“With the [pandemic recovery] funding we were able to provide a necessary space for youth to have the opportunity to meet in a safe and dynamic space. We also were able to hire two House Managers for the rehearsals and then the performances, as well as hiring an in-house cleaning crew.” — Black Power Unlimited, Recipient of a 2022 Cultural Organization Reopening Grant
The City of Seattle received $300M in federal recovery funds from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA). The City accepted these funds in a series of four ARPA spending packages known as the Seattle Rescue Plan. To use this funding, Seattle quickly mobilized to identify spending priorities that would address the widespread economic, social, and health impacts of the pandemic that were deepening existing disparities in our region. Seattle used recovery funds in a variety of ways, including purchasing new buildings for low-income housing, distributing emergency rental assistance, and providing emergency grant funding opportunities to support community groups, the arts, and small businesses.
While the City worked to urgently distribute funding where it was needed most, we at the same time invested in robust program measurement and evaluation systems. Innovation & Performance and City Budget Office staff were hired to track and report on the use of Coronavirus Local and Fiscal Recovery (CLFR) funding. This team served as a citywide resource for departments and community partners to upskill on program evaluation and data collection practices.
This investment led to year-over-year improvements in the rate of programs that were able to produce detailed geographic, demographic, and other key performance data on their impact. While the City has completed spending CLFR funding, the impact of this emphasis on data collection and performance reporting lives on in the work of program leaders and community partners across Seattle.
By the Numbers
- $300 million in total federal aid from the American Rescue Plan Act
- 75 programs received funding
- 350 organizations received funding
Challenge
The historic infusion of federal pandemic relief funding presented an incredible opportunity for Seattle to mitigate the deep and inequitable impacts of the pandemic. Distributing the funding also presented logistical challenges. Communities couldn’t spend years waiting for relief; Seattle needed to urgently and equitably deploy funding to prevent further loss and support those were hit hardest. At the same time, Seattle needed to carefully track, monitor, and report on its investments to ensure funding was well-managed and reaching its intended goals.
Building a Citywide Measurement and Evaluation Program
The City Budget Office and Innovation & Performance stood up a new team, the Seattle Rescue Plan Measurement & Evaluation Team, to support City departments with the mammoth task of deploying millions in federal aid effectively, equitably, and transparently. The team included both budget analysts and evaluation advisors.
The Measurement & Evaluation Team was tasked with consolidating data and information from the 75 programs receiving CLFR funding into an annual public performance report, as was required by the US Treasury Department. This team went beyond meeting the reporting requirements for the funding, creating a quarterly spending dashboard so that the public could track how funding was being deployed.
Critically, this team served as a citywide resource for departments and community partners to upskill on program evaluation and data collection practices. We supported dozens of program staff and community partners that received funding to identify meaningful performance metrics and set up systems to collect data. The Measurement & Evaluation staff stood up a monthly meeting that was first focused on meeting technical accounting and reporting requirements, but soon evolved into a community of practice open to all City employees. Topics included how to use qualitative survey data to measure program outcomes, how to collect and use geographic data to assess equity in program reach, and much more.
Results
- Across CLFR-funded programs that reported demographic data, nearly 50% of people served identified as BIPOC
- Programs collecting demographic data increased from 52% in 2022 to 89% in 2024
- 80+ City staff engaged in interdepartmental measurement and evaluation Community of Practice
- 90% of Seattle Rescue Plan funds deployed by April 2024
Partners
- City Budget Office
- City departments receiving Seattle Rescue Plan funds
- Hundreds of community-based organizations that received and distributed funding and services