Guidehouse Supports Governor's Office of Storm Recovery in Establishing Disaster Recovery Agency

Challenge

In October 2012, Sandy tore across the eastern seaboard, creating widespread flooding and billions of dollars of damage. The storm caused 53 fatalities in New York State, and economic losses in New York City alone were estimated to be roughly $19 billion. Additional effects of the storm in New York included the flooding of the New York City Subway, the destruction of thousands of homes and vehicles, and the temporary closure of the New York Stock Exchange and several large hospitals in New York City. In response to Hurricane Sandy, the Federal Government appropriated $8 billion to support the recovery of the state of New York and New York City. New York State engaged Guidehouse to support the State as it established a disaster recovery agency and planned and managed its disaster response. 

Solution

Guidehouse has been a proud partner of New York State and the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery (GOSR) for the past six years. The team provides a wide range of program management and integrity monitoring services in support of the State’s Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts. Initially, New York engaged Guidehouse to verify its estimates of storm damage for inclusion in the Federal Supplemental Funding request. Following the successful submission of the funding request, Guidehouse helped stand up New York’s new disaster recovery agency, the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery. Guidehouse has continued to serve as a trusted advisor to New York State, supporting efforts to rebuild more resilient homes, communities, and municipalities. In this capacity, Guidehouse has supported virtually every department in the agency from housing, infrastructure, small business, and administration to operations, and monitoring & compliance—and provided services including program design, day-to-day operational support of programs, monitoring and compliance efforts, organizational assessments, technology evaluations, data analysis, IT security tests, and procurement process design. 

Impact

Guidehouse’s work has helped GOSR develop programs, processes and procedures that prioritize efficiency and customer service, while maintaining compliance with federal and state regulations. As a result, the State has been able to quickly and effectively disburse federal funding to those New Yorkers most in need. A sample of project outcomes is included below:

• Implemented a reporting system that decreased application turnaround time and facilitated the payment of millions of dollars to applicants
• Assisted GOSR with multiple process redesigns that streamlined execution and brought clarity to day-to-day process activities
• Provided data-driven recommendations and insights on deployment of disaster recovery funds
• Transformed the process for disbursing applicant payments by introducing a project management role and automating key steps in the process