Creating Public Value through the Weatherization Assistance Program - Research Paper Example

Creating Public Value through the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) Introduction For six years, the Ramirez family of Dorchester, Boston had been experiencing cold winter inside their home. With six children to support, the family could barely pay their electric bills which could reach up to $800 since, in some months; they had use space heaters to warm their home. Their family situation got even worse when both the couple lost their public jobs due to economic recession. To solve their energy problem, the couple was introduced to the US government’s weatherization program which was locally implemented by the Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD), an agency involved in the with poverty reduction drive within the Greater Boston area. With the total of $10 million stimulus funding, the Boston ABCD Weatherization program has the capacity to subject 1,800 homes to weatherization (Massachusetts Commonwealth, 2012). As soon as the Ramirez family qualified for the program, weatherization professionals immediately assessed the house’s energy consumption. The assessment, which took around two to four hours, found that the house had no proper wall insulation; its doors invite cold air in, and water leaks are found in the basement. From these observations, weatherization professionals reported their assessment to the homeowners and presented what needs to be repaired in the house to save energy cost Through the stimulus package, the Boston ABCD provided for the house’s insulation and new doors in the house. They also installed a new bathroom to prevent the place from molding. After these repairs, the family was able to reduce their electric bills up to 45%, especially during the winter. According to Mrs. Ramirez, she was thankful for the program because her family finally experienced warmth in winter for the first time (Massachusetts Commonwealth, 2012). The article above represents the actual account in the implementation of the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP), a long-running public program for low-income families that enables them to reduce their energy consumption and ensure energy efficiency at home through weatherization. The federal government, together with the Department of Energy (DOE) and local weatherization agencies work together to take responsibility in maintaining the national energy policy of the United States. Through the collaboration of various public agencies, the program provides a suitable example where both local and national energy agencies are involved in a collaboration to create value for the public. In the case of WAP, value is created when the community agents, local and state managers, and the DOE work together for energy efficiency that will benefit poor families and the public in general. This paper examines the creation of public value by looking at the implementation of WAP as a nationwide energy project of the United States government. As conceptualized by Professor Mark Moore (2005), the idea of public value begins when there is an improvement on the function of government in providing quality services that benefit to its citizen. In this view, Moore emphasized the role of public managers as “explorers commissioned by society to search for public value” (p.20). To do an examination of WAP’s public value, the content of the program and its stakeholders are first examined. Then, the implementation process is presented to know the purpose of the policy. Also, the examination of WAP as a public program will be based on the strategic framework as described by Moore (1995): 1.) authorizing environment 2.) operational capacity and 3. public value. By exploring how WAP is able to create public value, social managers are able to know the contributions of the program to the society. The Weatherization Assistance Program Since 1976, the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) is the US federal government’s initiative to help low-income families reduce their energy bills by providing efficient measures that will make their homes more energy efficient. Specifically, the WAP came into existence through the Title IV Conservation and Production Act of 1976, which seeks to decrease the overall energy use of low-income families all over the US and protect them from high costs of fuel (Blake and Sgro, 2011). According to the National Energy Education Development (2011), more than one third of the energy consumed in the United States comes from energy usage in homes and commercial buildings. As such, the government sees the need to implement WAP not only to improve the country’s energy efficiency but to also engage its citizen in energy conservation efforts that will curb down the nation’s dependence in foreign oil. Aside from this, WAP provides funding for the local governments, which coordinates with local weatherization agencies, to examine and improve energy conservation measures in the houses of low income families across the country. In 2009, the DOE Office of Weatherization & Intergovernmental Program was able to outline the following goals of weatherization program (p.2): 1.) Reduce energy costs and alleviate high energy burden for low-income families; 2.) Decrease the nation’s energy consumption and avoid related emissions; 3.) Improve housing stock and neighborhood conditions; 4.) Provide an economic boost in low-income communities; and 5.) Educate consumers about energy efficiency