Recovery, Renewal, Resilience

By implementing guidance for safe working practices, organisations can protect workers and others from risks related to COVID-19. This framework offers a systematic approach to enable effective and timely adaptation to the changing situation. Organisations can consider safety practices relating to:

• Working from home e.g. suitability of work space, living with the clinically vulnerable
• Managing suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 e.g. promote a culture of transparency and support to reporting and managing suspected and confirmed cases
• Multiple or mobile workplaces e.g. the number and types of workplaces such as offices, factories, warehouses, vehicles, workers' own/other people's homes
• Resource availability e.g. adequate provision of toilet and handwashing facilities
• Reporting to external parties e.g. consultation and participation of workers, worker representatives and trade unions in decisions that affect health, safety and well-being
• Inclusivity and accessibility e.g. ensure issues and anxieties are respected; adapt roles and activities to reduce risks to vulnerable workers
• Psychological health and well-being e.g. take account of unsupervised working hours, isolation, lack of clarity on roles/responsibilities/deadlines
• Use available COVID-19 communication templates, printable signage and reopening toolkits

A number of countries and regions rely on a tourism industry to support cultural heritage and the arts. The closure of borders and internal movements within a country has disrupted tourist businesses such as accommodation facilities, travel agencies, tourist guides, service industries, and the arts. Consider how to:

• Encourage the enjoyment of cultural heritage in a way that is compatible with restrictions
• Create a dedicated website that lists all available arts and culture in the country or region such as Italy's "Culture does not stop" site
• Curate online exhibitions by gathering contributions from art historians, archaeologists, archivists, librarians, restorers, architects, authors, writers, actors, musicians, etc.
• Employ online guides or experts to provide 'tours' of cultural sites, museums, etc.
• Ensure content is regularly updated in the same way physical cultural experiences are

Every organisation has been affected by COVID-19 which has had impacts on operations, staff, suppliers, customers or other parts of its activities. Some organisations have temporarily stopped delivering certain activities or have achieved them through other means. This has led organisations to consider the value-added of those activities and evaluate certain activities that may no longer be necessary. To identify activities that can be stopped, consider:

• What activities were changed in response to the effects of COVID-19
• What has been learned about the actual value those activities were delivering, compared to the expected value
• How to stop or replace activities that were not delivering the expected value

In addition, consider:

• How to identify other activities that were not stopped during COVID-19 but that are not delivering the expected value so could be stopped
• How to measure the saving from stopping the activity
• What to do with the saved resource from stopping the activity e.g. reduce capacity or redeploy that capacity
• How other aspects of the organisation should change to support the stopping of activities (e.g. changing physical spaces, policies, processes, priorities, roles)

To accommodate social distancing rules, businesses such as bars and restaurants are able to use additional outside space. In Manchester city (UK), quick applications for temporary tables and chairs licences have been developed by the local council for those expressing interest in expanding their operations. Business owners are required to upload a scale plan of the proposed licensed area with the application. East Devon District Council (UK) provide the following COVID-19 checklist for businesses before they begin operations:

• Undertake a licence health check and a risk assessment to comply with COVID-19 regulations e.g. social distancing guidelines; hygiene information; entry/exit routes; pick up/drop off instructions; service and payment instructions
• Ensure the Designated Premises is named on the licence (the DPS) and still working at the premises, and update any changes to the premises licence or registered address
• Ensure relevant amendments are made to the current licence e.g. opening hours, operational conditions, or layout/plan. New areas may not be licensed e.g. the bar area may have changed
• Follow-up planning consent for building works and ensure compliance. Bars, marquees, structures or fixed furniture outside for more than 28 days may need planning consent
• Liaise with neighbours and resident associations as noise levels may increase due to outdoor operations so residents may be affected by noise
• Assess if the premises licence is fit for purpose e.g. modifications to trading hours or working conditions

The 'Edinburgh Lockdown Economy' is a listings directory for businesses in the city that has launched an interactive online experience to support firms suffering from lost revenue. The online directory provides an opportunity to resume trading for businesses that are struggling to run their usual services. Consider facilitating similar local platforms that allow:

• Small businesses to host virtual tours or experiences of their products and venues
• Customers to join live sessions such as wine tasting or massage workshops
• Products related to each experience or workshop to be delivered to customers in time for them to take part in the event
• Electronic payments to support less digitally enabled businesses

This guest briefing (written by Michael Palin, GC Consulting UK) outlines the potential economic risk to local areas before describing in broad terms how local areas might respond in terms of their economic recovery plans. A final section highlights a number of issues that have already been identified in some local areas as key economic recovery issues in their place.

