As communities across the nation grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, FUSE is convening civic leaders, innovators, and issue area experts to identify and design solutions to challenges as they arise. FUSE is regularly hosting webinars to discuss the most urgent crises in topics like healthcare, economic development, equity, education, community outreach, and more. We’re surfacing the best practices and insights from these discussions, and sharing them through our stories and workshopping notes.
If you’re interested in joining any upcoming events, send an email to partnership@fusecorps.org.
What does it take to center policy and budgeting in equity?
- Date: July 27, 2020
- Workshop Notes
- The public sector spends trillions of dollars each year. How those resources are invested and divested can be a powerful tool for advancing equity. The disparate health impacts of COVID-19 on communities of color, coupled with the killings of Black Americans that have spurred national and global calls to action, reinforce the importance of developing policies and centering public budgeting around racial equity. How can that be accomplished? FUSE and the Government Alliance for Race and Equity (GARE) brought together chief equity officers and budget directors, who shared their insights and approaches to applying an equity lens to their policy and budgeting processes.
Community Policing in the Time of COVID-19
- Date: May 28, 2020
- Before the death of George Floyd and the ensuing national outcry, FUSE planned this discussion about the importance of reimagining community policing systems, policies, and practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. Civic leaders and experts shared insights on building trust and moving forward in a time of social distancing.
Libraries on the Frontline of Community Resilience
- Date: May 7, 2020
- Workshop Notes
- Public libraries play a critical role in communities, offering educational opportunities while also bringing people together and providing safety nets for vulnerable residents. Although presently closed, library systems across the country are coming up with innovative ways to stay connected, from expanding online and Wi-Fi services to taking programming virtual. Government leaders from across the U.S. shared and listened to the emerging insights, practices, and plans for libraries to support the stabilization and resilient recovery of their communities.
Driving a Resilient and Equitable Recovery from COVID-19: What’s Needed Now?
- Date: April 21, 2020
- Workshop Notes
- Article: Equity Must Be Part of the COVID-19 Recovery Framework
- In disaster management, recovery starts on day one. The way a disaster response unfolds, the experience of survivors and communities, the equity gaps that widen — all of these affect the long tail of recovery. Chief resilience officers, disaster recovery experts, and local government leaders discussed the unique challenges to an equitable and resilient recovery stemming from the pandemic, as well as the actions and skill sets needed now and into the future.
Community Engagement in a Time of Social Distancing
- Date: April 16, 2020
- Workshop Notes
- Article: During the COVID-19 Crisis, Staying Connected to Communities Is More Critical than Ever. Here’s How to Do It Right.
- Understanding and responding to community needs is a core function of local government. With everyone hunkered down at home, however, many public meetings and opportunities for community engagement have stalled. FUSE executive fellows, along with civic innovators from government, nonprofits, and the private sector, shared insights on approaches to ensuring that community engagement and civic innovation are not a casualty of the coronavirus.
Strategies for Driving an Equitable Economic Response to COVID-19
- Date: April 9, 2020
- Workshop Notes
- As local governments respond to the COVID-19 crisis, civic leaders need to reach out to vulnerable and underserved populations to ensure that they are included in plans for economic recovery. FUSE executive fellows and government partners discussed how to bring an equity lens to these efforts.
Economic Resilience to COVID-19: Tools and Resources for Bridging the Gap
- Date: March 23, 2020
- Workshop Notes
- Article: What Government Agencies Can Do Now to Help Small Businesses Cope with the COVID-19 Crisis
- Small businesses across the country are reeling from citywide shutdowns to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Finding immediate solutions is critical with the unprecedented challenges facing small business owners, their employees, as well as government agencies within cities, counties, and states. FUSE executive fellows and civic leaders discussed immediate actions that government agencies can take to help small businesses get through this economic crisis.