Agility: Examining the Effects of and Responses to COVID-19 on Our Work and Our Clients
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are facing unprecedented times characterized by social distancing-- business and school closures, panic shopping, and entire cities on lockdown-- the collective of which has virtually upended every facet of our lives. The enormous cognitive load involved in processing what is happening around us is causing a form of shared trauma that our society hasn’t felt for generations.
As the economy flounders and the healthcare system is overwhelmed, our other social systems are reeling in response to the most profound threat we have experienced in modern times. Public-serving organizations that support vulnerable communities are facing unprecedented challenges, and the clients they serve are at an increased risk of falling through the cracks and missing out on opportunities and services they need. In response, stakeholders are working collaboratively to develop innovative solutions and funders are pivoting to provide necessary resources to mitigate the impact of COVID-19. In these difficult times, there is hope and support for positive growth and change within organizations and systems that serve the public.
Through our research, evaluation, technical assistance, and training efforts, OMNI partners with public-serving organizations across our adult and juvenile justice, public and behavioral health, and human development divisions. In doing so, we find ourselves positioned to assess the impact of COVID-19 across the public sector. Even without a global pandemic as the backdrop, our clients do difficult work to address some of the greatest social concerns we face in this country. As we walk alongside our clients during this time, we are collectively learning how the response to the novel coronavirus impacts practices and policies within our core content areas and communities so that we can best support our clients and share those learnings with our network.
Over the course of the next few weeks, OMNI will be releasing a series of blog posts focused on examining the effects of and responses to COVID-19 on our work and our clients. In these blog posts, we will highlight the system impacts we see unfolding and how public-serving organizations are adapting their practices to uphold their missions in the face of adversity. We will also share how we are modifying our approaches as a research and evaluation partner based on learnings in the field to help our clients navigate these challenging times. As we continue to monitor the public health effects of COVID-19, our hope is that these blog posts will highlight ways the pandemic is affecting our communities and social systems and potential takeaways for our partners in public-serving organizations and research and evaluation organizations.