Follow the source link below to read this briefing in full (p.2-10).

The city of El Paso has mapped local economic opportunities in their area to develop economic strategies that rely less on precarious work such as those in the service industries. The city has five good Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) based Universities, and aim to leverage opportunities and relationships to develop a local economic sector based on life science and technology industries. El Paso is developing programmes to upskill the local workforce (many of whom are financially unstable and in service industries) towards STEM. The strategy recognizes the profile of the current workforce and is aiming to develop training programmes in jobs such as laser welding, which is technical but does not require high levels of education. This supports long-term economic development and is linked to community welfare and financial stability.

This lesson was contributed by El Paso City Officials in the USA during project data collection.

In Colombia, local government has established an economic revival committee comprised of the Chamber of Commerce, labour unions and local stakeholders create as many jobs as possible that provide a basic wage. The idea is that in the current climate, more jobs that provide a basic wage, are more important than fewer jobs that provide high wages. Job creation will be encouraged through public and private entities in areas such as security and sanitation. More jobs providing a basic wage will maintain people's dignity and reduce poverty.

This lesson was contributed by a Chief Resilience Officer in Colombia during project data collection.

Remittances from overseas migrant workers make up more than a fifth of GDP in some economies. This type of finance is usually very resilient to natural disasters, and financial slumps as those sending money home are unlikely to follow the behavior of financial markets. However COVID-19 has meant people cannot send money as they normally would due to social distancing and bank/post office closures. This impacts the capacity to send hard cash which made up 80-85% of transaction pre-pandemic. Consider:

• Promoting the digitisation of cash transfers in local communities to support the sending and receiving of remittances as moving cash has become harder
• Giving "mobile-money" agents the status of being an essential service. These small traders serve many times more people than bank branches but struggled to stay open as governments did not deem their services "essential"

In one city in Denmark, a number of meetings are being held with local businesses to support local business and economic regeneration. These include:

• Weekly meetings with the local business association and the Mayor to explain the citys economic situation, advise on help packages for businesses, and explain business regeneration schemes
• Additional meetings to ask local businesses what type of projects they need to have funded immediately to inform local government's funding agenda
• Meetings to allow local businesses to bid for local regeneration projects funded by local government. These have included retrofitting schools with solar panels, renovation of local high street shops and buildings, and road works
• Local government have committed to paying invoices to business at the beginning of projects rather than the end, to provide businesses with more liquidity

This lesson was contributed by a Chief Resilience Officer in Denmark during project data collection.

Universities have a positive impact on future regional growth of GDP per capita. In the UK, universities support community activity, work on an applied level with many smaller businesses, and students stimulate the local economy. Consider how to:

• Support existing university-business relationships and encourage new partnerships to benefit both parties
• Develop regional offices to help build local knowledge to identify and convey concerns of universities to national bodies. These may be co-located with other local partnerships and institutions
• Foster a bottom-up, local consensus across geographical areas that identifies the resources universities need from government
• Ensure that university cities are safe and secure places for students, and to be communicated as such
• Ensure that overseas students have access to health services as required

In Australia, local government are undertaking capability gap assessments to identify sectors that lack enough skilled personnel to undertake recovery projects. In New Zealand, the government is focusing on the role of the construction industry in positively impacting the economy and are implementing programmes to upskill trades people in preparation for building works. In addition, both countries are reinstating apprenticeships in vocational jobs such as construction, plumbing and electrical work to support young people, and short/long-term economic regeneration.

