The “bright spots” in the government’s response to the pandemic highlighted
Despite all the hardships it has created, the pandemic has produced “bright spots” for government, the Public Service Partnership said, resulting in “a government that is in many ways stronger, smarter and more agile. “.
“The government has adapted and continued to deliver, often in new and better ways, whether it’s handling small business loan applications, processing veterans benefits or distributing millions of dollars. doses of vaccine to the public. People across the country are the beneficiaries of a fire test, a test that would have been impossible for the government to design and plan under normal circumstances, ”says a new report. https://ourpublicservice.org/research/
Interior and exterior focused changes have been made successfully, he said. Numerous internal improvements related to adapting to a rapid increase in teleworking with, for example, an increase at the IRS in the number of employees deemed eligible for telework from 44 to 80%. He also cited investments in laptops, bandwidth and other information technologies that have improved the ability of agencies to communicate internally.
Other internal changes involved revised operational practices that, for example, facilitated hiring increases at agencies such as the VA and SBA and streamlined the DHS accreditation process for newly hired employees, getting to work faster, he said.
External improvements included expansion of telehealth services, enhanced customer service, reductions in paperwork and a successful transition of many services to online delivery.
The Partnership also produced a publication of case studies involving Energy, VA, Transportation, CDC, NIH and SBA, saying they show a mix of real-time adaptation and pandemic grasping to effect changes that had previously planned but not fully completed.
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