North State Jobs First

North State Jobs First

North State Jobs First is a regional economic development initiative for the 10 northeastern counties of California.

Regional Collaborative Planning

Through the Jobs First program, Sierra Institute was chosen to co-convene the 10-county North State region in partnership with the North State Planning and Development Collective. The initiative is focused on creating jobs, providing opportunities for economic growth, and retooling economies to manage growing concerns of drought, wildfire, and a volatile climate. For the North State, this means building regional capacity, rebuilding and recovering from wildfire, restoring landscapes, and stewarding forest and waterways. Our work is focused on building and diversifying our economy and stewarding our natural resources for regional and statewide benefit.

See the North State Regional Plan Part 1 and North State Regional Strategies Part II developed through collaboration with community leaders from the 10-county region:

• North State Regional Plan Part I
• North State Regional Plan Part I -Appendices
• North State Regional Plan Part II – North State Strategies (Main Document)
• North State Regional Plan Part II – North State Strategies (Appendix A: Capacity, Socioeconomic, and Well-Being Maps by County)

Catalyst Phase

Transitioning from planning to action, the Catalyst Phase includes 23 regional projects from across the North State. Projects are focused on natural resources management, workforce development, digital literacy, health, education, recreation, tourism, and more.

See a list of Catalyst Catalyst Projects linked here: https://www.csuchico.edu/_assets/documents/office/nspd/catalyst-projects-summaries-all-edited-by-heather-caf.pdf

Implementation

Implementation projects will apply to the State Jobs First Regional Investment Initiative in two rounds in 2025.

See state webpage https://jobsfirst.ca.gov/

California Jobs First

North State Jobs First is the regional effort of California Jobs First, which is an initiative of the Office of Planning and Research (OPR), the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), and the California Labor Workforce Development Agency (LWDA). CA Jobs First was developed to promote a sustainable and equitable recovery from the economic distress of COVID-19 by supporting new plans and strategies to diversify local economies and develop sustainable industries that create high-quality, broadly accessible jobs for all Californians.