Federal Manager's Daily Report

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OMB has said that agency compliance with the administration’s initiative for advancing racial equity and supporting underserved communities will require a “sense of urgency” and “long-term change management, attention to culture, and a dedicated strategy for sustainability.”

OMB recently issued a preliminary report on complying with an executive order for a whole-of-government approach to those issues, including a study of “methods for assessing how government practices create or exacerbate barriers to full and equal participation by all eligible individuals,” says a blog posting by acting director Shalanda Young.

“This report recommends that agencies recognize that the work of advancing equity requires attention to deliberate planning for long-term change, including institutional and cultural elements within agencies,” she wrote.

She said the study found that assessing the impact of government actions on equity assessment “represents an expanding though still nascent body of work in public policy, data science, and organizational change management . . . Given the wide array of agencies, policies, and community needs, the report concludes that multiple, concurrent methods are best positioned to assess equity in federal contexts and encourages the continued exploration of useful practices.”

Other key findings, she wrote, include that:

• Administrative burdens can worsen inequity and that efforts to lessen such burdens “can significantly enhance their ability to comprehensively advance equity, meet the needs of underserved communities, and improve operational efficiencies.”

• Agencies should expand and improve opportunities for meaningful engagement by stakeholders, saying that while many agencies already take steps such as notice-and-comment sessions and town halls, “these efforts are too often perceived by stakeholders and agencies alike as being siloed, inaccessible, or without clear purpose.”

• Equity considerations can be imbedded in financial management and procurement practices including increasing transparency of equity in outlays; incorporating equity into agencies’ evaluation of financial performance and risks; and establishing new measures of business diversity to evaluate progress in expanding opportunities for underserved communities.

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