Hello everyone. I trust you’re all adjusting to the dramatic changes that have swept over us in the past few days. The greeting I originally penned for this quarter’s newsletter preceded by about a week Oregon’s school closures, NEEA’s decision to close its offices for the next few weeks, and the many other changes to daily life that rapidly followed. So now at press time, my newsletter introduction that referenced springtime and cherry blossoms seemed tone-deaf. I’m appending this quick update just prior to the release of the newsletter to let you know that although NEEA’s Market Research & Evaluation team is working diligently to keep our research and evaluation projects on track, we are already hearing of schedule delays for some of our studies. We are making plans to adapt where possible and will do our best to keep you updated regarding any changes that might have regional impacts. Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns.
Enclosed is our newsletter for the second quarter. These short reports provide a high-level overview of what we have coming up in April through June. The second quarter is often a time that the MRE team can regroup and start planning. Many of our larger evaluations have just wrapped up, and we will begin scoping our next round of studies in the third quarter. This is reflected in the shorter-than-usual newsletter updates, where you may note that several studies have concluded their field research stages, but a report has not yet posted. During this quarter, MRE project managers are working with their third-party contractors to review and finalize reports, and they are coordinating with their internal initiative teams to gather and prioritize the research and evaluation questions for the upcoming studies. Another focus of our time these days is planning for the “re-convening” of the Northwest Research Group. Our first meeting of 2020, planned for March 11th, will have taken place by the time you read this. I hope it went well! We’ll look forward to seeing you (or hearing you on the phone) at one of the quarterly meetings of the NWRG. Stay tuned for more details and let me know if there are folks I should be including in the NWRG communications.
Hoping all is well with you and yours.