The local context is extremely important. The economic impacts of COVID-19 will play out locally in different ways. Consider:

• Engaging with local businesses and stakeholders regularly to understand the needs and concerns particular to the area and to inform local government's funding agenda
• Identifying projects which can be fast tracked, or are of particular concern to the local economy and need immediate funding
• Mapping of specific local industries that have been hit hard by impacts of COVID-19 such as tourism, or certain types of manufacturing as these will need attention to avoid long-term, potentially generational impacts of economic decline
• Capacity mapping of skills to develop programmes to upskill and train people in priority employment sectors - this may be industries such as construction
• How to support Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). SMEs represent around 80-90% of business in many national economies and are deeply integrated in local communities economically and socially. They provide spaces for innovation, competition and are an essential source of employment

TMB Issue 10 brings together the reflections of our learning ffrom the first 10 weeks of gathering lessons on recovery and renewal from COVID-19. Follow the source link below to read all of the reflections from our team (p.9-15)

In Colombia, a programme to support rural agricultural production and urban restaurants has been developed. With the support of local government, produce that is normally sold at farmers markets is now being sold to restaurants. Restaurants have transformed into mini food markets within their local neighbourhoods. This has helped to meet local food demands, provided a market for local produce and maintained community cohesion.

This lesson was offered by a Chief Resilience Officer in Colombia during project data collection.

Consider:

• Enhance Small - Medium Enterprise loans and provide businesses with continuous access to credit during these hard times
• Require that banks and finance companies which apply for low-cost government funding to pass on the savings to their borrowers
• Improve digital innovation to support and enable SMEs to access global markets via business to business (B2B) or business to consumer (B2C) digital channels, and to participate in B2B marketplaces so as to benefit from overseas procurement demand

In China, all major stores have provided discount vouchers to consumers that are readily available on a commonly used App. QR discount codes are also readily on display in many shop windows so customers can scan the code and receive a discount in store. The government is encouraging stores to offer large discounts to consumers.

This lesson was contributed by an International Engagement Officer based on China during project data collection.

Consider:

• Government schemes which pay young workers for employment in green industries to tackle unemployment
• Retraining older people in green industries to "leave no worker behind" in any transition towards a different economy
• Adaptation of plans for green industry by region. Some regions may be more adversely affected by job loss, for example, in areas that relied on tourism and hospitality so retrain these workers

A guide by UNDRR and partners sets out 10 core steps of business resilience to COVID-19 that is particularly relevant for small businesses. These include:

• Stay informed. Identify at least one workplace team member to be a Focal Point for COVID19. The focal point can help coordinate readiness activities, distribute information, answer questions and to coordinate staff roles and responsibilities during an outbreak
• Identify core products and services which are essential to the survival of your business. Be prepared to change your business practices if needed to maintain delivering your essential services or products
• Communicate plans with employees and customers
• Establish policies for physical distancing, hand sanitizing, and safe working at work
• Protect employee health. Provide public health materials on COVID-19, regularly clean surfaces that are often touched, and train your staff on what your COVID-19 response plans are once you have completed them. Also maintain the privacy of employees with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 infection and inform employees that some may be at higher risk for severe illness
• Plan how to operate with absent employees
• Prepare your supply chain. Identify and talk to your critical suppliers, identify alternate supply chains, understand your position in the supply chain
• Plan to modify service delivery to customers
• Apply for crisis assistance from government and business associations
• Exercise your COVID-19 plan. Consider using existing standards to do this, such as ISO 22301 business continuity management

The World Economic Forum suggests 5 key areas which businesses should focus their recovery:

Reskilling and upskilling deeply human skills as well as digital skills

• It is critical that employers emphasise retraining workers and that governments build upskilling and reskilling into the fiscal stimulus they are injecting into economies

Supporting the jobs of tomorrow

• Employers should focus on professions that care for people, support the planet, manage new technologies and communicate products and services

Prioritizing redeployment and re-employment

• Rapidly redeploy furloughed workers to high-demand roles, such as logistics and care provision
• Provide job market insights, job market intermediation (match-making services), and job-search assistance

Re-evaluating essential work and improving the quality of jobs

• Consider increasing the payment of essential workers and improving their job security

Resetting education, skills and jobs systems for post-pandemic recovery

• Critical collaboration between employers, governments and workers both nationally and globally is essential to reskilling and upskilling individuals - especially those in low paid precarious jobs

In Korea, SMEs are being supported through national campaigns. Consumers are encouraged to purchase local products through drive-through stations. This supports local vendors selling their products direct to the consumer, and helps consumers who may be able to purchase items at lower prices due to lower overhead costs.

Corporate buyers are supported by government through virtual meetings to match buyers to supplier SMEs, in consultation with the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency and Korea International Trade Association. The government will hold virtual consultations online for 400 SMEs at least twice a month (total of 10 times), over the period of 4 months (April to July 2020). The government will invite 30-40 buyers from abroad and 30-50 SMEs per session to match corporate buyers to Korean SME providers. The government will also provide consultation and follow up measures.

