2021 Annual Leadership Summit Report.pdf

SECRETARY OF STATE

AGENCY GOALS 2021*

MISSION

Build trust between Oregonians and their state government so Oregonians can trust the public services and the public servants who can make a difference and their everyday lives.

VISION

We envision an Oregon without barriers where everyone has equitable access to our democra-cy, available tools to achieve economic success, our state resources are efficiently utilized and accountable to the public, and where we honestly acknowledge our state’s history.

We lead with our values and believe every voice should be heard.

VALUES

ACCESS FOR ALL

We seek to identify and actively eliminate barriers.

AUTHENTICITY

We are honest and true with ourselves and others.

CLARITY

We share stories, using plain language to increase understanding and impact.

RESPECT

We strive to understand all viewpoints.

SECRETARY OF STATE: 2021 AGENCY

PRIORITIES AND GOALS

AGENCY STABILITY AND CULTURE

• Identify core values, including embedding equity in everything we do.

• Support a culture of continuous improvement; evaluate existing processes and seek to leverage cross-division efforts.

• Build staffing and capacity needed to accomplish the SOS mission.

• Ensure the SOS is considered a Destination Agency.

*Mission, vision and values are in draft form; agency leadership will undertake a strategic planning process post-session.

2.

ESTABLISHING EQUITY AT THE CORE OF THE AGENCY

• Create and hire a Diversity Equity and Inclusion Director position to collaborate with leadership and provide guidance for internal and external efforts (review prior efforts, assess landscape, create phased initiatives).

CREATE EQUITY TABLE

• Building process for external stakeholder engagement and feedback

• Research and build stipend model for lived expertise

SUCCESSFULLY ADVANCE 2021 LEGISLATIVE AGENDA

• Revised Agency Request Budget

POLICY PLATFORM

• Make voting more accessible and improve voter access.

• Improve youth engagement and access to democracy.

• Ensure every ballot cast is counted.

• Make our election system more equitable.

• Continue to strengthen support to small businesses.

• Ensure we can collect information to tell the full story of Oregon’s history.

• Ensure public dollars are truly serving Oregonians.

• Support efforts to address mis/disinformation.

• Perform community outreach to educate and encourage public engagement in the legislative process

EXECUTIVE TEAM LEADERSHIP

• Recenter the agency as a whole, institute a wraparound support model.

• Reimagine public communication.

• Integrate internal/external communications.

DIVISION LEADERSHIP

• Continually prioritize staff morale, utilize regular climate survey(s), seek opportunities for adaptation for optimum staff support.

• Ensure staff have necessary tools and support to accomplish the mission.

• Fill interim and permanent leadership roles.

3.

COMMUNICATIONS INTEGRATED THROUGHOUT THE AGENCY

• Prioritize accessibility, transparency, and improve usability by centering our audiences and understanding how they are best engaged. Understand and use the optimum platforms and ver-nacular for each audience as we communicate with Oregonians about Secretary of State services.

• Comprehensively assess current Agency communications processes and guide the divisions toward a “one agency, one voice” standard. Integrate communications across the Agency to ensure Orego-nians have access to the information they need.

• TRANSPARENCY: never losing sight of who we work for – the people of Oregon – and how they are entitled to know about, participate in, and respond to our work.

SUCCESSFUL REDISTRICTING

• Center and prioritize the involvement of Oregonians in the process.

• Perform Community Outreach to educate and encourage engagement in the legislative public feedback process.

• Be proactively prepared to fulfill Constitutional duties.

• Provide clarity around deadlines and process given the unprecedented delay in Census data.

• Build plan to establish a People’s Commission.

SERVE THE PUBLIC

Improve and expand services provided to Oregonians

AUDITS

• Focus on areas of current public impact and risk.

• Continue to deploy innovative audit strategies including building upon the Division’s real-time, culture, and equity auditing proficiencies

• Embed equity; create Equity Advisory infrastructure.

• Finalize, release, and execute 2021 Audit Plan.

• Develop an Outreach and Engagement Plan

• Work with SOS Comms team to enhance audit communications

• Clarify and secure access to all state records and employees in alignment with the Division’s constitutional and statutory authority

• Develop and implement leading practice out-come measures and KPMS

• Work more collaboratively with the state legislature to ensure audit impact; specifically working on enhancing our audit follow-up and reporting practices

• Continue to be viewed as a national leader within the government auditing community

ELECTIONS

Build trust in Oregon’s democratic processes

• Clerk outreach and engagement with local elections officials.

• Defend and promote Oregon’s best practices;

learn from other states.

• Engage with stakeholders.

• Increase access to elections and voting by communities of color, disability rights community, veterans, and formerly incarcerat-ed individuals.

• Create a continuous improvement plan to en-sure internal and external resources are main-tained and reviewed regularly.

4.

• Cross-train staff to ensure continuity of ser-vices to the public

CORPORATION

• Pursue collecting disaggregated business ownership data

• Expand Small Business Advocate efforts

• Seek permanent Remote Notary service

• Improve/enhance business transactions services

• Share, communicate, and engage with partners and community around the services provided with targeted efforts for communities of color and other languages provided

ARCHIVES

• Tell Oregon’s story with accuracy, transparency and humanity

• Increase public awareness of available resources

• Center equity and anti-racism in our work;

focus on stories that have not previously been told or emphasized

• Share our history with the people of Oregon through partnerships and community collaborations.

• Use the Oregon Records Management Solution (ORMS) to promote proactive records management across all levels of Oregon government thereby increasing access to public records

• Preserve vulnerable records to ensure ongoing public access

CIVIC EDUCATION

• Expand civic education.

• Gather and share dis/misinformation best practices/defense strategies.

• Launch adult education campaign, focusing on practical knowledge that will help Oregonians better engage with government.

• Support other civic education efforts statewide; partner with others engaged in this work.

• Expand Kid Governor program to statewide participation; engage stakeholders and partners.

SUSTAINABILITY

• Bring an innovative and equity centered voice to conversations about sustainability and management of state lands.

PARTNERSHIPS

Agency internal divisions provide core support to public-serving divisions:

• Information Services Division (ISD):

provides technology redundancy, resiliency and security along with adaptability, speed and innovation

• Businesses Services Division (BSD):

ensures administrative support:

accounting, payroll, budget, business/ cash management, and procurement and operation services allow reliable delivery and innovative operational functions

• Human Resources Division (HRD):

implements human resource services;

strategic workplace planning; policy and procedure setting; employee engagement and training; equity, performance and risk management; compliance adherence

• Enhance Government-to-Government tribal relationships.

• Identify, develop, and maintain diverse rela-tionships across the state (tribal, communities of color, rural, frontier, coastal, disability, busi-ness, chambers, small business, philanthropy, socio-economic-related, and others).

• Increase access to services provided by the Divisions through proactive outreach and en-gagement plans and communications.

• Engage with Legislative, municipal, regional, federal electeds.