Non-profit organization Partnership for New York worked with 14 pro bono consultants to create a post-pandemic recovery strategy for the city.
Founded in 1979 by David Rockefeller, Partnership for New York includes hundreds of “partner” CEOs from a range of industries, and works with government, labor, and non-profits to enhance the economy of New York City. The non-profit organization focuses on research, policy formulation, and issue advocacy, and its affiliate fund directly invests in economic development projects.
The organization’s focus areas include improving public transit, preparing students for the jobs of the future, and expanding economic opportunities for all New Yorkers.
With New York City and every other municipality struggling to bounce back from the health and economic impacts of the pandemic, Partnership collaborated with 14 consultancies to create a report which charts the impact of the pandemic on New York and suggests actions to recover and prepare for a “new normal.”
The pro bono consultants that worked on the report were Accenture, Aon, Boston Consulting Group, Dalberg, Deloitte, EY, Kearney, KPMG, McKinsey, Mercer, Oliver Wyman, PwC, West Monroe, and Willis Towers Watson.
The report notes that the pandemic has caused severe economic damage, and it will be much more difficult to restart the economy than it was to shut it down. Much of the city’s cultural, social, and entertainment-related assets will be at least partially closed into the next year. The city’s unemployment rate has risen to 18.3%, and as many as a third of the 230,000 small businesses on commercial corridors may permanently close. Much of the health and economic damage of the pandemic, meanwhile, has been concentrated on the city’s black and Hispanic communities.
The recovery will have to start with ensuring the healthcare system can manage subsequent Covid-19 waves with a robust program of testing, tracing, and monitoring, according to the report.
“Economic recovery requires a multi-sector approach, with leadership from business, labor, academia, civic, and community sectors,” the report notes. Though significant federal aid is needed to stabilize city and state budgets, it will not be enough to address the full impact of the pandemic. As such, the city will have to leverage private financing and expertise – including tech-savvy entrepreneurs who can help reinvent education, health, and transit and update the tech capacity of state and local governments.
The Partnership for New York will be acting on the findings with a series of initiatives. These include the Small Business Restart & Recovery Clearinghouse – a network of resources to aid small and minority-owned businesses; the Education Innovation Partnership to support a public education system transition to blended classroom and online learning; and a job council of large employers that will work with public schools and colleges to improve pathways to careers.