In Australia, the Victorian Government has set up a dedicated taskforce to energise the state's building and development industry as it continues running throughout the COVID-19 crisis. Government announced the approval of four new projects worth more than $1.5 billion dollars that will continue to function throughout pandemic shutdowns and economic recovery period.

This lesson was contributed by a Chief Resilience Officer in Australia during project data collection.

In Vietnam, the World Bank has stated that the economy has remained resilient.

Government measures to support economic recovery:

• A US$10.8 billion credit support package
• Lowered interest rates
• Delayed payment of taxes and land use fees for several business lines
• Banks cut online transaction fees to encourage cashless payment

Industry measures to support economic recovery:

• Retailers encouraged orders by phone and apps which allowed retailers to hire more delivery personnel to meet demand
• E-learning facilitated demand for hardware such as laptops and tablets and software services such as Zoom

In Hawai'i, there are plans to enhance and stimulate the economy in an equitable manner to:

• Shift the reliance on a precarious tourist industry (which offers low wages to residents, especially women) and address the social and ecological costs of tourism
• Establish an adjustment fund to support displaced workers though retraining, enabling professional mobility, and supporting social entrepreneurship
• Establish gender and racial equity programs to enhance women's access to investment capital. This should extend beyond low-wage sectors, the commercial sex industry, and male dominated industries
• Invest in subsistence living
• Encourage traditional land- and sea-based practices to maximise the ecological and food system

In China, where SMEs make up 80% of Chinese businesses, the following measures were adopted to encourage recovery:

• SMEs were exempt from social security contributions, tax payments, and social insurance schemes for up to 5 months. Social insurance schemes include pension payments and employment injury payments
• Government provided procurement opportunities
• Utility fees and rent from the state were waived
• Help was provided to migrant workers as SMEs often rely on their labour. Government organised door-to-door transportation from workers' homes to their work, and job matching and job searching tools were developed to help those out of work find employment in struggling businesses

This lesson was contributed by a Global Development Expert in China during project data collection.

Consider:

• The cash flow of SMEs and their profit margin. In Sweden, SMEs can generally manage their cash flow at this time for around 6 weeks and only have margins of 2-3% to rely on which makes them extremely vulnerable
• The eligibility of SMEs for government loans. Many struggling businesses are unable to apply for government loans, and while it is possible to borrow, and postpone payment on value-added tax (VAT), known in some countries as a goods and services tax, interest needs to be paid which can be unaffordable resulting n businesses preferring to file for bankruptcy
• The wider negative impacts of increased bankruptcies e.g. consumers and companies becoming more conscious about lending and spending which can stifle the economy further

This lesson was contributed by a Security Expert in Sweden.

Consider:

• Leveraging successes - identify parts of the organization that are working successfully under the current circumstances, and what can be learned about this for future operations
• The activities of the organization - identify parts of the organisation that need to be re-opened, re-started, or increased to full(er) capacity
• Who needs to return to the work - identify the location first i.e. who is able to continue to work from home, and the possibility of terminating employment due to reduced need
• Safeguards - identify what is needed to ensure that people returning to work are safe, give consideration to the potential for lawsuits if people have to be in harm's way to keep their jobs
• Agile financial management - where the organisation manages its finances using decision support, predictive analytics, and performance management, enabling it to operate with agility

Reference: President of an NGO, USA

Many charitable and voluntary organisations are vital to ensure their communities function in periods of normalcy but may not be active in COVID-19 response. Consider:

• How voluntary organisations that are currently inactive can be supported, and their services retained
• The value of non-response organisations and their connections with local people and other diverse organisations, and how their services could be integrated or partnered with response organisations
• How these organisations can be operationalised during recovery to sustain informal voluntary actions that have arisen from COVID-19 responses, to ensure inclusive and resilient communities.

Reference: UK Voluntary Sector Report

This may include farming and fishing sectors, tourism, conferences or industries affected by weather conditions i.e. the slowing down of construction in harsh weather. Fluctuations that were traditionally short-term may now have long-term challenges. Preparation should be made to manage change in expenses and revenues beyond the season.

