Blog 4, 1.23.26: Who I Am & Why I Started Local Efficiency Solutions | The Local Edge

By Mark Grabow, Principal Consultant, Local Efficiency Solutions

If you’ve been following The Local Edge podcast, you’ve probably noticed I tend to dive straight into the tools, frameworks, and practical steps that help local governments, community colleges, and nonprofits operate more efficiently. But I realized most listeners don’t actually know who’s behind the voice. So, Episode 4 is short, personal, and different. No checklists, no deep dives into SOPs or audits - just me, out on a trail in Southern Oregon with the Applegate River in the background, sharing a bit about my background and why I started Local Efficiency Solutions and The Local Edge podcast.

20+ Years in Project Management & Public-Sector Operations

I’ve spent more than two decades working in project management and operations, with the majority of that time inside public-sector organizations. I’ve led or co-led executive-level efficiency and performance projects for:

• The City of Portland — as a Hatfield Fellow selected from a national competitive pool, I was embedded in the City's Office of Management and Finance, where I served on the Business Operations Team for the Consolidation Inquiry: Portland's first cross-bureau collaborative efficiency effort, commissioned by the Mayor's Office and led by bureau directors from BES, Fire, PBOT, Parks, and OMF. The final report identified 15+ prioritized efficiency opportunities across facilities, revenue, and contracting, and was accepted by executive management. This is a public document. (City of Portland, Consolidation Inquiry Report, OMF, May 2015 — portland.gov)

• The City of Gresham (council and leadership performance review)

• The City of Eugene (performance roadmaps and efficiency audits)

• Community colleges and nonprofits across Oregon and Nevada (strategic planning, process redesign, community engagement)

I’ve also held a couple private-sector roles that shaped how I approach speed, creativity, and execution under pressure:

• Producer/Project Manager at CMD (Portland’s largest creative/digital agency at the time)

• Project Manager at a fast-paced emergency disaster response company in Southern Oregon

Those experiences taught me how private-sector urgency can be brought into public-sector environments without losing sight of accountability, equity, and service to the community.

The Gap I Kept Seeing – And Why Local Efficiency Solutions Exists

The Hatfield Fellowship placed me inside the highest executive office in Oregon's largest city. The Oregon Fellowship placed me in the President's Office of Clackamas Community College to lead large-scale community engagement. Those two experiences gave me hands-on experience with well-resourced public sector organizations, allowing me to apply my operational project management abilities in high-impact local public sector organizations. Over the years, I kept hearing the same thing from cities, counties, special districts, and colleges/nonprofits — “We want stronger operational efficiency and long-term sustainability, but we don’t know how to get their on our bootstrapped budget.”

That exact gap is why I created Local Efficiency Solutions. We’re intentionally boutique and Oregon-focused so we can:

• Offer high-impact, affordable help to local-level public sector organizations

• Bring the same rigor I used on larger-city projects (Portland, Eugene, etc.) to any local public sector organization wanting to bolster efficiency and organizational resiliency

• Deliver exactly what’s needed. Whether that’s a single department efficiency improvement effort or a larger scale Organizational Performance Management (OPM) framework - we will find a way to make it work for your needs, and at a neighborly rate.

What The Local Edge Podcast & LES Are All About

This podcast exists to cut through the chaos of public sector operations and provide free tools for the public sector warriors in the trenches of local service delivery. So far we’ve covered:

• WCAG 2.1 compliance for government websites (Ep 1 + free checklist)

• Low-hanging fruit efficiency audits (Ep 2 + free audit tool)

• High-impact SOP writing (Ep 3 + free SOP template)

Next episode: a full deep dive into performance management frameworks - vision, goals, strategies, KPIs, inputs/outputs, and dashboards - tailored for cities, colleges, and K-12 districts.

The core belief behind all of it: I’m a public servant at heart, and I created this company and podcast to help fellow public servants in any way I can as they dedicate their lives to improving their communities. The tools will always be free, and I’m happy to have a conversation if there’s any way I might add to your mission accomplishment.

Let’s Connect

If you’re a local-level “Public Sector Warrior” looking for ways to reduce costs, boost impact and improve services — I’d love to talk.

Reach me directly at mark@localefficiency.com or on LinkedIn (link at bottom). In the meantime, please check out the free tools, the services we offer as staples, and let us know if you think we can help.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for the work you do every day to make our communities better.

— Mark Grabow, Founder and Principal Consultant

Local Efficiency Solutions, LLC