practices. How WAP Works For the program’s implementation on the federal level, the Department of Energy (DOE) Weatherization and Intergovernmental Program is tasked to give specific funding and technical support to local government agencies, including those in the US overseas territories and American-Indian tribal administrations. These agencies are then responsible for the promotion and selection of eligible low-income families in the program. The local weatherization services will then visit the qualified households through evaluation of their homes and providing recommendations on how to save energy. Based on their findings, the concerned agencies will make the necessary action to prevent further loss of electric energy in the house. The services offered by weatherization agency, for instance, will include proper home insulation, installing energy efficient equipment, and repair of house structure that affects the protection of the house both from cold and warm weather. In this way, the government can reach out to marginalized family and help them improve their conditions by reducing their monthly electric bills. Below is the more detailed process of the WAP which serves as guide in closely examining the public value of the government program: Figure 1. Detailed process of Weatherization Assistance Program (DOE, 2009, p.2): WAP & the Idea of Public Value In his book, Creating Public Value, Professor Mark Moore (1995) defines a line between the task of private managers to create economic value and public managers to create public (social) value. In the private sector, the creation of shareholder value can be attained by enriching the profit of its stakeholders to ensure business success. In the public sector, the creation of public value is focused on the public manager who thinks about offering the right services being valued by the people and finds ways to effectively manage its delivery of the service. In the implementation of WAP as a nationwide public program, the public value is created when the federal governments responded to public demands on reducing energy cost in low-income household and decrease its dependency on foreign oil. In this way, the definition of Blauge et al (2006) that the public value is a form of “responsiveness” to the refined preferences of the citizens can be explored when looking at WAP as a social program. Since the public figured that lesser energy consumption means greater savings in the household, public value is created when the state responded to this demand by implementing energy efficiency measures all over the country. As explicated by Moore (1995), the distinctive feature of public value is that implementation of services is based on the rights of citizens to authorize public managers to efficiently supervise a social program. The task to create public value is designated to public managers in order to renew the trust of citizens in public institutions. In contrast with private management where profit is central to business success, Moore’s idea is to maximize public resources not for economic gains but mainly to create valuable outcomes for communities and the wider public. Examining WAP’s Strategic Framework To examine WAP’s public value, Moore offered a “strategic framework” to further analyze the goals and challenges facing the public sector when managing a social program. This strategic framework is used to determine what makes up WAP’s public value. It also establishes the steps being made to deliver energy efficiency services to low-income households. Through the presentation of Moore’s strategic framework, public managers are able to determine social outcomes that are desirable to the public. In Moore’s words, this framework will help determine the “improved ways of understanding what our ‘publics’ value and how we connect to them” (Moore, 1995, p.6). Figure 2 – Moore’s Strategic Triangle (Adapted from Mager, 2007, p.5) The diagram above shows the components of public value which the public service managers need to consider in developing and implementing the social program. These are the authorizing environment, operational capacity, and public value. The authorizing environment ensures that all stakeholders support the activities in the social program while operational capacity ascertains the capability of the management to fully implement the public service. On the other hand, the public value ensures that the actions of the implementing organization are aligned with its goals and mission. In the case of WAP, the strategic framework poses the following questions for public officials: 1.) Is WAP sustainable and politically supported by all stakeholders of the program? 2.) Is WAP's "offer" valuable enough for the public to support it? 3.) Is the federal government capable in continuing implementation of the program? It is necessary to tackle these questions on legitimacy, public value goals, and capacity because the public manager, who oversees the management process, is at the center of the strategic triangle. Examining WAP’s Authorizing Environment WAP is composed of national and local agencies which coordinate together to facilitate and implement public programs. Specifically, the implementation of WAP is made up of the following as outlined by DOE (2009, p.3): Auditors – inspects and prepares the list of possible recipient of weatherization services. Installers – crew members who install weatherization devices. Crew Chiefs – supervises and directs installers Quality Control Inspectors – ensures that