Reference: Emergency Planner, Canada

Canada has considered the following:

• Financial support offered to employees working from home
• Considerations related to parking/mileage reimbursements
• Reporting of taxable benefits and related tax withholding obligations
• Considerations related to temporary relocations

By considering what should open first, what should open last and the PPE requirements of business recovery. Commuting patterns should be considered.

Reference: Chief Resilience Officer, USA and the link below

Consider the following for recovery in your workplace:

• Establish a business response and continuity office
• Confirm critical roles and backup plans
• Evaluate the actual work of your company and how it might be changed
• Understand what work is mission-critical and what can be deferred or deprioritized
• Prepare your worksite for containment and contamination
• Update travel and meeting protocols
• Review your social media policy and guidelines
• Consider the sources of 'news' and information in the workplace

To get important development done, stimulate the economy, take advantage of quieter city centres, and save jobs.

Reference: Chief Resilience Officers in Greece, Australia and Mexico

In Italy, government provided a lump sum compensation of 600 euro to all freelance workers (to compensate for March losses).

Reference: Chief Resilience Officer, Italy

This shifts from supply and demand models to one that drives health and well-being. It does this by:

• Setting out the minimum we need to lead a good life, derived from the UN's sustainable development goals (i.e. food and clean water to a certain level of housing, sanitation, energy, education, healthcare, gender equality, income and political voice)
• Considering the ecological ceiling drawn up by earth-system scientists (i.e. avoiding damaging the climate, soils, oceans, the ozone layer, freshwater and abundant biodiversity)
• Considering where everyone's needs and that of the planet are being met

COVID-19 has challenged traditional systems and required innovative thinking about how to recover. In the Caribbean consideration is being given to harnessing the power of renewable energies.

The Caribbean is vulnerable to a number of natural disasters and so too is its energy infrastructure. COVID-19 has raised questions about the resilience of energy infrastructure if a disaster such as a cyclone were to hit the region during the pandemic and the cascading impacts of this on critical services and well-being. Renewable energy systems are capable of surviving many types of natural disaster and would provide some protection in the case of an additional emergency during the COVID-19 pandemic ( http://newenergyevents.com/coronavirus-the-caribbean-is-the-first-domino-to-fall-but-there-is-hope/ ).

In addition, the wider benefits of renewable energy have been considered for recovery in the Caribbean. The benefits include lower costs of energy, more stable energy provision, and increased independence through diversified and local energy sources which would boost the economy and help develop equitable access to power.

Consider whether to:

• Shift from central command to central orchestration. Consider the questions you should ask to anticipate and plan for the pivot from a response to a recovery-oriented position
• Monitor for signals of the economic rebound and the indicators to be tracked to provide the clearest picture of the rebound timing, and the most likely progression back to a normal economic environment
• Orchestrate and integrate cross-functional and cross enterprise. Recommended actions for companies to take during the turbulent recovery period that will be essential for long-term success
• Prepare for the "new normal". The COVID-19 crisis is likely to accelerate fundamental and structural changes that were inevitable - how can your organisation evolve to meet the challenge of the next unexpected global crisis

This can ensure appropriate measures to recover the economy are developed. This may go hand-in-hand with the development of a resource centre for unemployed people to improve access to support. Considerations should be made to manage citizens' expectations of recovery and employment.

Reference: Chief Resilience Officer, USA

In the UK, 26,000 people have responded to the call for a 'land army' of UK-based workers to fill the potential 80,000 person seasonal farm labour shortage in the fruit and vegetable sector as it enters the crucial spring and summer harvest period.

Local government should think strategically about how the rise in online working can revitalise the local economy and consider what services can be restarted in a more digital manner. For example, helping smaller businesses to boost their online presence or development of apps to support delivery of their products or provision of their services. This can help maintain an efficient workforce, boost the economy, and support customers and digitally connect the entire supply chain.

Reference: CEO Digital Corporation, Germany

Local government should implement tax breaks for sectors that are most affected by the crisis such as tourism, restaurants and events.

Reference: Chief Resilience Officer, Italy

Local government should offer a 'Mutual Aid Fund' to help those charities and other community organisations that are in financial difficulty and support the comeback of the economy through city activities. This should receive donations from all aspects of society including, individuals, organisations, and others.

Reference: Chief Resilience Officers, Italy & UK