This retrospective looks at the way the NYCOpportunity initiative worked across City government, partnering with agencies to initiate new approaches and enhance city practices. It also highlights key areas of focus for the NYC Opportunity team between 2014 and 2021.
Study by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget assessing methods for determining whether agency policies and actions create or exacerbate barriers to full and equal participation by eligible individuals. This study followed the Executive Order on racial equity.
The article outlines NYC Opportunity's "Designed by Community" program, which funds and empowers local leaders to create solutions for challenges in marginalized communities. Initially focused on government projects, the program pivoted during the pandemic to support community-led initiatives, with projects ranging from mentorship programs to tech tools for public housing residents.
HOME-STAT partners existing homeless response and prevention programs with new innovations designed to better identify, engage, and transition homeless New Yorkers to appropriate services and, ultimately, permanent housing.
NYC Opportunity collaborated with the Administration for Child Services (ACS) to design a family-centered process for prevention services, addressing confusion and lack of choice in the current system. By creating tools like the Provider Profile and Family Voice booklet, the team empowered families to choose providers based on their needs while ensuring their feedback reaches ACS. The project aims to improve family experiences and communication with ACS, with plans to expand through testing and future innovations like a web portal.
Minnesota is a good example of an organization that started small in its drive to integrate benefits programs. For instance, its recent statewide rollout of its online integrated benefit application website, MNbenefits.mn.gov, started as a pilot in 2020 with Code for America. The pilot encompassed two counties including Hennepin County, where Minneapolis is located. The pilot later expanded to four counties, then 16 and a tribal nation. The final roll out, which took 12 months to implement, included the state’s 87 counties and three tribal nations.
In Austin, there are over 2,000 individuals without a safe place to sleep. There are many reasons a person can become homeless, and these reasons range from the lack of affordable housing to the loss of family and community. In 2017, the Innovation Office secured a three-year $1.25m grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies to focus on the city's goal of ending homelessness. The grant funds an i-team to help the city identify the best ways for City Council, departments, and the community to collaborate towards a shared understanding of homelessness in Austin.
Across the United States, a number of state and local governments are embarking on digital transformation efforts. This case study is part of the Beeck Center’s Digital Service Teams project, which is learning how leading government digital service units are introducing new approaches to service delivery. Beeck Center researchers are documenting work as it happens, including analyzing challenges and opportunities, and disseminating this information to benefit both the people of New York City and collaborators in other governments.
In June 2020, the state implemented an innovative and entirely virtual vendor selection process to evaluate these solutions under the direction of the Colorado Digital Service (CDS).
