Shifting Dynamics in a Post-Pandemic World

Many individuals and small businesses have faced enormous hardships over the last 18 months — illness, layoffs, furloughs, shortages, remote schooling — due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. During this same period, governments too, at both the state and local levels, faced unprecedented challenges as they worked to address the pandemic’s impact on their citizens.

Charged with protecting public health and safety, governments have responded to the pandemic by supporting critical infrastructure, especially in healthcare. They’ve established new sources of funding, improved coordination between agencies, and supported vulnerable populations, rapidly deploying stimulus funding while trying to monitor its use and effectiveness. At the same time, governments have been operating in an uncertain fiscal environment and adapting in real time to budget shortfalls. These challenges were met while the officials themselves worked remotely, in large part, and adapted to virtual meetings like many of us.

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