Apply to the commission
The application window for the Future Vision Commission closed on Oct. 27, 2024. Thank you to everyone who applied and shared the opportunity.
Applicants will be informed whether or not they have been selected to serve on the Commission by January 2025.
What is the Future Vision?
In 2025, Metro will kick off an update to the region’s Future Vision, a guidance document that defines the preferred future for the greater Portland region in 50 years. The Future Vision reflects the public’s ideas for the future and is also informed by research about the factors affecting our region. The Future Vision is not a regulatory or policy document. It is a visionary outlook that will create a foundation of shared regional values to guide Metro’s programs, plans and policies in the future. Steps to implement the Future Vision will be identified and documented in a separate implementation plan adopted by Metro Council.
The Future Vision will touch on a wide range of topics, from land use, transportation and our economy to housing, climate, nature, arts and culture. A Future Vision will be shaped by the Future Vision Commission, a group of people from across the region that represent a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, jobs and life experiences.
What is the Future Vision Commission’s role?
The Future Vision Commission (the Commission) will exist for the duration of the Future Vision project. Future Vision Commission members will be appointed by the Metro Council through an application process. The Commission's role is to work together, with the support of Metro staff, to recommend a Future Vision to the Metro Council. The Commission’s recommendation may be partially or fully adopted by the Metro Council as the Future Vision. Other advisory committees that typically advise the Metro Council will also be involved in developing the Future Vision but will not be on the Commission (e.g., the Metro Policy Advisory Committee).
What are the Future Vision Commission’s commitments?
The Commission will bring together a group of people who can collectively think in a big-picture way about the long-term future of greater Portland. Members of the Commission will be expected to:
- Work collaboratively at monthly, in-person public meetings for the project's duration, expected to be about 18 months starting January 2025.
- Review a significant amount of research relating to prior and recent regional visioning, national and international best practices and Future Vision topics
- Assess whether further research is necessary to inform the creation of the Future Vision and clearly articulate research needs to Metro staff
- Review the results of public engagement activities and use these results to craft the Future Vision.
Commission members are expected to use their professional and lived experiences to inform their work with this body.
Reimbursement for childcare during the Commission meetings and transportation to and from the meetings will be available for Commission members upon request. Accessibility assistance and other supports for participation are also available.
Who will serve on the Future Vision Commission?
The Future Vision Commission will include 15 to 20 people who represent a diversity of lived experiences, interests and partnerships across the Portland region. It will include three elected officials, one from each county in greater Portland, and one Metro Councilor. Metro’s Charter also specifies that it must include at least one member from outside of the region and one academic. Additionally, Metro will invite interested Tribes, with distinct historical and contemporary connections to what is now known as the greater Portland region, to participate in the Commission.