Learning from each other’s responses to COVID-19

(Updated 20 May 2020) In the two months since this post was first published, there has been a collective effort from many to combat the pandemic.

Organizations started sharing what others were doing: OECD’s Observatory of Public Sector Innovation, OpenIDEO, Bloomberg Philanthropies listing local U.S. government responses, and Public Digital are some examples.

Individuals were also offering what they were making: Open Source COVID 19 Medical supplies, downloadable cards for neighbors to help those who are self-isolating, and texting well-being checks.

Volunteers organized to help governments with tech, data and design needs, including the U.S. Digital Response and Emergency Design Collective.

Our team in San Francisco government has also been collaborating with others. We do data analytics for our internal Communications division who manage content for our agency’s website. We provided similar support to SF Digital Services who own the main portal for the city.

Part of the team has been working with hundreds of people at the central emergency response center downtown. They are helping efforts to house homeless individuals, create better internal processes around logistics, and plan for how the city will manage living in a COVID-19 world.

We continue to check in even through they have new supervisors, teammates and projects. Maintaining our own unit’s identity and connection throughout this experience has been grounding and restorative. It was a way of saying to each other, “We’re getting through this together.”

How are you and your teams practicing this? What partnerships are you a part of during the pandemic response?