About the Trends of Benton and Franklin CountiesWith this website, we hope to serve the informational needs of Benton and Franklin Counties. The project's steering committee, composed of leaders from various segments of the two counties, believe that a comprehensive set of facts about our community will help decision-making in both private and public settings.The indicators have been chosen through a process engaging community leaders with subject experts. They represent our residents' current preferences for what is important to measure, subject to available data sources.Benton-Franklin TrendsBFT_481ca0d6-1370-11e5-bf98-d7b916f00357The Trends of Benton and Franklin Counties, in south central Washington; are presented by a coalition of interested parties. The steering committee included the following organizations: Benton Franklin Health District, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Port of Benton, the Three Rivers Community Foundation, and the Tri-City Herald. The information contained among these many indicators offers residents and visitors alike a comprehensive view of our community.Benton CountyBenton and Franklin Counties lie in south central Washington. Currently, nearly 275,000 people call the two counties home. The third largest metro area in the state, it has also recently been the fastest-growing one. Major economic activities are agriculture, agricultural manufacturing, research at a national energy laboratory, remediation of nuclear waste, and tourism. The population of the two counties has become increasingly diverse over time. The counties boast Columbia Basin College and Washington State University Tri-Cities. It is also the home of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). PNNL performs over $1B per year in research volume. Staff files one invention disclosure per day, and one patent is granted to PNNL per week. Separated by the Columbia River, the two counties sport different collective personalities but are united around the common goal of making the quality of life here even better.Franklin CountyBenton Franklin Health DistrictPacific Northwest National LaboratoryPort of BentonThree Rivers Community FoundationTri-City HeraldBFT Community PartnersOur Community Partners in creating and underwriting Trends of Benton & Franklin Counties are:City of RichlandColumbia Basin CollegePasco Chamber of CommerceVisit Tri-CitiesBFT Website Development TeamThe website development team is a cooperative effort of two groups from Eastern Washington University (EWU): The Institute for Public Policy and Economic Analysis and the Center for Digital Media Design and Development.Institute for Public Policy and Economic AnalysisThe Institute for Public Policy and Economic Analysis (Institute) is a multi-college program at EWU. The Institute, staff and students, gathered the statistical data, wrote the explanations & designed this site. They have created several other similar indicator websites for Spokane County, Grant County, Chelan and Douglas Counties, three counties in Northeast Washington, Kootenai County ID, and Fresno County, CA. Dr. Patrick JonesThe Institute's Director is Dr. Patrick Jones. Scott RichterScott Richter is the Community Indicators Manager at the Institute. Brian KennedyBrian Kennedy is the Institute's Data Analyst. Elizabeth BackstromElizabeth Backstrom, Andrew Frazier, E.B. Vodde and Sam Wolkenhauer have been the Institute's student research interns on the development of the Trends in Benton and Franklin Counties.Andrew FrazierE.B. VoddeSam WolkenhauerCenter for Digital Media Design and DevelopmentThe Center for Digital Media Design and Development (Center) is a collaborative extension of EWU's Departments of Computer Science and Engineering & Design. Development projects for campus and off-campus clients give students the opportunity to apply their skills in a real-world experience. Dr. Linda KiefferThe Center is directed by Dr. Linda Kieffer. Dr. James BraukmannDr. James Braukmann previously directed the Center, and contributed to this and the other indicator projects.Sara WeinandSara Weinand has been the student designer. Kandyce MooreKandyce Moore is the current programmer._481ca2c0-1370-11e5-bf98-d7b916f00357To offer a comprehensive view of our community._481ca388-1370-11e5-bf98-d7b916f00357DeliberationOur process has been deliberative and inclusive. To arrive at the current set of indicators, we engaged focus groups around eight of the ten categories on the site. This involved nearly 150 community leaders and subject experts. Their votes determined the choices of indicators you see in each category.InclusivenessVotingA set of principles informed the votes. We asked our fellow residents to consider that their choices of indicators be based on the following criteria:Importance* Important to large numbers of the communityValidity* Based on valid measurements, as defined by good science and social scienceScienceUnderstandability* Understandable to the general publicComparability* Defined to allow comparisons to Washington State trends or to those in similar sized communitiesRepeatability* Available repeatedly over time to allow trend analysisAccessibility* Easily accessibleCredibility* Sourced from credible sites, largely federal, state & local governmentsChangeOver time, the mix of indicators will undoubtedly change. For now, these represent the best approximation of the most important views of life in the two counties. Most are annual, so the insights offered by the future path of these trends will take time.ApproximationInformationInform, based on the best-available data_481ca43c-1370-11e5-bf98-d7b916f003571_481ca4fa-1370-11e5-bf98-d7b916f00357MetricsMeasure progress_481ca5ae-1370-11e5-bf98-d7b916f003572_481ca662-1370-11e5-bf98-d7b916f00357IssuesFocus community attention on key issues_481ca72a-1370-11e5-bf98-d7b916f003573_481ca7de-1370-11e5-bf98-d7b916f00357ActionInspire broadly shared action_481ca892-1370-11e5-bf98-d7b916f003574_481ca96e-1370-11e5-bf98-d7b916f003572015-06-15http://www.bentonfranklintrends.ewu.edu/OwenAmburOwen.Ambur@verizon.net