But Is It Operationally Feasible? Lessons Learned from Pursuing Public Value

Abstract

In May 2019, Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot was elected as Chicago’s 56th Mayor. From the very beginning of her tenure, Mayor Lightfoot’s administration prioritized building a more equitable city by expanding opportunity and creating inclusive economic growth across Chicago’s 77 neighborhoods. Less than a year into Mayor Lightfoot’s tenure, Chicago, and cities across the country, was negatively impacted by COVID-19. As COVID-19 progressed and took an economic toll on the city, Mayor Lightfoot created a Recovery Task Force to provide recommendations on how Chicago could ensure an inclusive and equitable recovery from COVID-19. Expanding access to career opportunities and diversifying the workforce emerged as key recommendations from the task force. Ultimately, these recommendations underscored a unique opportunity for the mayor’s office to work alongside Chicago Public Schools, workforce partners, and local community-based organizations to improve career pathways among the city’s diverse and underserved students.

This capstone, based in the Office of the Chicago Mayor, explores the process enacted by a policy manager to create and implement a work-based learning program aligned to the city’s economic recovery goal and emerging need for scalable violence reduction strategies. This is a first-hand account of how Mark Moore’s Strategic Triangle, and associated Entrepreneurial Advocacy Framework, can be leveraged to mobilize support in an authorizing environment. The capstone culminates with lessons learned regarding how a political environment’s operational structure can either support or inhibit innovative programs being authorized and ultimately implemented at scale.

The Review of Knowledge for Action offers necessary background information regarding the governing relationship between the Office of the Mayor and Chicago Public Schools, the history of summer youth employment programs in the Chicago Mayor’s office, the importance of soft skill development in workforce preparation, and an overview of the Strategic Triangle framework.