HOW WE WORK
At re:focus we work directly with government agencies, engineering firms, investors, and other resilience innovators to design and finance new resilient infrastructure solutions. The re:focus team has decades of collective experience working with all levels of government, and we offer a range of services from design and finance to policy and strategy. Each of these specific services is described in detail below.
re:focus provides a wide-range of design services, including priority-setting, conceptual design, design alternatives analysis, and project specification. We apply design thinking principles and take an integrated approach to generate resilient infrastructure solutions that match community priorities. By integrating political and financial considerations into the design process, our goal is to develop innovative projects with clear pathways to successful implementation. For example, linking broadband upgrades with flood mitigation improvements, such as repaving city streets with porous stormwater absorbing materials, can offer an opportunity to generate new revenues, speed the improvement of roads that might not have been scheduled for near-term repair or maintenance otherwise, and extend services to otherwise underserved communities.
re:focus works directly with public and private sector organizations to move from setting high-level resilience priorities to identifying investable projects and opportunities through a rapid, structured, participatory process. Our goal is to create new opportunities to generate savings and efficiencies; capture value; and leverage private investment interest in large-scale projects. Our approach to project finance cuts across sectors from energy, water, waste, and transportation to social services. A premise of re:focus’ finance portfolio is that design and financing are fundamentally parallel and complementary activities. Designing abstract solutions is unlikely to produce financing; similarly, creating a fund does not help a government agency figure out what to build or buy.
re:focus works collaboratively with governments and NGOs at all levels to identify opportunities for policy innovation and successful on-the-ground project implementation. Every member of the re:focus team has extensive experience working in policy and politics from the local to the global scale. We have a track record of public-sector design and finance innovation; knowledge of how to navigate local, state and federal regulatory processes; and unique insight on building robust public-private coalitions. Our policy recommendations focus on creating the highest public value, especially for vulnerable and underserved populations, and finding the most realistic path to implementation.
Large organizations, from local governments to major corporations, all have different resilience needs. The re:focus team takes a tailored approach to providing strategic advisory services, including project management and facilitation, to match diverse clients’ priorities and needs. Examples include designing, launching, and managing competitions for technical assistance to facilitating design workshops or managing issue-specific working groups with a wide range of stakeholders. Our strategy services help a client make the leap from an idea or concept to a blueprint for implementing resilience solutions that creatively leverage new partnerships and resources.
re:focus partners, llc is a woman and minority owned small business (federal WOSB and SBA self-certified SDB). Interested in learning more about how we can work together? Please contact us.