A research group backed by contractors is looking to expand its presence in Oregon policy circles with studies of interest to industry.

Contractors are supporting the Common Sense Institute (CSI) as an ally able to bolster their political efforts in Salem and locally with data-driven studies.

CSI’s Oregon chapter is billed as a “non-partisan research organization dedicated to the protection and promotion of Oregon’s economy.” The chapter receives funding from groups including the Associated General Contractors‘ Oregon-Columbia chapter, Oregon Realtors and Oregon Business & Industry, an AGC official said.

CSI was founded in Greenwood Village, Colorado. The Oregon chapter was established in March 2024, according to state records.

“We’ve seen it as something helpful,” said Kirsten Adams, an AGC lobbyist.

CSI produces research on business matters, including a recent study finding “renewed weakness” in Oregon’s labor market at the end of 2025. Another study, released Tuesday, quantified the economic impact of the state’s outdoor recreation industries, such as golf and skiing.

AGC’s Oregon-Columbia chapter supported bringing CSI here after contractors in Colorado spoke positively of CSI’s role in that state, Adams said.

“We talked with our counterparts from AGC Colorado, and they saw some benefit from having a nonpartisan research group,” she said.

Cinamon Watson, the group’s Colorado-based CEO, said CSI’s research does not support either major political party.

“We are not an advocacy organization, and we are not partisan,” she said. “We are strictly nonpartisan. We deliver the facts and the data that impact jobs and the economy.”

Mark McMullen, the longtime former state chief economist, serves as CSI’s vice president of policy and research. McMullen took the CSI job after serving as the state’s point person for calculating the income tax “kicker” refund.

CSI also has chapters in Arizona and Iowa, and has done work in other states.

“When people have good facts and data instead of political spin or rhetoric, they make better decisions,” Watson said.

Some parties are skeptical of research produced by industry-backed groups — reasoning that they have an incentive to produce research that paints industry in a good light or to bury research that does otherwise.

“One has to question the findings in these types of studies given that there is a conflict of interest by the researchers,” stated Richard Clucas, a Portland State University professor of political science, in an email.

Clucas emphasized that he wasn’t familiar with CSI’s research specifically.

CSI Oregon’s board includes Tom Gerding, former CEO and current board chairman of Gerding Cos., based in Corvallis. Gerding has long been involved with AGC. Other board members include Dan Vannoy of Emery & Sons Construction Group, Angela Wilhelms of Oregon Business & Industry, Lynn Snodgrass of Drake’s 7 Dees and Jenny Pakula of Oregon Realtors.

“The board members (in Oregon) are really thoughtful about public policy and do care deeply about the state,” Watson said.

The group’s nonpartisan status does not mean that its reports don’t touch on hot political issues. Last year, as the Oregon Legislature debated a transportation bill to raise $4.3 billion over 10 years, CSI produced two reports analyzing the package’s costs and benefits.

AGC has important issues at play in Salem, including funding for the state’s megaprojects such as the Interstate Bridge replacement and the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project.

As the Legislature meets for a five-week short session that began Monday, CSI will keep churning out analysis.

“We’ve got some good reports coming out,” Watson said.

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