How Pro Bono Partnerships Could Strengthen Philadelphia’s Public Sector
Building a bridge between public sector demand and private sector supply can lead to policy success
Philadelphia’s business and civic sectors have a wide range of capabilities to offer the public sector. Health care systems and universities, law firms, management consultants, and others are often willing, sometimes eager, to make their assistance and expertise available on a pro bono basis. And government and nonprofit agencies frequently see an opportunity to tap into that know-how to address specialized needs or long-term challenges.
What’s been missing is the connective tissue to match and manage public sector needs with private sector expertise—and in turn strengthen public-private partnerships.
For the past two years, The Pew Charitable Trusts has been examining, testing, and evaluating what such a design might look like in Philadelphia. With early support from the William Penn Foundation and consulting expertise from Anavi Strategies and Rvesta Consulting, Pew has undertaken research comparing peer city organizations and operating models. And it has launched pilot projects in partnership with city government and documented learning to apply those insights to Philadelphia.
As civic actors consider next steps, we are eager to share some of our insights and research. Ultimately, this work is about strengthening civic infrastructure and laying a foundation for sustained public-private partnership capacity to help address complex issues. Among the projects that Pew has piloted with the city of Philadelphia, our work with the Philadelphia Fire Department (PFD) has been a noteworthy collaboration.
While a range of models exist, this new effort seeks to learn from those that include deep public sector involvement, broad systems thinking, and more sustainable implementation structures. Other cities, including New York and Baltimore, and several universities, including Harvard and Johns Hopkins, have been working along these lines for years. The Harvard Kennedy School Government Performance Lab has worked in 112 jurisdictions on 278 projects, providing direct, hands-on support to local and state governments to design, manage, and sustain program and systems-level reforms.
The most established example of a public-private model focused on a single city is Chicago’s 40-year-old Civic Consulting Alliance, which in recent years has helped to bring an annual average of $19 million in pro bono services to city, county, and state governments, as well as leading nonprofits and civic groups. Although the specific design of a partnership and scope of projects varies, the alliance focuses on generating maximum impact in six to eight weeks.
Pew identified an early pilot project with PFD, which sought external support to help to address the shortage of paramedics within its ranks. The department reported having roughly 200 active paramedics, while it needs more than 330 to effectively handle the approximately 900 to 1,000 emergency medical services (EMS) calls it receives every day. In addition, PFD—like fire departments throughout the country—is not just responding to fires but also facing an increasing demand for emergency medical services. Recognizing EMS workforce shortages as a widespread challenge that affects jurisdictions throughout Pennsylvania and the nation, Pew partnered PFD with Accenture, which helped design a scalable solution tailored to local needs.
Drawing from over 35 stakeholder interviews and 18 hours of collaborative workshops, Accenture supported the department by co-developing a program framework informed by that key stakeholder input along with national best practices.
Dana Jackson, an assistant managing director II with PFD, said the framework that Accenture developed with the city is “positioning us well for implementation.”
“We’re building a paramedic apprenticeship pathway to stabilize EMS staffing and open doors for Philadelphians,” she said, adding: “Pro bono assistance helped us organize research and options; we’re moving through city processes to evaluate next steps with a focus on public health, equity, and a fair, supportive career path.”
The deliverables also included envisioning apprentice workforce opportunities, with new pathways for different populations, including those who participate in current PFD youth programs. While not endorsing any specific organizations or services, the city emphasized that the engagement from the private and nonprofit sectors was useful in planning support.
“This required engagement across the board, with the mayoral administration and other key people who are part of running the city getting buy-in to move from milestone to milestone, getting everyone on the same page,” said Nahomie Louis, a managing director at Accenture.
What have we learned from this pilot project?
Philadelphia’s private sector has significant applicable expertise, with plenty of pro bono teams ready to assist city government and nonprofit organizations. City government departments and their private sector partners have provided positive feedback, and there is strong demand throughout city government for more pro bono projects.
In reviewing various approaches to public-private partnerships, Philadelphia civic leaders have often looked toward Chicago’s Civic Consulting Alliance as a promising model to replicate. In that example, an intermediary has a critical role to play in cultivating a partner roster, matching government agencies with the right partners, scoping and overseeing projects, establishing data sharing or other agreements, and providing ongoing implementation support. All of this is good news for the future of public-private partnerships in Philadelphia.
Elinor Haider is the senior director, Philadelphia program, and Patrick Morgan is a senior officer with the Philadelphia research and policy initiative at The Pew Charitable Trusts.
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