Our History

PARC Resources was founded in 1985, with the simple goal of providing high quality consulting services to improve the communities we call home and to serve as agents of change throughout the West.

With this philosophy as our cornerstone, we have been providing services to primarily rural communities since 1985. Our commitment to quality long-term results has never wavered and today, PARC Resources can proudly point to hundreds of communities where our assistance has helped create a better place for thousands of people, both now and for future generations.

PARC Resources prides itself on having dedicated staff and associates who share a commitment to service, a love for diversity, and an eagerness to help people build a better future.  PARC Resources knows how to get the job done, whether it is building a multimillion-dollar facility or developing a five-year service program, we have the experience and knowledge our clients trust.

How We Work

PARC Resources works on a not-to-exceed pricing structure, meaning that we assess a project’s components, develop a scope of work, and assign an estimated number of hours to a project based on the scope of work. The estimated hours are multiplied by the hourly rate and we then add in the cost of travel and publishing/printing (if necessary). This becomes the not-to-exceed price quote we provide clients. We commit to not exceed this price for the defined scope of work (even if it takes us more time than we estimated to complete the work). If it takes less time, we will only bill the client for the hours used.

If the client agrees to the price, we put together a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), stating the client and PARC Resources agree to the scope of work and cost estimate. We will then complete the work, billing the client per hour until the not-to-exceed price is reached.

We do this to remain budget-friendly, as we know that resources are limited and we want to make sure our clients receive the best value possible. Occasionally, the client will request a modification to the scope of work mid-project – such as an extra trip to the region, community meeting, or additional research. These modifications are fine, but might result in additional costs due to the change in scope of the project. We will always discuss additional charges and receive approval prior to completing the work so that our clients do not receive surprise charges.

PARC Resources Team

Stan FosterSenior Consultant/ Founder
Stan Foster has worked in community development since 1977, working for several non-profits, three counties, and two governors, primarily on community-based development. In 1985, Stan founded Public Affairs Research Consultants (now PARC Resources) and has spent the past 40+ years building its success.

Stan’s experience in working with diverse communities provides him with a solid basis for assessing a project, determining possible pathways to success and finding the right combination of funding and local support to bring projects to completion.

Bob IrvinePresident
Dr. Robert Irvine (Bob) has been with PARC Resources for almost 30 years leading research, grant-writing, and feasibility work. Working with Tribes, local government, institutes of higher education, and local nonprofits, Bob’s experience and expertise is significantly varied. He has provided extensive analysis services, including detailed financial feasibility work for a wide range of community projects and clients. Bob regularly provides the type of detailed and complete analysis generally associated with a fortune 500 company including providing detailed proformas. The quality and detail found in these past analysis have been used for debt financing, grant writing, and major development in all sizes of community. Bob holds degrees in American History, Management, and Geology. In addition to his work at PARC, Bob is on the Faculty at Southern New Hampshire University and Blue Mountain Community College, and volunteers extensively in his local community of Athena, Oregon.

John SchmidtApplications Systems
John Schmidt has more than fifteen years of experience working with clients and PARC Resources to ensure that every application is completed correctly, according to the guidelines and his high standards. John is well versed in all of the federal application systems, including Grants.gov, GMS and individual agency protocols. John provides quality control that emphasizes not just quality, but timeliness and responsiveness to clients.

Megan FosterLead Executive Officer, VP
Megan (Meg) has spent the last twenty years working in professional community development, managing grants, and facilitating collaboration both domestically and overseas with particular expertise in violence and abuse prevention and response. She excels in bringing people together to solve big problems in a collaborative manner. She has a proven track record of lasting results at the community level. She brings those talents and skills together in effective strategies to tackle the important issues in each community she works with. Megan holds degrees in Public Policy, Planning and Management and Journalism and Communications – with focuses on community development, nonprofit management, public relations, and communications.