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The new President and Congress need to forge a new partnership with state and local governments in order to restore public trust in the federal government and to mobilize the resources needed to address critical domestic issues in a comprehensive and coordinated manner. For much of its history the federal system could be seen as a layer cake with each level of government responsible for a relatively clearly defined set of responsibilities. As the federal government began to expand its role in domestic policy the system became more of a marble cake with roles and responsibilities becoming more intermixed. Most recently the federal system has come to resemble more a crumb cake as the lines between federal, state and local governments have been blurred even further. Such a fragmented system is ill suited to address a wide range of domestic issues.
Policy makers and administrators tend to view the government’s proper role from the perspective of their own positions in the federal system. However, addressing pressing public priorities requires coordinated action by all levels of government. Challenges such as affordable health care, quality education, climate change, income inequality, homeland security, civil rights, deteriorating infrastructure, etc. will require a strong federal role, but a federal role alone will be insufficient. Significant progress will require the coordinated actions of state and local governments as well. It is critical that a new administration and a new Congress work together to an establish a new paradigm that substitutes collaboration and cooperation for command and control. Such a paradigm allows states and localities to participate in policy development and implementation as full partners and facilitates and supports a robust and comprehensive approach to the development of national policy within an intergovernmental framework. The new paradigm:
Addressing the pressing challenges and opportunities confronting the nation requires more than a collection of crumbs. We must create the culture, tools, and resources that will enable the three levels of government to work collaboratively to address those problems and opportunities in a more comprehensive and coordinated manner.
Congress and the new administration should focus their attention on issues that are truly national in scope and avoid the tendency to further complicate an overly complex intergovernmental system with a growing number of small and often uncoordinated or duplicative new programs.
Both the President and Congressional leadership should move quickly to signal that a renewed focus us on intergovernmental collaboration is a clear priority.
A strong, early, and public commitment to strengthening intergovernmental collaboration provides vital guidance on a variety of issues such as the need for the state and local involvement in the policy making process, the selection of key personnel, and the roles and responsibilities of intergovernmental staff.
The new administration should give priority to a review of the Administrative Procedures Act in order to identify changes that would facilitate the collaboration and consultation needed to identify and address issues critical to the effective implementation of its priorities.
Finding comprehensive solutions to critical problems will begin with consultation among the three levels of government.
The new administration should begin this process by articulating key policy challenges, identifying the key intergovernmental players and by inviting those players to actively engage in the policy making process.
The process includes assuring states and localities an opportunity to actively engage with members and staff as legislation is considered.
The new administration should create strong intergovernmental affairs staffs in the Office of the President and at the Department level that are actively involved in the policy process and that can play a vital role in keeping intergovernmental issues and concerns before key decision makers.
Their focus should be on policy and implementation rather than politics and constituent services.
These offices might also be tasked with coordinating cross agency efforts to work collaboratively with states and localities.
Policy makers need a big picture view of the fiscal demands on state and local governments and the variances in fiscal capacity from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. They also need to more clearly understand the fiscal impact of federal policies on the capacity of state and local governments to meet their own responsibilities.
The new administration should undertake, in consultation with state and local officials, a comprehensive review of critical information needs and develop a plan for collecting and disseminating relevant data on a timely basis.
The new administration should establish a cross agency initiative to facilitate the collection and dissemination of timely research and identify the steps needed to make meta data more readily available.
The new administration should examine how closer coordination among the programs, agencies and departments at the federal level might allow states and localities to produce a more integrated and efficient delivery system.
The new administration should consider how an accountability approach similar to the Government Performance and Accountability Act might be applied to high priority intergovernmental initiatives.
The new administration might consider convening federal, state and local officials to explore the potential for the better integration of crosscutting state systems and individual program level performance measurement systems so as to better serve all three levels of government.
The new administration should continue and expand federal efforts to allow states both to test new policies and more effective and efficient delivery.
This infomation was extracted from the memo, "Managing Across Boundaries: Strengthening Partnerships with State and Local Governments" by Barry L. Van Lare