Review of Equity in Contracting at COO
September 2021 – February 2022
Deliverables Participants had a lot to say regarding deliverables, starting from valuing the goals and approach of COO. “To see this funder really valuing policy and systems change and of moving into organizing stuff and wanting to highlight that and having us come and present about it, has been helpful for us and helpful for our community at large. I would hope to see more funders moving into that area. Yes, we need to meet basic needs, but we also need to organize for change that's sustainable for the future so that we're not always dependent on emergency services to meet basic needs. How do we actually shift beyond that?” ―Community-based organization leader Both staff and community partners feel that COO has built enough flexibility and understanding around deliverables, from design to implementation to amendments. Staff appreciate having options such as performance-based contracting or cost-reimbursable contracting to most effectively meet the needs of an organization. “Our program manager worked with us to set deliverables that felt were right for us in that time and that felt like a positive shift because in the past we’ve had some deliverables around work that is important but not totally aligned with our mission and our strategic goals, and that feels like it's separate or takes extra energy to figure out. It seems you're working really for the money, not the money working for you, right? Yeah, the funding being more aligned with the mission.” ―Community-based organization leader Partners called out how they have been able to co-design their deliverables with COO staff, and how staff have even allowed for changes or dropping a deliverable under a contract. They appreciate how COO staff are understanding when “sometimes stuff happens.” They particularly commended COO for making adjustments to deliverables and milestones and being very flexible during the thick of the COVID19 pandemic, when things were beyond everyone’s control and impacted their ability to complete anything. “During COVID, letting us readjust our deliverables has been helpful and just knowing that there was that possibility was a relief. Our goal was still to meet all the deliverables, but there at least was that flexibility. So, I think that was also very appreciated. ―Community-based organization leader Staff, too, view it as positive having more flexibility in amending contracts. Some shared their experience with other previous efforts in which a payment by either Public Health or the budget of the partner who was receiving the funds was required to amend a contract, making changes cost prohibitive. In terms of “right-sizing” deliverables and scopes of work within the funding available, the tension of requesting enough to cover all expenses while writing a proposal that will be funded continues to exist. This tension also illustrates issues of power between those who make decisions about what will be funded and those who feel on the receiving end of funding. “[When we hear this feedback, I wonder], did you ask for it? We could only give you what you asked for. So really going for that support at the time of the proposal and then again at the contracting time. Sometimes smaller organizations feel like the lower the bid, the more chances they would be to get funded, and so they underestimate or they under propose how much money they're going to ask for. We are Contacto Consulting for King County Communities of Opportunity
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