Prior to the on-site, we typically have twice weekly (or more) meetings with the state staff. These are focused largely on planning, getting alignment on goals, and beginning the investigative work.
- Align on a charter
- Schedule and execute a hypothesis generation workshop
- Get Navigator/workshops-and-meetings/CBO contacts and begin meeting
- Schedule the Navigator convening
- Schedule the on-site meetings with the state staff
The week of the on-site is the most important period during the engagement. During this time, opportunities are identified, solutions are created, and recommendations are presented to leadership.
Generally the team is assembled on-site by Sunday night. This may or may not be feasible depending on travel timelines or organizational rules!
On Monday we typically hold an in-person solutioning workshop with Navigators. This is best held in a city with a large number of Medicaid recipients (and therefore Navigator organizations), which may or may not be the capitol of the state. For more information on the Navigator workshop, see the facilitation guide (docx, pdf).
Since the Navigator workshop is typically not held in the capitol, on Tuesday the team usually travels to the capitol (or wherever the state staff are working).
There may be an on-site kickoff meeting with the state today (note: this is different than the kickoff done a couple weeks earlier). The goals of this meeting are:
- Everyone is clear on who the civic technology team is and why they are here.
- Everyone from the state, their vendor team, and the civic technology team knows where they need to be and when.
- Everyone knows how they'll be expected to contribute.
The kickoff meeting is short; 30 minutes or less.
If time permits, there may be additional Navigator meetings on this day.
On Wednesday, we have two workshops with the state. These have been loosely organized around ex parte renewals and manual renewals, respectively, but do not have to be!
- These meetings should be 90 minutes each, and should not be back-to-back.
- These will be focused on identifying areas of opportunity for solutioning. Solutioning may get started here, but keep in mind there will be lots to talk about!
- Vendors should be present at these meetings.
- If helpful, eligibility workers may be present at these meetings (the project manager and relevant subject matter experts).
- After meeting, the civic technology team should meet with state stakeholders for a quick (~5-10 minute) debrief.
If time permits, there may be additional Navigator meetings on this day.
Thursday has an identical structure to Wednesday:
- There will be two 90-minute workshops with the state; one on ex parte renewals amd one on manual renewals.
- These meetings should be focused on solutioning, estimation, and prioritization. This is a good time to ask questions like: how long will this take? When can it be scheduled?
- Vendors should be present at these meetings (the project manager and relevant subject matter experts).
Thursday is typically too late for any additional Navigator meetings.
On Friday, a one-hour closing session is held with the state in order to present findings.
- The state Medicaid Director and Deputy Director (if appropriate) should be at this meeting, if possible.
- The civic tech team will present findings from the week, including:
- Identified opportunities
- Recommended solutions
- Timelines from vendors
- Long-term recommendations
- It's important to recognize the state staff partners in this meeting; they should be credited with the majority (if not all) of the recommendations.
Friday is often a travel day as well, as team members depart the state.
We meet two or more times per week with state staff, as needed, for several weeks following the on-site. The focus of these weeks are prioritization of recommendations, assistance with implementation, and ongoing support as needed.
- Regular check-ins with state staff members
- Prioritization Workshop
- Implementation assistance