Contracting Equity – Public Health Seattle & King County
Community-centric Evaluation
Public Health – Seattle & King County (PHSKC) set a goal to make their contracting processes with community-based organizations and community consultants more accessible and equitable. Our team designed a community centric process to deliver the insights PHSKC needs to accomplish this goal.
We convened a planning committee made up of community partners with prior experience contracting with PHSKC.
This was to gain a baseline understanding of community experiences and to co-design feedback sessions with a larger group of community-based organizations and community consultants. The planning committee established guiding principles for the project, such as transparent and accountable leadership and flexibility, and shaped our guiding question for the community feedback sessions: “How would you design a contracting process that feels good?”
Then, we hosted bilingual (English and Spanish) community feedback session.
Using a combination of facilitated conversations and arts-based methods, such as movement and storytelling, we gathered input on topics such as how participants would like to learn about contracting opportunities and what contracting requirements are difficult for them to fulfill.
In total, 46 community members participated in these sessions. The project concluded with two deliverables: A report with over 50 detailed recommendations and an art presentation.
We worked with four local artists who took the insights learned from the feedback sessions and turned them into pieces that conveyed what an equitable contracting process feels like.
We hosted a multilingual (English, Spanish, and Oromo) gathering at a local art gallery to share these pieces and our recommendations with the partners who participated in the feedback sessions. Throughout the process, community partners conveyed that they felt heard and welcome.
