Conference Presentation, Panel, Fireside Chat
Silver Linings Playbook: New Momentum for Outcomes-Driven Government
Milken InstituteMatt Horton, Ben McAdams, Jennifer Park, Nancy Augustine, William Glasgall, Michael Grossman, Michael Hammett, Grace Simrall, Ryan Smith, Jen Tolentino
- Dr. Augustine expects to launch a project next month analyzing state regulatory compliance processes during the pandemic, anticipating findings on long-term changes driven by safety concerns and hardships, while planning to highlight replicable partnerships regarding workforce aspects of the Infrastructure Act and intergovernmental collaboration in K-12 through university systems for job training.
- Dr. Augustine hopes to scale two additional initiatives beyond the current project and anticipates that making innovation the default policy will establish a universal gateway for social service delivery.
- Mr. Glasgow expects rainy day funds to potentially reach 10% of general fund revenue, a record level, and hopes more states will link reserves to historical revenue volatility or forecast expenditures and revenues beyond the current fiscal year, building on trends from the 2015-2019 period where only five states added such features and 32 states forecasted revenues.
- Mr. Glasgow anticipates monitoring state and city program expansions funded by federal money to determine outcomes after the 2024 to 2026 deadline, specifically regarding tax revenue availability or potential cuts, while hoping that performance management principles embedded in ARPA and the Infrastructure Program persist after those eras conclude.
- Mr. Glasgow expects opportunities for innovation in water and sewer infrastructure, broadband, and affordable housing, and notes that merit and combat pay raises included in ARPA may become permanent wage structures affected by inflation.
- Mr. Glasgow anticipates that a federal recession or further COVID spread could create unknowns and unpleasant surprises for budget planning, though he hopes financing markets will prioritize climate-resilient projects.
- Mr. Grossman expects the Pay It Forward Fund model to multiply funding availability by two to three times assuming 40% repayment rates, noting that while this may alleviate the fiscal cliff by extending fund availability, it may not eliminate it entirely, and anticipates six partner states will develop replicable workforce training financing facilities.
- Ms. Park expects cities to increasingly utilize data to demonstrate how investments in data practices lead to equitable outcomes and better community well-being, anticipating that every government interaction will be used to collect data for problem understanding, solution testing, and program evaluation.
- Grace Simrell expects cities to scale work significantly when federal dollars become available, anticipating that the 25-fold increase in low-cost internet enrollment demonstrates this potential, and expects the Microsoft Future of Work Initiative and Digital Alliance to transform healthcare, manufacturing, and logistics for AI and automation.
- Grace Simrell expects that new opportunities from ARPA and the Infrastructure Law will advance efforts in Louisville and that innovation requires alignment across schools, academia, nonprofits, and philanthropy to solve complex problems.
- Ryan Smith expects data indicating low repayment likelihood for unpaid tickets older than two years to build political will for addressing suspended licenses, anticipating that mass relief without application requirements will capture eligible people and that data showing harm will address resident concerns about accountability.
- Ryan Smith expects to partner with UNC's Center for Health Equity Research on "Stats in Action" to collect neighborhood-level data and anticipates that ARPA funds will motivate meaningful community conversations and a cultural acceptance of ideas that may not work.
- Michael Hammett expects the city of Phoenix to use data and collaboration to address growth and climate change, anticipating that the "Heat Ready" program will achieve 25% shade cover by 2030 and that pool pavement data will show a 10 to 12-degree temperature difference between cool coatings and asphalt.
- Michael Hammett expects the "Fun Phoenix" tool to provide budget data in spreadsheets for public hearings and anticipates using an ARPA dashboard to track spending and impact, while noting that 163 spoken languages in Phoenix present engagement challenges.
- Jen Tolentino expects to add states to ARPA spending evaluations in the coming weeks and analyze decisions made beyond August, hoping that ARPA will serve as "training wheels" for cities to build long-term data capacity beyond a four-year timeframe.
- The moderator expects to conclude the current session with one or two final questions and anticipates facilitating deeper dives with panelists, while expecting the upcoming panel on "Creating Community Wealth and New Revenue" to focus on government-held real estate assets for endowments.