PORT OF SEATTLE

MEMORANDUM

COMMISSION AGENDA

Item No.

Date of Meeting

May 3, 2011

DATE: April 28, 2011

TO: Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer

FROM: Tom Barnard, Research and Policy Analyst

Geri Poor, Regional Transportation Manager

SUBJECT: Century Agenda: Approval of Economic Development Goal and Century Agenda

Committee Monthly Briefing

ACTION REQUESTED:

Commission approval of Century Agenda Committee preliminary goal to ―add 100,000 Port-

related jobs in the next 25 years.‖

SYNOPSIS:

The Century Agenda Planning Committee recommends that the Commission approve a

preliminary economic development goal to ―Add 100,000 Port-related jobs in the next 25 years.‖

The Century Agenda Committee activities in April continued with both internal and external

meetings, including the April 12 public panel discussion on ―Fostering Economic Growth.‖ A

proposed strategic goal from that committee is discussed below. Planning continues around

refining future panel topics, participants and questions.

Panel topics include:

1) Fostering Economic Growth - April

2) Moving Cargo: Logistics & Growing Exports - May

3) Moving People: Airport, Cruise Ships, & Tourism – June

4) Attracting Next Generation Industries and Jobs – July

5) Achieving our Community Values - August, and

6) Funding Our Strategic Goals and Putting Real Estate to Work - September.

FOSTERING ECONOMIC GROWTH:

At the April 25 internal planning meeting, the Century Agenda Committee and senior Port staff

reviewed first the success of the Fostering Economic Growth Roundtable, and second the themes

and questions for the next panel. Both participants and staff regarded the roundtable as a

COMMISSION AGENDA

T. Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer

April 28, 2011

Page 2 of 3

success, though the discussion at the meeting did not directly evoke a strategic goal. Some of the

themes that emerged in the April panel discussions were consistent with those from the March

Media Panel discussion: both issues of ―sticking to core businesses vs. looking at new

opportunities,‖ and ―future discontinuity vs. continuity.‖

For the Economic Growth Roundtable, we engaged several partners in promoting the discussion

via social media. Prior to the event, we promoted the panel discussion heavily using both

Twitter and Facebook, and recruited partners to attend and to ―live tweet‖ during the event.

During the roundtable, we had four different Twitter feeds happening simultaneously, and

created a thread for the event by using the hash tag ―#PortSeaRT‖, which we will use during

each of the remaining roundtables. Tweets included questions about the topics; noteworthy

quotes from participants; and invitations to submit questions or comments. During the

roundtable, we gained 103 followers – people who were not previously following the Port’s

Twitter feed, and who began following the meeting virtually. At this time, the Port has over 600

followers on Twitter.

These efforts will continue for future panels.

At this point, the Century Agenda Planning Committee recommends that the Commission

approve a preliminary economic development goal to ―Add 100,000 Port-related jobs in the next

25 years.‖ We anticipate that the next two panels on ―Moving Cargo‖ and ―Moving People‖ will

generate more specific goals supporting this preliminary goal.

At the conclusion of all of the panels, the Commission will review the preliminary goals and

approve a final set of Century Agenda strategic goals.

NEXT PANEL: “MOVING CARGO: LOGISTICS and GROWING EXPORTS”

The next panel discussion will be held on May 10, 2011, from 10:00-12:00 am, and is entitled

―Moving Cargo: Logistics & Growing Exports.‖ Key questions to be considered will be:

 In the coming quarter century, are there changes to the global cargo supply chain that will

have a major effect on our operations, as significantly as the advent of containerization?

 How do we guard against becoming obsolete in light of such changes?

 How do we offer value to our customers to differentiate the Port from competitors?

 What opportunities are there to grow seaport trade, given our current footprint and

facilities?

 What new opportunities exist to grow our air cargo activity?

 When do we partner financially with others to increase freight mobility?

 How do we leverage our ability to move things by air, water, rail, etc, to foster business

and improve export capabilities?

The panelists include private sector stakeholders from the marine and air cargo industries.

COMMISSION AGENDA

T. Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer

April 28, 2011

Page 3 of 3

BACKGROUND:

Starting in 2008, the Port of Seattle began creating a ―Century Agenda‖ — a comprehensive

vision and strategic plan that focuses on the Port’s next quarter-century. The goal of the Century

Agenda was to refresh the Port’s strategic plan, using a process that builds upon the

accomplishments of the first century with a visionary look forward to the emerging challenges

and opportunities of the 21st century.

The Commission completed the first stage of the Century Agenda’s work on August 4, 2009, by

adopting the ―Century Agenda: Expert Panels’ Recommended Guiding Principles.” Since that

time, both the Commission and Port staff have engaged in iterative discussions to develop

strategic goals to further work on the principles embodied in that report. The need for a formal

process to finalize these goals prompted a proposal to form a temporary Port of Seattle

Commission Committee, as provided for in the Commission’s Bylaws, to oversee the next steps

in the Commission’s strategic planning process. On January 4, 2011, the Commission approved

the the Century Agenda Committee, chaired by Commissioner Albro, and joined by

Commissioner Creighton.

PREVIOUS COMMISSION ACTIONS AND BRIEFINGS:

 On January 4, 2011, the Port of Seattle Commission established a temporary Century

Agenda Committee to further engage in a strategic planning process to develop

quantifiable overarching strategic objectives for the Port of Seattle to pursue over the

course of the next twenty-five years.

 On March 8, 2011, the Port of Seattle Commission authorized for up to $145,000 to meet

the costs of the Century Agenda, including $20,000 for a part-time intern to assist with

organization and logistics, and $30,000 to $40,000 for audio-visual taping services. The

funds are being taken from the Commission’s contingency funds. The Commission also

heard a separate monthly update briefing.

 On April 5, 2011, the Century Agenda Committee presented a monthly briefing.