RestartTeam-2021

About Restart Partners

Restart Partners is a 501©(3) non-profit organization committed to providing policy and technical assistant to Washington state, small businesses and other communities to achieve a more equitable and inclusive economy.

Mission & Vision

Restart Partners’ mission is to assist governments, non-profit and community based organizations achieve the goal of an inclusive and more equitable economy.  The global COVID-19 pandemic and efforts to promote economic recovery raised awareness of the inequitable impacts on and the challenges faced by those in our society farthest from opportunity.  Government, business and the philanthropic sectors have responded with a renewed focus on identifying and overcoming the barriers faced by those individuals, businesses and communities with the goal of making real progress toward a more inclusive and equitable society.   Restart Partners believe that through cross-sector collaboration using evidence-based best practices and a collaborative approach we can help deploy public, private and philanthropic resources more efficiently and equitably, increasing public trust so that those furthest from opportunity enjoy an equitable recovery and a healthier more prosperous future.

Restart’s mission is to provide an evidence-based global initiative using data, technology and collaborative governance to help close the gaps for a more inclusive economy, increase public trust, and ensure those furthest from opportunity enjoy an equitable recovery.

History

Restart Partners began with an effort to assist Washington state leaders in planning for and procuring Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. We developed a free open-source data-driven model to help state and local leadership make important demand and purchasing decisions for PPE and other supplies. This work proved to be of great value to decision-makers early in the pandemic and our help was extended to other government agencies and communities across the country. 

It became clear to us early on that, while PPE procurement and distribution were critical, PPE and other mitigation strategies would not be effective unless they were broadly adopted. We shifted our focus to increasing adoption of masks, as it was becoming clear that widespread adoption of masks could effectively reduce disease spread. We then took what we have learned and extended our modeling and behavioral change work to vaccination campaigns and other COVID-19 prevention strategies to help communities stay healthy while helping businesses operate safely and build resilience over the course of the pandemic.

Restart Partners was awarded a $1.15 million federal US Economic Development Administration (EDA) Safe Start Grant to provide technical assistance to businesses in underrepresented and underserved communities. In partnership with Choiceflows and Tanjo AI, Restart developed the Smart WA Decision Dashboard. The free, AI powered online dashboard was designed to help businesses navigate COVID-19 reopening requirements, available resources for small business owners, as well as to aide their decision -making by providing real-time assessment and forecast of public health, economy, and community experience.

Simultaneously, Restart Partners was awarded $130,000 from the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries to develop and deliver a strategic awareness campaign designed primarily to reach users vis social media to help reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission in the workplace by promoting at least two of L&I’s Division Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) workplace COVID-19 prevention tools

As our communities rebuild from the COVID-19 pandemic, Restart believes an equitable recovery is critical for a thriving economy and the health of underserved communities.  Restart keenly understands rebuilding an equitable economy means addressing the unique needs of all communities with culturally, linguistically relevant and community-driven resources.  Our work today continues to support government via public-private-academic collaboration providing technical assistance including the pilot digital literacy project for Korean immigrant businesses (link to page) and evidence-based research including the WA State Department of Commerce Technical Assistance Report (link to page/report). 

We also develop innovative public-private funding partnerships to identify, prioritize and prepare for the development of key strategic funding partnerships with corporations, charitable foundations and high net worth investors that align with government’s strategic priorities to increase capacity and impact.  

 

Partners

Government

Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

The Office of the Governor, WA

U.S. Economic Development Administration

U.S. Treasury – State Small Business Credit Initiative 

Washington State Department of Commerce

Washington State Department of Health

Washington State Department of Labor & Industries

University

Center for an Informed Public

Harvard University School of Health

Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation

Washington State University Small Business Development Center

University of Washington Communication Leadership

University of Washington Evans School of Public Policy & Governance

University of Washington Information School (iSchool)

Washington State University

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Business & Technology

Block by Block Creative

Cheerity

Choiceflows

David Wright Tremaine

Facebook

Kantar Research

Local Chambers of Commerce

Microsoft Alumni Foundation

National Development Council

Peacefield

Pioneer Square Labs

Real Networks

Syndicated Labs

Tanjo

Upswell

Wilson Sonsini

Non-Profit

BigHug/Korean American Resource Center

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Global Washington

ImpactPHL

OneEastside

SmartAID

Washington State Microentrerprise Association

World Health Organization

* Safe Start Partner