Understanding the Policy and Systems Change Compass
The Policy and Systems Change Compass (Compass) is a practical, step-by-step framework developed by the National League of Cities and the Urban Institute to help cities align with partners to turn complex challenges into actionable solutions.
Through a 10-step process organized into four connected phases, the Compass guides local leaders from problem identification, to uncovering root causes, through to designing and advancing policies that improve community outcomes.
Problem
For many Tacoma residents, the path to economic stability ran directly through a childcare gap. Without reliable, affordable childcare, parents face the stark choice between work and family. Using the Policy and Systems Change Compass process, the Tacoma city team’s analysis identified two intersecting root causes: inaccessible or insufficient childcare options, and a persistent disconnect between existing job pathways and the caregiving realities that shape workers’ daily lives.
Solution
Tacoma’s response centered on treating childcare not as solely a family concern but as a public infrastructure challenge — one requiring coordinated action across zoning, financing and workforce development. The city proposed zoning reforms to allow more childcare centers, paired with incentives and partnerships designed to expand the supply of affordable care. At the same time, Tacoma moved to standardize training pathways for childcare providers, recognizing that a sustainable childcare ecosystem depends on a skilled, adequately supported workforce — not just on physical facilities. These strategies were selected through a deliberate, Compass-driven process of feasibility and impact analysis, grounded in mapping the broader ecosystem of partners and resources already at work in the community.
Progress
Implementation moved on several fronts simultaneously. The city clarified its own role in permitting and planning for childcare — an important foundation for coordinating across departments and with external partners. They convened a broader coalition, bringing together nonprofits, schools and parks to align efforts and share resources. The city leaders also explored new funding sources to increase staff capacity.
Perhaps most significantly, Tacoma’s engagement with the Compass process generated institutional infrastructure that extends well beyond childcare. The city leaders developed a Policy Development Guide based on the Compass framework to inform policy work across all city departments — embedding a shared language for approaching complex policy challenges. A center of innovation was established to bring departments together around the Compass process, and the framework is now being used to onboard and train new council members and staff. The Compass process has also been used to analyze a state program for multi-family property tax exemption and to evaluate additional affordable housing development options.
Outcome
Tacoma is reframing childcare as essential infrastructure, a foundational condition for equitable workforce access and family well-being. In doing so, the city has also modeled how the structured process for analyzing complex problems through the steps outline in the Compass can become a durable civic asset, shaping how a city thinks and acts long after any single initiative concludes.
Bring the Policy Compass Home
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