Author: Will Cuper

Leveraging Pandemic Investments

California invested significantly in new or improved IT systems in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These initiatives, such as deploying a statewide contact tracing platform and systems for vaccine distribution and appointment scheduling, met critical needs that existed long before the pandemic. With the worst…

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Rediscovering the Value of In-Person Team Meetings

Since May 2020, I’ve been part of a large team working on California’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Over countless virtual meetings, chats, and emails, we’ve spent long days and occasional weekends “together” sharing many experiences and successes over the past years. Earlier this month,…

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The Unsung Heroes of COVID-19

I’ve been fortunate to work with the California Department of Public Health on COVID-19 related initiatives since April 2020. Going into this, as a public sector consultant with over 15 years’ experience, I thought I knew a thing or two. But working alongside doctors, epidemiologists,…

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Transitioning to FI$Cal Department-Wide

Implementation of the Financial Information System for California (FI$Cal) represents massive change across the entire state. Highlands Consulting is wrapping up the second phase of a FI$Cal transition effort for a large state department. Phase one transitioned administrative staff in the Accounting, Budgets, and Procurement…

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Finding the (Often Hidden) Benefits of FI$Cal

Nearly all designated State departments have been using FI$Cal for at least a year now. And with such a complex system, it’s been challenging indeed. Many of us at Highlands are continuously evaluating how to help our clients take full advantage of FI$Cal and gain…

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Team Bonding Fun

In March, the Highlands Consulting team enjoyed a group retreat to celebrate recent successes and join in some team bonding fun. Catching a break from the rain – for the most part – we spent the afternoon at Safari West, a 400-acre wildlife preserve in…

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O Tannenbaum!

Highlands Consulting donated five Christmas trees to the Sacramento Children’s Home this week. To make things fun, we divided into teams to decorate the trees and had an internal competition before donating them. It turns out we’re a pretty competitive group, at least when it…

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Rapid Process Improvement

A team of Highlands’ consultants were recently certified by PQS, Inc., to facilitate Rapid Process Improvement (RPI) events. RPI is a highly-interactive method of business process analysis that focuses on resolving problem workflows and returning rapid results that can be implemented quickly. RPI is based…

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What are Mid-Level Requirements – and Why Do We Need Them?

As we help our clients adapt to the State’s new Project Approval Lifecycle, we find we’re being asked to define “mid-level requirements” to support the alternatives analysis that happens early in the procurement process. For those who aren’t familiar with the Project Approval Lifecycle –…

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A Special Day for All at the Special Olympics

The Highlands Consulting Team and their families spent Saturday morning giving back to the community by volunteering at Special Olympics Northern California’s Spring Games Competition. The Spring Games were held at the Roseville Aquatics Center and featured swimming, track, and tennis competitions with athletes from…

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