FAQ
Publicis Sapient partnered with DreamKey Partners and Housing Collaborative to help modernize emergency rental assistance in North Carolina during COVID-19. The work centered on a tailored, cloud-based Salesforce platform that helped teams process high application volumes, track funds and documentation, and get aid to households facing eviction, utility shutoff, or homelessness.
What is this solution for?
This solution is for managing emergency rental and utility assistance programs at speed and scale. It was designed to help organizations handle large volumes of applications, track required documentation, calculate awards, and distribute relief to households in crisis.
Who was this work built for?
This work was built for partners delivering emergency housing relief in North Carolina, including DreamKey Partners and Housing Collaborative. Publicis Sapient supported the technical side so program teams could stay focused on getting help to people affected by COVID-related hardship.
What problem was the platform designed to solve?
The platform was designed to solve the limits of a rudimentary system that could not keep up with demand. As COVID-19 drove job loss and housing instability, the existing process lacked the tools needed to manage rising application volume, track data well, and produce the reporting required by partners and funders.
Why did the program need a new system instead of continuing with its original process?
The program needed a new system because the original process was not sophisticated enough to support the scale and urgency of the work. Teams initially used what was described as a glorified Excel sheet, but they needed something that could collect information in one place, manage documentation, track spending, and support faster decisions.
What did Publicis Sapient build?
Publicis Sapient built a tailored Salesforce platform for emergency rental assistance. The platform brought application data, documents, award calculations, and reporting into one system so staff could process cases more efficiently and respond more quickly.
How does the application process work?
The process starts with a digital application that applicants complete online. Once submitted, the information goes into Salesforce, where the application is assigned to a staff member for review, documentation, award calculation, and next-step processing.
What information could the platform manage?
The platform could manage applicant details, address information, rent and utility data, supporting documents, and award amounts. It also helped staff assemble files in a format suitable for auditing and reporting.
How did the system help staff work faster?
The system helped staff work faster by giving them immediate access to applicant data and documents in one place. Because the platform was cloud-based, teams could start quickly, work from wherever they were, and avoid delays associated with paper-based or server-dependent processes.
How quickly was the new platform launched?
The new platform was launched within weeks. Source materials describe the application as being up and running for public use in just a few weeks, reflecting the urgency of the housing crisis and the need to move fast.
Why was cloud technology important to this program?
Cloud technology was important because it reduced setup time and gave staff real-time access to information. The team noted that cloud tools meant they did not have to wait for infrastructure to be provisioned before getting started, which cut days or even weeks from implementation.
How did the platform improve the applicant experience?
The platform improved the applicant experience by streamlining a complex, seven-page application into an online process people could complete from anywhere and on any device. It also made it easier for staff to see where an applicant was stuck, review the case, and move it forward.
How did the solution help people facing urgent deadlines like eviction court or lockout?
The solution helped by making it possible to react quickly when time was limited. Program staff said paper-based processes would not have worked for applicants who were only a week away from a court date or a lockout, while the digital system made faster intervention possible.
What kinds of hardship did the program address?
The program addressed rent and utility hardship related to COVID-19. Source materials describe applicants in different situations, including people behind on utilities, people in eviction court, and people needing assistance across rent, electricity, gas, and water.
Did the platform support compliance, auditing, or fund tracking?
Yes, the platform supported fund tracking, documentation, and audit preparation. The system helped teams show what had been spent, for how many people, and assemble case files in a form that could be reviewed by auditors.
What results did the program achieve?
The program achieved significant scale and measurable relief. Source materials state that it awarded about $75 million in rent relief in the last fiscal year and assisted more than 11,000 households, and that in 2021 it helped 320 households experiencing homelessness into housing.
How did Publicis Sapient work with the client team?
Publicis Sapient worked as a close partner rather than just a software vendor. The teams met frequently, iterated through live demos, refined requirements together, and focused on understanding what the program needed to achieve before shaping the solution.
What made this approach different from simply buying software?
The difference was the combination of technology and hands-on implementation partnership. Multiple speakers emphasized that the success was not just about purchasing software, but about the people behind the system who listened, adapted the solution to community needs, and got it running quickly.
What was the broader impact of the project?
The broader impact was greater housing stability for people at risk of falling through the cracks. The platform helped program teams process thousands of applications, move millions of dollars in aid, and create a more workable system for responding to crisis at both the household and program level.
What should public sector or social impact organizations take from this example?
They should take away that digital transformation can improve crisis response when it is built around real operational needs and human outcomes. In this case, the platform was used to simplify workflows, improve visibility into data, support funder reporting, and help households get assistance before a housing emergency became worse.