With overarching goals designed to encourage economic diversification, increase job quality and boost health and environmental equity, a new regional strategy has been released in the North State.

The North State Planning and Development Collective (the Collective) at California State University, Chico and the Sierra Institute for Community & Environment—co-conveners for the North State region of the CA Jobs First program—have released the North State Jobs First Regional Strategy. The document will serve as a blueprint for the North State as the region works to advance economic prosperity, environmental stewardship and community well-being across the region. Individuals from the CA Jobs First North State region of Butte, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity counties are invited and encouraged to review and provide feedback on the plan by January 31, 2025.

“The vision and actions articulated in the document were developed through input and expertise from North State residents through community workshops, gatherings of the Jobs First Collaborative, topical subcommittees and through extensive economic, health and environmental data from the region,” said Jason Schwenkler, executive director for the Collective.

The findings and strategies outlined in the plan are meant to be actionable. Over the next few months, the North State Jobs First collaborative will work to advance the strategies in alignment with projects funded by the Jobs First Initiative under the Catalyst Program.

The Catalyst Program reserves up to $14 million for each California Jobs First region to bridge the gap between each region’s Jobs First Strategy and implementing projects designed to achieve outcomes that align with those strategies. Catalyst funds will support each region’s Jobs First Collaborative to invest in sector-specific pre-development activities, enabling regions to take projects from exploratory and last-mile to ready-to-go projects that can access local, state and federal government funds, as well as private and philanthropic investments.

The Sierra Institute for Community and Environment and the Collective were awarded $5 million in 2022 to serve as co-conveners for the CA Jobs First North State region. Since that time, the Collective and Sierra Institute have guided the input and collaboration sessions across the North State to develop roadmaps for the region, resulting in the North State Regional Strategic Plan. The plan includes recommended investments throughout the region that support economic recovery from COVID-19, bolster equity outcomes and facilitate the transition to carbon neutrality.

The North State CA Jobs First team’s next steps include funding critical catalyst projects that will move under-resourced projects forward, determine the action plan for the Regional Plan and implement targeted strategies to grow the North State’s natural resources, agriculture, tourism and health industry sectors.

“This initiative fosters an inclusive process by bringing together communities, groups, and organizations that may have been overlooked in previous planning efforts. We encourage the region to offer their feedback on the recently released strategy by January 31, 2025,” Schwenkler said.

CA Jobs First was created by Senate Bill 162 and is administered by an interagency leadership team that includes the Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation (formerly the Office of Planning and Research), the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, and the Labor & Workforce Development Agency.

Learn more about the CA Jobs First in the North State Region.

About the North State Planning and Development Collective: The North State Planning and Development Collective, a department within Chico State Enterprises, is the lead agency for research, planning and development across the University’s 12-County service region. “The Collective” is home to the Center for Economic Development and Geographical Information Center, and serves as manager of the Upstate California Connect Broadband Consortia and Northeast California Connect Broadband Consortia. www.nspdc.csuchico.edu

Link to North State Regional Strategic Plan—Part 2.

Link to provide input: Regional Strategies Feedback.

Founded in 1887, California State University, Chico is the second-oldest CSU campus and one of the highest-ranked master’s-level public universities in the West.