At A Glance
Getting Ahead of the Curve
Here are a few topics USDR teams are investigating in preparation for potential requests:
- Best Practices for Contact Tracing: As more governments adopt contact tracing practices, it may be useful to refer to guidance from the Center for Disease Control (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO), and governments who have already begun their contact tracing efforts. USDR created a playbook for contact tracing and exposure notifications that links to resources, frameworks, and templates to help you consider how to implement basic contact tracing in your community.
Online EBT: Food security has been a prevailing topic for weeks, and demand for quick solutions for online food purchase and delivery for SNAP benefits recipients is growing. Fourteen states and the District of Columbia are in the pilot program to accept online EBT, but it remains difficult for new online retailers to accept online EBT. We can help implement solutions like “click and collect” or mobile EBT readers. Connect with USDR to request help and learn more.
Project Spotlight
Recently completed projects that other state and local governments may benefit from by replicating or remixing.
Providing a Free Tool to Track CARES Act Funds
In last week’s post we mentioned that USDR volunteers have adapted the open source technology from USAspending.gov to create a demo that meets stimulus tracking needs at a state level. We are now working closely with several states, including Rhode Island, to build tools to identify available grants from the CARES Act, track approvals and clearance internally across state agencies, and report on spending across the state. Other states are pursuing similar solutions to monitor funds and increase transparency statewide. Governments can learn more by viewing this demo.
Developing a Content Strategy for City-Wide Communications
The City of Boston’s Department of Innovation and Technology (DoIT) uses social media outreach to communicate COVID-19 updates and prevention, but was short-staffed during a time when they needed to get actionable, up-to-date, critical information to the public. USDR volunteers worked with the Boston DoIT to optimize its overall content strategy to more effectively communicate COVID-19 updates to the public.
Together, USDR and the DoIT created a weekly cadence and structure for social media posts that focused on content that balances the seriousness of public health imperatives with much needed positivity and encouragement. The strategy was built based on insights from social listening tools and web trafficking data, plus the DoIT’s core values of consistency, clarity, creativity, trustworthiness, credibility, and timeliness. Through this strategy, the DoIT team was able to communicate information of highest interest to the public, ultimately resulting in a 300% increase in traffic to Boston’s Facebook page where COVID-related information is regularly updated.
A content strategy playbook is in development to serve as a guide for other government teams seeking insight and assistance for creating content that resonates with their audiences. Request early access here.
Delivering Nutritious Food to Low-Income Populations
Several cities and counties are partnering with local food wholesalers to deliver healthy food boxes to people who need help covering the cost of grocery delivery. In a span of two weeks, USDR volunteers worked with government teams to help launch a mobile-friendly site that gives local retailers and government organizations everything they need to launch and maintain their own ecommerce site, complete with online ordering for delivery and pickup, support for in-person EBT card payments, accepting monetary donations, and collecting job applications from people interested in becoming delivery drivers. Contact USDR to learn more about how you can quickly create a similar program in your community.
This Week’s Outlook — Robin Carnahan
Robin Carnahan is the former Missouri Secretary of State and formerly led 18F’s state and local practice within the General Services Administration. She is a fellow at Georgetown University’s Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation and is also leading Government Partnerships for USDR.
Cost-effective mobile-friendly workflow solutions in the face of tight budget constraints. As governments take steps to reopen the economy, demand for digitized and remote services continues to increase. We are collaborating with government teams to create a playbook for best practices for reopening government services in a safe and efficient manner. As mentioned in a previous Weekly Dispatch, we’ve worked with governments like St. Louis County, MO to redesign COVID-19 informational websites and are assisting with other jurisdictions to clarify which government services can be taken care of online. We’re also exploring low-cost solutions for scheduling, hosting online events, communicating adjusted business hours, and more. USDR volunteers can connect government teams to free tools and shareable, reusable technology to help alleviate budget pressures at a time when there’s more demand for governments to invest in more services. We’re currently collaborating with several cities and counties, and can provide similar solutions to other locations.
Efforts to effectively service homeless populations during COVID-19. State and local health departments are working to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 within homeless communities by prioritizing better access to services and care. Community Solutions is a national non-profit with a mission of creating a lasting end to homelessness that leaves no one behind. It leads Built for Zero, a national movement of 80+ communities working to end homelessness, and has been supporting them in their COVID-19 response. USDR volunteers analyzed responses to surveys conducted by Community Solutions to help identify highest priority needs and refocus resources to support communities. USDR is also working with cities to help locate and track homeless encampments to ensure services are being adequately delivered to these vulnerable communities.
