Issue link: https://blog.providence.org/i/1367431
32 Evaluation As with CBOs and Funders, evaluation was not a consistent requirement or activity among all local government agencies. Those agencies that did participate in evaluation described their methods as mostly informal, including some satisfaction surveys around programs. More substantial evaluation included after action review and internal evaluations. Interviews indi- cate a comparably slightly more robust requirement for evaluation in the Public Health sec- tor. The reasons given for a less than rigorous or consistent evaluation practice were a lack of time, capacity, and/or culture. That said, every leader expressed a desire for improved evalu- ation, monitoring, and learning. Equity The Public Health and Human Services agencies represented in this report largely have a mandate to serve underserved or vulnerable populations. Despite this mandate, multiple interviewees indicated that vulnerable individuals were unintentionally left out of relief and some recovery efforts. One group, as indicated in the previous "Challenges" section was the Spanish speaking population. The efforts to better reach this group were primari- ly outsourced to CBOs. The Sonoma Department of Human Services indicated that it funds CBOs with about $15 to 20 M a year, including 2-1-1, La Luz, Catholic Charities, and others. Together, the goal is to overcome fear and get these individuals services. However, beyond that, the goal could also be to advocate for systems change that empower and enable these individuals to move beyond a state of vulnerability. Another aspect of vulnerability identified by a leader within one of the counties' Public Health agencies was within the affluent Foun- tain Grove community. According to this leader, because individuals in this community had not used services before, did not know how to organize on their own, were used to being in more control of their lives, and were often older in age, they were extremely vulnerable. The suicide risk and vulnerability in this area were real, but because it is a rich neighborhood, the focus went elsewhere. Other vulnerable groups identified are renters who did not lose their homes to fire but were displaced by landlords who increased rents and/or moved back into their apartments or homes, and those who are underinsured. Equity and vulnerability in post-disaster contexts are not simple or straightforward. It is im- portant for all philanthropic, CBO, and local government leaders to engage with the different sorts of vulnerability, whether created by longstanding systems that have created socio-eco- nomic inequalities and are exacerbated by disaster 21 , or by disaster that exposes vulnerabilities in groups where social capital and community resilience is lower than expected. 22 Partnerships & Collaboration Interviewees indicated a good amount of collaboration between agencies, and CBOs, and support from some funders in the relief and recovery response. As city and county agencies came together to operate EOCs and LACs as emergency workers they were certainly united around the same relief and recovery mandate. The successful 21 Sociology Professors at Rice University publish findings that natural disasters actually widen the racial wealth gap. "Ruth, David et al. (2018), "Natural disasters widen racial wealth gap", Rice University. http:// news.rice.edu/2018/08/20/natural-disasters-widen-racial-wealth-gap-2/ 22 Eriksen, Christine & Gregory Simon, (2017). "The Affluence-Vulnerability Interface: Intersecting Scales of Risk, Privilege and Disaster." Environment and Planning. 49.2. Accessed at https://journals.sagepub.com/ doi/pdf/10.1177/0308518X16669511.