Strategic Sonoma Scorecard

Last updated September 2022

Strategic Sonoma is a five-year economic development strategic action plan for Sonoma County. Strategic Sonoma was commissioned by the Sonoma County Economic Development Board (EDB) in partnership with the Sonoma County Workforce Investment Board and Santa Rosa Junior College, and approved by the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors on July 10, 2018. The plan includes three parts: (1) a Competitive Assessment, providing extensive data and benchmarking analysis, (2) a Target Cluster Analysis, identifying key industries in Sonoma County, and (3) an Action Plan, outlining strategic goals and specific projects to address Sonoma County’s strategic priorities and create a more resilient, vibrant economy. Utilizing a collaborative framework, the Action Plan includes a discussion on implementation, suggests partner organizations to be involved with each goal, and offers metrics to track progress and provide accountability.

Read the full plan (PDF: 56 MB)

As the plan moves from development into the implementation phase, Inclusive Economic Development continues to be a primary theme. Through the planning process, the planning team spoke directly to nearly 200 individuals representing more than 140 organizations from across the county. As we work our way through the five-year action plan, the Strategic Sonoma team will provide progress updates and opportunities for feedback and collaboration. Since the plan’s approval in July, progress has been made in all six priority areas of the action plan, with many projects ahead of schedule:

• In the priority area of Recovery, every single action item recommended by Strategic Sonoma has been accomplished.
• In Housing, the Santa Rosa Metro Chamber has launched the recommended Employer Housing Council and the County and Cities continue to explore short-term housing solutions and make progress on updating policies to expedite the development of new housing options.
• In Talent, employers and educators are building partnerships and new programs to address the county’s workforce challenges.
• In Diversification, manufacturing and tech companies have come together to explore forming a Manufacturing and Tech Alliance to address issues of common concern to strengthen manufacturing and tech as a major cluster in the Sonoma County economy.
• In Sustainability, cities are working to create incentives to encourage green building practices and the county is continuing to convert government fleets to electric vehicles.
• In Mobility, the cities and county are collaborating with regional planning agencies to leverage regional networks and resources, as well as update their own plans to increase Last Mile solutions and affordable options.

This progress report does its best to capture a high level view of what is being accomplished with respect to the recommended projects in the Strategic Sonoma Action Plan. It is by no means a complete representation of all the work that all non-profits, private companies, educational institutions, and government entities are engaged in throughout Sonoma County. We recognize that it is impossible to include everyone, so this report mainly consists of self-reported progress and progress made by partners we are directly working with

$21 Million in Small Business recovery loan funds disbursed

About 6,000 housing units in the pipeline across the nine cities and county

Two million pounds of debris cleared

An average of 12,000 gallons of fuel per year saved by the County Fleet’s alternate fuels program

Note: This section titled: “Emerging Needs and Projects” was not originally recommended in the 2018 Strategic Sonoma Action Plan. This section will be updated as required.

This is a list of community organizations that have reported activity related to these Strategic Sonoma projects. We recognize that there are many organizations working on these projects or similar projects who might not be listed below. If you know of any organizations that should be listed here, please let us know. Please note that all surveyed data contained in this report is based on the information self-reported by respondents, which was not factually verified by the Sonoma County Economic Development Board.