EWU | Institute for Public Policy and Economic Analysis

College of Business and Public Administration
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Institute for Public Policy and Economic Analysis
668 N. Riverpoint Blvd., Suite A
Spokane, WA 99202

phone: 509.828.1246

fax: 509.828.1276

Institute for Public Policy and Economic Analysis

The EWU Institute for Public Policy & Economic Analysis was created in 2002 to provide data and analysis about a variety of factors in the region that will be useful for businesses, communities and others as they plan for the future.

Patrick Jones has been the Executive Director of EWU's Institute for Public Policy & Economic Analysis since its inception. He was formerly the director of External Affairs at the Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute (Sirti), where he worked with business development, community outreach and government relations. He has been the executive director of the Biotechnology Association of the Spokane Region (BASR), chair of the St. Luke's Rehabilitation Institute community advisory board, a member of the Spokane Economic Development Council, chair of the Spokane Entertainment Arts Convention Advisory Board (SEACAB), member of the board of the Association of University Business & Economic Research bureaus and board member of the Spokane Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB). He is currently the chair of the City of Spokane Council on Economic Policy and Forecasting. Dr. Jones has a Ph.D. in applied and agricultural economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Annual Report, 2004-05

Monograph Series:

Link to Monographs

Economic Forecasts:

Community Indicators Initiative:

The Institute has co-developed and currently manages seven Community Indicators Projects: The Community Indicators Initiative of Spokane, Walla Walla Trends, Chelan Douglas Trends, Northeast Washington Trends, Walla Walla Regional Vital Signs, Grant County Trends and Priority Spokane. The vision for these projects is to create a healthy, vibrant community by making local data available in several key areas including: culture & recreation, demographics, economic vitality, education, the environment, health, housing & transportation, and public safety.

The Community Indicators Initiative of Spokane website is a resource for the Spokane County community. It was formed by a group of local organizations in response to a need for data-driven decision-making. Founding members include the City of Spokane, The Lands Council, New Priorities Foundation, Spokane County United Way, Spokane Regional Health District, and the Institute at EWU.

The Walla Walla Trends website serves the communities within Walla Walla County, Washington. It was created by the Institute in collaboration with the Port of Walla Walla with funding from the WA State Department of Commerce.

Chelan Douglas Trends was created with the help of several community groups led by the Community Foundation of North Central Washington in partnership with the Institute. Its sponsors include local government, local port agencies, and several non-profits from the two-county region.

The Northeast Washington Trends site was a collaboration between the Institute and leaders from Ferry, Pend Oreille, and Stevens Counties. It was developed with funding from a Federal appropriation in 2009 from the Small Business Administration.

Walla Walla Regional Vital Signs - Quality of Life Indicators is a joint project between the Institute and the Community Council, which serves the communities in the Walla Walla Valley and includes parts of Columbia and Walla Walla Counties in WA, and the City of Milton-Freewater in Umatilla County, OR. The Vital Signs website goes a step beyond the other four sites in that it assigns a grade or status to each indicator based on what the trend is. The Community Council assigns grades each fall.

The Grant County Trends site was a collaboration between the Institute and community leaders in Grant County, including the Economic Development Council. The development of the Grant County Trends website was funded by a federal appropriation from the US Congress overseen by the Small Business Administration.

The websites for each of the seven indicator projects are listed below: