s awesome that stuff is being measured. The downside? It’s not terribly good news.

Does Oregon rank 7th among the 50 states in terms of Innovation Index performance? Yes. But not because we’re terribly good any anything.

Oregon was roughly in the top 1/3rd of states for 14 of the 18 metrics. A good way to frame this is that Oregon was rarely the leader, but consistently among the highest performing states for most measures of innovation. Not too dissimilar from the adage, “jack of all trades, master of none.”

Oregon ranked in the bottom 1/3rd for 8 of the 17 metrics where five-year change was available. This is a notable threat where Oregon’s competitive advantage may be slipping.

But at least we’re measuring. And at least, we’re being honest with ourselves.

But we’re clearly struggling to identify opportunities. “Opportunities” are even conspicuously absent from the title of the SWOT graph below. Not to mention the graph itself.

Again, not pretty. But accurate. And insightful. And well worth the read.

I highly encourage you to download and read the 2024 Innovation Index for Oregon (PDF). It’s a quick and approachable read. And full of interesting — albeit painful — insights. Insights we should all take to heart.

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