Improving Social Services in Chicago Through Goal-Oriented Procurement

Impact Highlight: With support from the GPL, the Chicago Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS) overhauled its contracting and grants management processes to connect spending on social services to improved client outcomes. This led to $270 million of DFSS funding being re-bid using results-driven contracting strategies.

The Context:

• The Chicago Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS) is the city’s largest human and social services funder. In 2015, DFSS distributed about $330 million dollars to agencies that serve children and youth, seniors, job seekers with significant barriers to employment, survivors of domestic violence, and individuals experiencing homelessness.
• In 2016, DFSS wanted to promote better outcomes for Chicagoans who were using these programs. DFSS established departmental priorities, set divisional goals, and created new leadership positions to address two challenges:
  • Change the mindset around requests for proposals (RFPs). The desired shift was from back-office, copy-and-paste functions that emphasized compliance to performance-focused, goal-oriented tools that could reach all potential providers capable of delivering services. Additionally, DFF wanted to increase oversight, coordination, and communication with the contracted service providers to hold them accountable for reaching the desired goals.
  • Organize core operations and day-to-day business practices around achieving the desired outcomes. Divisions were focused on important daily tasks, such as setting up emergency warming centers during bouts of extreme cold or responding to urgent requests from the mayor’s office; however, they had less space to think strategically about program improvement.

How the GPL Supported:

• In spring of 2018, the GPL helped DFSS release 26 new results-driven RFPs. These documents moved from emphasizing activities to clearly communicating DFSS’ client-level goals and desired outcomes. These new RFPs included:
  • A robust discussion of desired end results; a list of focused, actionable, attainable goals; and clear definitions of target populations and their specific challenges. The RFPs also included clear indications of how service providers’ progress would be measured against these goals.
• Helped DFSS develop a new, centralized RFP process to establish clear expectations and accountability among all the different divisions involved in an RFP.
  • This included biweekly strategic contracting meetings of leaders during which they would discuss pending RFPs, shepherd them to the appropriate departments, elevate priority RFPs for additional support, and address any potential contracting barriers.
• Trained 70 DFSS department staff in results-driven contracting strategies.
• Helped DFSS redesign their RFP template so that any future RFPs would also elevate outcome goals, articulate a clear problem statement, define a target population, and communicate performance metrics to better advance strategic priorities and encourage innovation.
• Helped DFSS develop new tools to guide RFP development, funding decisions, and contract scope development. These tools included discussion prompts, mini-trainings, and templates for scoring RFPs.
• Helped DFSS design and implement a performance improvement system. The system also included a tracking tool that helps program staff more effectively communicate their priorities, elevate barriers promptly so they can be addressed, request resources in a way that shows commitments to results, and demonstrate progress towards important program outcomes.

Results:

• Rebid $270 million of DFSS funding using results-driven contracting, which represents 80% of the DFSS dollars allocated to service providers.
  • Services contracted in the new way included: employment preparation and placement programs, permanent supportive housing, counseling services for victims of domestic violence, early childhood education programs, support programs for vulnerable older adults, and youth mentoring services.
• DFSS received more and higher-quality responses to their new RFPs.
  • DFSS surveyed service providers who responded to the 26 results-driven RFPs released in 2018, and almost 90% said the new RFPs allowed them to submit better proposals that showcased their ability to achieve the department’s desired results. Providers said the new RFPs gave them a clear understanding of the problem each program is trying to address, as well as the target populations and outcome goals.
  • The number of responses to the RFP in spring 2018 was 7% higher than the previous RFP round. This allowed the department to make more informed funding decisions to improve results for Chicagoans.
• DFSS has elevated and resourced 34 priorities across all 11 programs and administrative divisions.
  • Each division selected three to five priorities that would help them reach their goals and then implemented performance improvement strategies for each one. This new performance improvement system allows DFSS senior leadership to look across divisions and decide where to contribute centralized resources and how to address common challenges.