Southern Oregon Innovation Hub
Creating an Innovation Ecosystem
The Situation
SOREDI received a planning grant from the State of Oregon to create a regional innovation hub across Jackson and Josephine counties—an area with 13 cities and over 300,000 people. With over 30 economic development groups involved—chambers, colleges, coworking spaces, SBDCs, workforce leaders—there was no shared vision, no clear definition of what the hub should be, and no existing trust between partners.
The Real Challenge
The state’s top-down grant approach ignored what local partners knew: innovation isn’t just about tech startups. It’s about cost of living, culture, creativity, and collaboration. But no one was talking about that—and no one was working together. The biggest barrier wasn’t defining a hub. It was building the trust and relationships needed to imagine something different.
What We Did
We led a discovery and co-design process grounded in listening. We interviewed 60 people across the region and hosted three focus groups to surface core needs and tensions. Then we brought partners together for two regional co-design sessions—where the real work happened. Together, they reimagined the “hub” as a flexible, ecosystem-wide effort with shared governance and collective goals.
What Changed
Instead of a physical hub, they launched a region-wide innovation ecosystem—guided by a broad coalition of local partners. The model was funded and staffed, with an “Ecosystem Steward” hired to carry the work forward. Today, that steward supports collaboration across the region’s towns, linking resources, building trust, and growing programs that reflect the region’s values—not just the state’s metrics.
