About Local Efficiency Solutions
Pear Trees & Mt Hood, Oregon
It’s about serving communities in the places we call “home”
At Local Efficiency Solutions, we help public sector organizations do more with less.
At Local Efficiency Solutions, we help public sector organizations do more with less. This means uncovering creative funding sources, eliminating hidden waste, and freeing up resources, so your team can focus on what actually matters: serving your community.
We partner closely with leadership to identify opportunities, conduct in-depth analyses, and deliver actionable recommendations. Our work engages the full range of stakeholders: from frontline staff and elected officials to the general public. We facilitate focus groups to uncover community needs, present findings to decision-makers, and support informed action.
We conduct performance audits, guide teams through tailored SWOT analyses, and develop everything from comprehensive strategic plans and Organizational Performance Management frameworks to clear SOPs and procedural guides for new hires. Whether you're scaling a major initiative or streamlining day-to-day operations, we give you the tools and analysis to move forward with confidence.
Based in rural Southern Oregon, Local Efficiency Solutions works with local governments, community colleges, and nonprofits across Oregon, the rural West and beyond. We specialize in catering to organizations outside major metropolis hubs, where local public service delivers meaningful impact to the communities they anchor.
Willamette Valley Grass Seed Field, Oregon
Background on the Founder
Mark Grabow, Founder and Principal Consultant
I'm Mark Grabow — founder, principal consultant, and a lifelong public servant.
I've spent more than 20 years leading efficiency and performance management projects for some of Oregon's largest and most complex public institutions. I started Local Efficiency Solutions (LES) because the organizations doing the most essential work (local governments, community colleges, rural nonprofits) are exactly where my brand of focused, practical consulting makes the biggest difference. LES is purpose-built for them.
I work primarily with organizations across Oregon and the rural West, and can serve clients in most parts of the country. If you're wondering whether I cover your area, reach out, I'm happy to talk through it.
Credentials & Distinctions
Hatfield Fellow — Mark O. Hatfield School of Government, Portland State University The Hatfield Fellowship is one of the most competitive public service fellowships in Oregon. I was selected as one of 14 recent masters graduates nationally my cohort year, serving with fellows from Harvard, Stanford, UC Berkeley, and Carnegie Mellon. I was placed in the Executive Office of the City of Portland, Oregon's highest municipal executive office, where I helped lead the City's first-ever cross-bureau efficiency initiative.
Oregon Fellow — Mark O. Hatfield School of Government, Portland State University The Oregon Fellowship places top Oregon MPA graduates directly into public sector leadership. I was placed in the President's Office at Clackamas Community College, where I led a large-scale community engagement initiative and authored the final strategic report, adopted by the President and Governing Board.
Master of Public Administration — Local Government Management Focus, PSU Hatfield School of Government
Graduate Certificate in Sustainability — Natural Resources Policy Focus, PSU
Bachelor of Science in Psychology — Minor in Philosophy, Southern Oregon University
Lean Management Certificate — Simplilearn
Community Service Scholar — awarded by Governor Barbara Roberts (sole recipient, my academic year)
Founding President — Pacific Northwest's First ICMA Student Chapter I founded and led the first ICMA student chapter in the Pacific Northwest, connecting graduate students with public administration professionals across the region. The chapter continues to operate today. I was invited to speak at the 2013 OCCMA Summer Conference as chapter president.
A Sample of the Work
City of Portland — Cross-Bureau Efficiency Initiative Hatfield Fellow, Business Operations Team | City of Portland, Office of Management & Finance
Commissioned by the Mayor's Office, this was the City of Portland's first-ever collaborative efficiency project spanning multiple bureaus. As part of the Business Operations Team, I researched consolidation and efficiency opportunities across facilities management, revenue collection, and professional services contracting. The Steering Committee included bureau directors from Environmental Services, Portland Fire & Rescue, Portland Bureau of Transportation, and Portland Parks and Recreation. The final report, with 15+ prioritized recommendations, was delivered to the Chief Administrative Officer and is publicly available through the City of Portland.
City of Gresham — Council Governance Performance Assessment Project Co-Manager | PSU Center for Public Service
I co-led a large-scale performance assessment of the city council and senior management team, developing quantitative and qualitative analysis of council operations, voting patterns, staff time, and decision-making effectiveness. The methodology I created for this project became the foundation for Council Compass™, the proprietary governance assessment tool now offered through Local Efficiency Solutions. Most recommendations were accepted by executive leadership.
City of Eugene — Accounts Receivable Process Review Project Manager | City of Eugene, Central Finance Division
I conducted a comprehensive process review of the City's Centralized Receivables Services team: time-use analysis comparing staff workloads across two fiscal years, detailed process mapping of AR workflows, and a formal report with recommendations for process improvements and workload rebalancing. Recommendations were approved by division leadership. I also developed a performance management framework and executive report for a cross-departmental performance reporting initiative.
Oregon Public Performance Measurement Association — Organizational Growth Project Coordinator | OPPMA
In my first year coordinating association operations, I doubled OPPMA's membership through targeted outreach and strategic partnerships, and organized the largest and most profitable annual conference in the organization's history — 500+ attendees.
Clackamas Community College — Community Engagement Initiative Oregon Fellow | President's Office, Clackamas Community College
Placed in the President's Office as Oregon Fellow, I helped lead the "Imagine Clackamas" community engagement process: conducting interviews with community leaders, facilitating focus groups, performing statistical analysis, and authoring the final report. The report was adopted by the CCC President and Governing Board.
Clackamas Community College — Language Access Initiative Independent Consultant | ESL & Skills Development Departments
Following my Oregon Fellowship engagement, Clackamas Community College re-engaged me as an independent consultant for an initiative improving access to language services for non-native English speakers in Clackamas County. I led the full project scope: facilitating focus groups and community meetings, conducting surveys, analyzing results, and producing a presentation of findings and recommendations for college leadership.
After-School All-Stars Las Vegas — Program Management & Systems Development Program Manager | After-School All-Stars Las Vegas
Managed after-school education programs at three inner-city schools: 500+ students, 50+ staff, and approximately $500,000 in program budgets across three sites. I developed a real-time proactive budget tracking tool that provided necessary checks-and-balances to the organization's monthly reconciliation process and presented it to the national leadership team. I also authored a comprehensive Site Leader Guidebook that standardized program management practices across all Las Vegas sites.
My path here wasn't a straight line. When I wasn't on a public service contract, I gained skills from other roles, like fighting fires for Oregon and Nevada forestry departments, working on a gold mining crew in rural Nevada, managing disaster response crews for a private sector company, and working as a producer at a Portland ad agency. I also volunteered on a suicide prevention hotline and served as a Big Brother with Big Brothers Big Sisters. I grew up in the rural West — Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and Nevada — in unconventional circumstances, and those experiences gave me a firsthand understanding of what it means to do essential work with limited resources.
It’s all tied together with a genuine commitment to public service and the people who show up every day to make their communities better. That's who Local Efficiency Solutions is built for.
I live in Grants Pass with my wife and our kids. I work from Southern Oregon and serve wherever I can put my skillset to work for an organization doing the real, boots-on-the-ground work.