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Remote Work Survey Analysis (2021)

The COVID-19 pandemic upended the traditional structure and distribution of work teams. In collaboration with Los Rios Community College District, the Centers of Excellence, and Orr Consulting, Valley Vision sought to survey the region’s employers to quantify and begin to understand the changes and implications brought on by the rise of remote work.

Building upon the Remote Work Survey that was presented at the ICT Regional Advisory Meeting (2021), this report looks at the potential impacts of remote work, its biggest obstacles, and the skills that employers are looking for in a remote workforce. The following white paper highlights the result of these efforts:

Sacramento Region Food System Action Plan (2021)

2021 Sacramento Region Food System Action Plan

The Greater Sacramento region is at the heart of one of the world’s largest agricultural economies, producing products for people at home and around the globe. With its renowned food and agricultural assets, the region produces a large diversity of high-quality crops and products and values its agricultural heritage, while looking to the future as a global innovator and leader in sustainable agriculture, food, and health.

Yet, in spite of our great abundance, the region experiences persistent levels of food insecurity, lack of access to healthy affordable foods, and lack of equitable access to economic opportunities, among other conditions. The Sacramento Region Community Foundation (Foundation) engaged Valley Vision to prepare phase one of the 2021 Sacramento Region Food System Action Plan (Regional Action Plan), which assesses the capital area’s food landscape and offers recommendations to grow its capacity and resilience – efforts made more urgent by ongoing health and climate crises.

The project team also developed an eight-page document (below) containing summaries of key assets, challenges, and recommendations across the six strategic focus areas in the full Regional Action Plan (above).

Companion research and analysis on regional food security status, community food guides prepared by UC Davis, and a listing of new and expanded state and federal resources that can support recommendations and actions are available on Valley Vision’s website.

To stay engaged and informed about the Regional Action Plan and Phase Two, email us at FoodAndAg@ValleyVision.org.

Fall 2021 Agriculture and Natural Resources Regional Advisory: Water Conservation

Health and Life Sciences: Nursing and Allied Health Adviosry Report

Administration of Justice and Public Safety: Administration of Justice Advisory Report (2021)

Skills for a Ready Future Workforce (2021)

Valley Vision has been examining Future of Work trends for many years. Our latest research was made possible through funding from the City of Sacramento CARES COVID Relief and in partnership with Burning Glass Technologies.  This analysis sought to answer the question, where should resources be targeted to provide the most effective skills acquisition and training, especially to disproportionately impacted community members, to enhance and accelerate recovery from the pandemic.

Building on previous work, Automation Risk for Jobs in the Capital Region (March 2020), this report looks at the potential impacts of automation in our nine county region, recovery from the pandemic and future workforce development strategies need to be responsive to multiple factors. The following white paper highlights the result of these efforts:

Fall 2021 ECU Regional Workforce Advisory Meetings: Electric Vehicle Virtual Advisory Series

Information and Communication Technologies: Remote Work Advisory Report

Policy Brief: Internet Service Competition in CA and the Capital Region (2021)

This policy brief presents an analysis of the internet service market and providers choices (number of ISPs) serving residential customers in California and the Connected Capital Area Broadband Consortium (CCABC) Region, and its implications on cost and quality of service.

This analysis is based on broadband availability data from the California Public Utilities Commission from 2020 (as of December 2019). Findings of our analysis are that in California, the vast majority of the population (near 87%), households, and housing units, have access to two or less choices of ISPs, which indicates a concentrated and non-competitive market. Furthermore, analyzing the number of internet choices, in areas served at different speed standards, nearly all population (high nineties percent) have access to two or less choices of ISPs.

Preferred Scenario for Unserved Households in the CCABC Region (2021)

Valley Vision, as manager of the Connected Capital Area Broadband Consortium (CCABC) (funded by the CPUC CASF Program), partnered with the California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF) to prepare the “Preferred Scenario for Unserved Households in the CCABC Region.”

This report provides detailed information on 1) identifying unserved households at different broadband standards in the Capital Region, 2) estimating the deployment costs to connect these unserved households, and 3) establishing partnerships with state agencies and broadband stakeholders to achieve cost-efficient infrastructure deployments. It also incorporates demand aggregation of potential community anchor institutions and business customers to ensure a sustainable business model for ISPs in the long term.

The Preferred Scenarios Report will help local governments, ISPs, and broadband stakeholders to accelerate broadband expansion and upgrades in the Capital Region to achieve affordable, reliable, and high-speed Broadband for All.

Sector Studies: Education and Knowledge Creation

This 2016 report presents findings on the analysis of the Education and Knowledge Creation industry cluster. It is the fourth in a series covering the six Next Economy-identified industry clusters.

This report provides an overview of the cluster, industry trends and economic impact, as well as an overview of the top demand occupations in the cluster requiring postsecondary education or training, along with projected occupational demand, institutions providing related education and training, and possible workforce gaps.

Valley Vision and partners are working across the region to address the key findings from this assessment as part of our Capital Region Workforce Action Plan activities. We have produced several additional resources through the regular industry advisory meetings which we organize. See also:

Information and Communication Technologies: Automation & AI Advisory Report