Doing More with Less

Governments are struggling to do more with less--that’s the key message we took away from our conversations with leaders in social service agencies across the country. The COVID-19 pandemic and corresponding economic recession have created the perfect storm for state and local government leaders. Rising unemployment and physical and mental health crises have caused more people to seek public benefits and services, yet in many cases agencies do not have additional funding to meet this increased need and are being told to cut their budgets and staff. As they watch resources dwindle, government leaders are being asked to make stark trade-offs with immense consequences regarding how much service they provide, how they provide it, and whom they will serve.

Faced with these decisions, government leaders expressed the desire that relief and recovery benefit all of their constituents who are suffering and also acknowledged that spreading resources and capacity thinly, but evenly would not successfully meet diverse needs or rectify the disproportionate impact of the pandemic and recession on communities of color. These are challenging choices that can be exacerbated by limited information, capacity, and tight timelines.

In Third Sector’s work to improve public sector results, we often help governments see the full picture of financial resources, quantitative data, community feedback, and cross-agency capabilities, in order to make resourcing and implementation decisions. Based on our conversations and deep, ongoing work with various partners, we have seen how taking a deliberate, data-driven, equity-conscious approach to relief efforts can begin to lay the foundation for an equitable recovery and more resilient support system.

Over the past two months, Third Sector conducted a virtual  listening tour with state and local government partners to gain a clearer understanding of their needs as they continue to lead relief and recovery efforts in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and economic recession. We conducted 20+ interviews with public sector leaders across the country representing the health and human services, workforce, mental health, and justice sectors. In particular, we asked about the operational and implementation challenges they experience  to meet their residents’ emerging needs and how they are ensuring that communities of color, who have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 and its economic effects, are adequately supported.  

What we learned is that government implementers are faced with multiple, intersecting challenges, including:

• Meeting increased need with less funding
• Accessing and analyzing data to understand increased provider and participant needs
• Improving access to services and supports
• Sustaining fragile provider ecosystems

We are sharing what we learned from our conversations because government leaders told us they would benefit from an increased connection with their peers in the field to hear how they are addressing current challenges and working differently. By connecting these challenges to approaches Third Sector has implemented in the past, we look to provide some concrete ideas for governments to pursue. 

Governments are struggling to do more with less--that’s the key message we took away from our conversations with leaders in social service agencies across the country. The COVID-19 pandemic and corresponding economic recession have created the perfect storm for state and local government leaders. Rising unemployment and physical and mental health crises have caused more people to seek public benefits and services, yet in many cases agencies do not have additional funding to meet this increased need and are being told to cut their budgets and staff. As they watch resources dwindle, government leaders are being asked to make stark trade-offs with immense consequences regarding how much service they provide, how they provide it, and whom they will serve.

Faced with these decisions, government leaders expressed the desire that relief and recovery benefit all of their constituents who are suffering and also acknowledged that spreading resources and capacity thinly, but evenly would not successfully meet diverse needs or rectify the disproportionate impact of the pandemic and recession on communities of color. These are challenging choices that can be exacerbated by limited information, capacity, and tight timelines.

In Third Sector’s work to improve public sector results, we often help governments see the full picture of financial resources, quantitative data, community feedback, and cross-agency capabilities, in order to make resourcing and implementation decisions. Based on our conversations and deep, ongoing work with various partners, we have seen how taking a deliberate, data-driven, equity-conscious approach to relief efforts can begin to lay the foundation for an equitable recovery and more resilient support system.

Over the past two months, Third Sector conducted a virtual listening tour with state and local government partners to gain a clearer understanding of their needs as they continue to lead relief and recovery efforts in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and economic recession. We conducted 20+ interviews with public sector leaders across the country representing the health and human services, workforce, mental health, and justice sectors. In particular, we asked about the operational and implementation challenges they experience  to meet their residents’ emerging needs and how they are ensuring that communities of color, who have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 and its economic effects, are adequately supported.  

What we learned is that government implementers are faced with multiple, intersecting challenges, including:

• Meeting increased need with less funding
• Accessing and analyzing data to understand increased provider and participant needs
• Improving access to services and supports
• Sustaining fragile provider ecosystems

We are sharing what we learned from our conversations because government leaders told us they would benefit from an increased connection with their peers in the field to hear how they are addressing current challenges and working differently. By connecting these challenges to approaches Third Sector has implemented in the past, we look to provide some concrete ideas for governments to pursue.