weatherization measures are properly done. Trainers – provides training to weatherization staff Technical monitors –keeps track of local agencies to monitor training needs Intake Eligibility Staff – determines the eligibility of possible recipient of the program State and Local Program Managers – manages program operations daily Citizens – taxpayers who give money to the government for the program implementation All these stakeholders perform check and balance to insure that each group performs its assigned task and accomplish their goals. More importantly, Moore (1995) emphasizes the need for the stakeholders to support each other for the greater benefit of society. As such, the public manager must garner a legitimate support from citizens (tax payers) on a program that do not necessarily benefit them directly. If not, then criticisms about the program’s implementation will be directed on the public manager who will answer the demands of the political institution, local managers, and the general public. For the federal government’s weatherization program, this support is assured when citizens, through their elected public officials, drafted the Title IV Conservation and Production Act of 1976 that gave existence to government’s weatherization program. For more than three decades, the program has been consistently implemented, which also means that it is supported by the general public. According to the DOE report (2009), the funding for WAP to the local government agencies reach up to $5billion through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) which will fund WAP for the next 3 years. The support for WAP lies on the fact that since its implementation in 1976, the program has provided weatherization services to over 7 million homes with DOE funds (WAPTAC, 2012). Despite the fact that WAP caters only to low-income families, especially those who have family members who are old, disabled, or with children, the program remains to be supported by all stakeholders in the society. In fact, for many years, energy conservation and environmental protection have been a worldwide concern, not only for the US, but for the international community with the onset of global warming. This is because the stakeholders get both energy and non-energy benefits with the program’s implementation. Data from WAPTAC (2012) showed that for many years since its implementation, WAP is able to contribute in lowering the rate of CO2 emissions around the country. Aside from this, Schweitzer & Ton (2002) presented the non-energy benefits to the country and these include: safety and health of households, reduced debt in poor families, and property value increase. Operational Capacity to Implement WAP In his book, Moore (1995) defines operational capacity as a component which explains how “the enterprise will have to be organized and operated to achieve the declared objectives” (p.71). As such, the capacity to implement a program lies with the available resources for the enterprise and this includes financial support, technological skills, placement of staff, and technical support. It is the task of the public manager to get these resources by lobbying for support found in the political institutions or through partnership with other agencies. Once these resources are acquired, it is the task of public managers to handle these resources and practically allocate them until the goals of the enterprise are attained. The key is coordination and partnership with other agencies to ensure the success of the program. For the implementation of WAP, the operational capacity is evident on it being a long-running program with increased financial support from legislators (DOE, 2009). With WAP’s nationwide coverage all over the United States, public managers are able to operationalize its goal by coordinating with local non-governmental organizations or community agencies known as the “sub-grantees”. These sub-grantees will have to apply for funding and actual implementation of weatherization in various homes. With that, the State will give preference to sub-grantees which have demonstrated an effective implementation of WAP and other community programs. There will be a public hearing regarding the chosen sub-grantees for the program which will be based on an organization’s experience, capacity, and quality of work. For instance, this year, a non-profit group known as People Working Cooperatively based in Ohio received $1.5 to implement the weatherization program with its 5,000 volunteers across the state (DOE, 2010). From this partnership, it can be inferred how the coordination of different agencies from top-down level work together to operationalize the goal of the State. WAP’s Public Value To fully analyze WAP as a social program, its public managers are presented with a question: is WAP valuable to its recipients, to the community, and the nation as a whole? This is a crucial question because even if institutional support is assured and operationalization is guaranteed in the program, it has to have substantive value for it to continuously exist in the long run. As Professor Moore puts it, the public program’s strategy must be “substantively valuable in the sense that the organization produces things of value to overseers, clients, beneficiaries at low cost terms of money and authority” (Moore 1995, p.71). WAP’s value lies in the fact that for more than three decades since its implementation, the program has been continuously contributing to the increase in energy efficiency of low-income