Equitable Recovery Assessment

Equitable Recovery Assessment

The Equitable Recovery Assessment Toolkit is now available!

In Summer 2020, National Resource Network partners, including Enterprise Community Partners, PFM, JFF, and StriveTogether, launched the Equitable Recovery Assessment Pilot as a recovery-based assessment process to address cities’ acute challenges as a result of COVID-19. The goal of the assessment was to empower cities to act on initiatives impacted by the pandemic’s rapid economic downturn and set priorities that promote a cross-sector equitable recovery for all residents and their communities.

The pilot builds on the Network’s cross-disciplinary expertise in housing and community development, economic development, workforce development, financial management, and education. Across the three participating cities of Brockton, MA, Syracuse, NY, and Rockford, IL, the Network refined the Equitable Recovery Assessment approach to uncover local contexts and challenges that underlie existing racial and socioeconomic disparities within each community. It is an inquiry-based approach that recognizes that no two cities and communities are the same, and that the most effective program and policy solutions will be those grounded in local realities. It recognizes that equity is not a fixed destination or singular dimension. It is directional and dependent on a community’s starting point, defined by the community’s priorities and self-determination, and tied to specific needs and opportunities.

The Equitable Recovery Assessment Pilot concluded in October 2021 with the production of the Equitable Recovery Assessment Toolkit that helps communities conduct their own assessments and examine the policies, practices, and programs that can move their communities toward an equitable COVID-19 recovery.

As our country reopens and looks towards equitable recovery, community leaders must address the opportunities and challenges revealed by the pandemic and strategize a path forward the responds to the significant need.

Equitable Recovery Assessment Webinars

On August 13, 2020, the Network hosted a peer learning event to showcase our approach to assessments focused on equitable recovery and economic recovery as well as provide an opportunity for cities to connect with their peers facing similar challenges across the country.

On October 27, 2021, the Network hosted a peer learning event that features perspectives from participating cities and previewed the Equitable Recovery Assessment Toolkit. Featured speakers included, Karl Franzen, Director of Economic and Community Development for the City of Rockford, IL; Greg Landsman, City Council member for the City of Cincinnati, OH; and Matthew Stitt, Director & National Lead for Equitable Recovery and Strategic Financial Initiatives and Joe Buckshon, Senior Analyst, at Public Financial Management.

If you have any questions about the pilot opportunity, please contact us at info@nationalresourcenetwork.org