ICF Podcast

What if I told you that you could raise your prices by 30%, cut half of your products—and still have excited customers and a growing business? The challenge, however, is that you have to transform your business model, re-arrange several internal departments, and invest in technology to create personalized experiences.

It is early May of 2020. Americans have been practicing social distancing and sheltering in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic for almost two months. The widespread closure of schools, businesses, and government facilities has led to resource constraints, economic woes, and logistical challenges at all levels of society. And we’re about to enter natural disaster season. Midwest flooding, hurricanes, severe storms, and wildfires will sweep the country in the coming months—while we’re still dealing with COVID-19 restrictions.

Risk management is used primarily to identify the steps we can take to avoid loss or lessen the impact of threats such as hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, and terrorism. But what about pandemics? What do risk leaders in business and government need to bear in mind as they respond to the current COVID-19 crisis—and prepare for a future that may very likely include additional waves of infection?

HUD’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding supports state and local governments in their community development and housing missions. It’s also used for disaster relief (CDBG-DR) and mitigation efforts (CDBG-MIT). The COVID-19 pandemic and the CARES Act have introduced a new category of CDBG funds that grantees can take advantage of in their pandemic recovery efforts—CDBG-CV.

The novel coronavirus is impacting us all in dramatic ways. Individuals, families, companies, governments, and industries around the world are reeling from the effects of COVID-19. The insurance industry is no exception. As insured businesses experience loss of revenue, they are looking to their insurance policies for help. How is the industry responding?

In this podcast, two insurance and risk experts weigh in on the impact of COVID-19 on the insurance industry. Nancy Sylvester, area executive vice president and public sector national director of federal disaster recovery for Arthur J. Gallagher, and Susan West, vice president of risk management for ICF, discuss insurance and how it affects our clients at the state, federal, local, and private sector levels with regards to COVID-19. Moderated by Marko Bourne, vice president of disaster management and former director of policy at FEMA.

Most people understand Individual Assistance as the FEMA program that individuals turn to after a natural disaster to receive temporary housing repair money, low interest loans from the SBA, and other benefits.

We've also published a list of helpful resources compiled by our disaster management experts to provide clarification on relevant response and recovery topics: https://www.icf.com/insights/disaster-management/covid-19-resources

The unprecedented scale of the novel coronavirus outbreak is a challenge at every level: from individuals and families to communities and states, we are all struggling to make the best possible decisions in a climate of heightened fear and anxiety. Fortunately, the federal government has funding in place to help state and local governments—as well as hospitals and healthcare facilities—pay for essential COVID-19 expenses.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic: Emergency Medical Care: https://www.fema.gov/news-release/2020/03/31/coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic-emergency-medical-care

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic: Non-Congregate Sheltering: https://www.fema.gov/news-release/2020/03/31/coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic-non-congregate-sheltering

COVID-19 is an unprecedented public health emergency that has placed tremendous stress on the United States. As the crisis unfolds, with new information coming out daily, many state and local governments are left wondering what to do. What costs will the federal government cover, and how should you manage your emergency response efforts to make sure you get the funding you desperately need? These are urgent questions and there’s not a second to waste.

In episode 1 of Energy Renewed, Katie Janik of ICF speaks with Lynsey Tibbs of Southern Power Company and Jason Kaminsky of kWh Analytics to discuss operational project data collected from renewable energy projects.

Energy efficiency has been around for decades, and it continues to play a big role both for utilities and their business customers. As utility data gets smarter, they’re able to provide better services to their customers and deliver more personalized, targeted outreach about how and why commercial businesses (and residential customers!) should invest in energy efficiency measures.

And they can expand beyond the traditional “feet on the street,” one-to-one approach. Now, utilities can use the latest targeted advertising techniques to reach commercial customers, build awareness, garner interest, and ultimately increase participation.

In this podcast, join the discussion with Tom Brubaker, senior marketing specialist at PECO, and Nancy Caplan, vice president of marketing and engagement for commercial energy at ICF.