households resulting to the energy-related and non-energy related benefits of the program. To its recipients, WAP is significant lowering their energy rates, contributing to their savings, and enabling them to live comfortably in their homes. To the community, WAP means an increase in employment since the program is targeting local sectors and volunteers to work towards weatherizing homes. To the citizens, WAP is an answer to curb down the problem of increased carbon emission, to lessen the dependency on foreign oil and to prevent the looming effects environmental degradation. Moreover, WAP’s public value is upheld and affirmed because of its profound benefits to all stakeholders. Indeed, for more three decades since its implementation in 1976, the Department of Energy (2012) reports that it has provided service to 6.4 million low-income families through its program. Also, these families have seen an improved average reduction of $437 in their annual electric bills. Currently, there are 20-30 million eligible families for the program in the US. Conclusion By looking at WAP through the strategic framework, we are able to see that the value of energy efficiency and environmental preservation was created through weatherizing low-income households. The public managers and coordinators for the program were able to offer weatherization services all over the country through partnership and cooperation with local community agencies. Through the strategic framework, the significance of WAP to its recipients, to local communities and the nation reveals that its public managers are able to effectively manage the delivery of weatherization services to the people. By examining the authorizing agency in the program, it can be inferred that the program came into existence through legislation and collaboration with state and local agencies. By determining the operational capacity of WAP, we are able to examine how the coordination between the state and local agencies works to maintain the implementation of the program. By finding out the program’s public value, it can be inferred that WAP has successfully been able to achieve the valuable goal of the society which is to increase the country’s energy efficiency through collaborative efforts between the state and local agencies. References Blake, Rachel & Jonathan Sgro (December 2011): “The Case for Moving Weatherization Programs to the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency”. Issue Brief 11-2. Retrieved from: http://rhls.org/wp-content/uploads/RHLS_Issuebrief_112_rev2_Final.pdf Blauge, Ricardo, Horner, Louise and Lekhi, Rohit (2006): “’Heritage, democracy & public value’, Conference Proceedings of the Capturing the Public Value of Heritage Conference, 25-26 January 2006. Royal Geographical Society,London. Edited by Kate Clark. Retrieved from: http://www.helm.org.uk/upload/pdf/Public-Value.pdf Dublane H. (2007). How can Scotland's colleges contribute to Public Value, and what can they learn from its principles? Annual conference of Scottish Colleges. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/I97HNA Glatter, Stephen & Jeanne Engel: ” Use of Weatherization Program Funds to Benefit Residents of Multifamily Housing”. SAHF – The Business of Mission. Retrieved from: http://www.sahfnet.org/files/index_56_2536597366.pdf Johnson, Claire & Kathleen Hogan (December 2009): ”National Weatherization Training & Technical Assistance Plan”. Weatherization Assistance Program. U.S. Department of Energy. Retrieved from: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/wip/pdfs/wap_tta_plan.pdf Mager, Caroline (February2007): “Public value and Leadership - Exploring the implications”. Centre for Excellency in Leadership. Retrieved from: http://www.lsis.org.uk/Services/Policy/legacy/Documents/PublicValueLeadership.pdf Massachusetts Recovery: “A home gets weatherized, a family stays warm”. Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved from: http://www.mass.gov/recovery/see-the-impact/faces-of- economic-recovery/weatherizing-to-stay-warm.html Moore, Mark H. (1995): “Creating Public Value: Strategic Management in Government” Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. National Energy Educational development Project (NEED): “Energy Consumption”. Retrieved from: http://www.need.org/needpdf/infobook_activities/IntInfo/ConsI.pdf Oakley, Kate, Richard Naylor & David Lee (2004): “Giving them what they want: the construction of the public in ‘public value”. BBC. Retrieved from: http://robertoigarza.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/art-public-value-giving-them-what-they-want-oakley-et-alt-2006.pdf Schweitzer M. & Tonn, B. (2002). Non-energy benefits from the weatherization Assistance Program: A Summary of Findings from the Recent Literature. Oak Ridge, Tennessee: Oakridge National Laboratory Sperling, Gilbert P (December 2009).: ”Financial Assistance Funding Opportunity Announcement”. U. S. Department of Energy - National Energy Technology Laboratory. Retrieved from: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/wip/pdfs/wap_recovery_act_foa.pdf US Department of Energy (2010). WIPP Project - Grantees Selected for the Weatherization Innovation Pilot Program. Retrieved from http://www1.eere.energy.gov/wip/wipp_projects.html U.S. Department Of Energy: ”Weatherization Assistance Program”. Retrieved from http://www1.eere.energy.gov/wip/wap.html US Department of Energy (2009). National Weatherization Training & Technical Assistance Plan. 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