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The Standing Panel on Intergovernmental Systems considers challenges and issues related to the U.S. federal system and intergovernmental relations.
As the United States continues to deal with Covid-19 and the pockets of hunger and economic instability left in its wake, with raging wildfires and unprecedented extreme weather events wreaking havoc in multiple places at the same time, and with growing awareness of past and current policy inequities and consequences, the need for effective intergovernmental arrangements has become increasingly apparent. Read the full cover memo using the button at the top of this page. ...
Read Full ArticleBy Academy Fellows Mark Pisano and Rich Callahan Ultimately, the current societal challenges call for an improved intergovernmental governance framework that supports budgetary rigor and transparency, identifies priorities and risks, and recognizes and avoids costly financial workarounds, all of which are necessary to inject a restructured system with vitality, realism and sustainability. We welcome continued study of how to improve the state of this country’s infrastructure as well as suggestions for other cases...
Read Full ArticleBy Academy Fellows Mark Pisano, Barry VanLare, Scott Fosler, Maria Aristigueta, and Rich Callahan The Academy named in 2019 as one of twelve Grand Challenge in Public Administration, “Connecting Individuals to Meaningful Work,” and defined meaningful work as work that provides both dignity and an adequate income to all Americans. The global coronavirus pandemic has upended our economy and our traditional modes of work. What has become apparent is that there are two Americas....
Read Full ArticleIn this new case study by Academy Fellows Stephen A. Hamill, John Bartle, Rich Callahan, and Mark Pisano, the U.S. Communities Goverment Purchasing Alliance is assessed as a model for procurement. ...
Read Full ArticleTo download the files from the June 29 joint session of the Standing Panel on Intergovernmental Systems, and State and Local Working Group, please use the links below. Michelle Sager, GAO GFOA Shelby Kerns, NASBO Elizabeth Kellar, ICMA ...
Read Full ArticleThe Need for Preparedness at all Levels: Initial Observations of the Pandemic Response By Academy Fellow Don Bathurst NAPA Fellows Shelley Metzenbaum, Kay Goss, Katherine Willoughby, and Louis Uccellini contributed to this article. Preparation is not important, until it is. Whether we like it or not, preparedness is time and again relegated to the back shelf, where it is “out of sight, out of mind.” The tragic costs of that mindset...
Read Full ArticleBlog Entry by Academy Fellow Dr. Katherine Willoughby ('13) With contributions by Donald Bathurst, Gregory Devereaux, Kay C. Goss, Elizabeth Kellar, Shelley Metzenbaum, John Ten Hoeve, and Louis W. Uccellini Never has it been more clear that effective intergovernmental arrangements are essential to the health and economic well-being of the American people. Lack of a coordinated, nationwide government response to the pandemic is starkly evident. The overarching objectives of an effective emergency management system...
Read Full ArticlePlease download the files for the Standing Panel on Intergovernmental Systems meeting on Friday, November 8, 2019 using the "Report" buttons above. ...
Read Full ArticleIn June of 1968 the Policy Committee of the Republican Governors Association accepted a staff report titled “Handbook of Suggested Solutions for Selected Domestic Problems of the United States”. The report was designed to inform the development of the Republican Platform in that critical election year. It addressed nineteen separate issues, the last of which was the status of the federal system. As the National Academy for Public Administration’s Intergovernmental...
Read Full ArticleAcademy Fellows Gov. Parris Glendening, Dr. John Kincaid & Dr. Carl Stenberg testifed last week before the bipartisan Speaker's Task Force on Intergovernmental Affairs. The Task Force is exploring the re-constitution of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations. Witnesses: Parris N. Glendening Former Governor of Maryland President, Smart Growth America’s Leadership Institute TESTIMONY Dr. John Kincaid Former Exec. Director of the U.S. ACIR Robert B....
Read Full ArticleIntroduction This article demonstrates the federal policy priorities of the National Governors Association, National Conference of State Legislatures, National League of Cities, National Association of Counties, and U.S. Conference of Mayors. The most common priority is investment in infrastructure, followed by policy related to the economy, including workforce development and addressing poverty, as well as public safety. Below are lists that include the federal policy priorities for the groups listed...
Read Full ArticleIntroduction Grants are among the most important tools the federal government uses to advance its vast array of objectives in policy fields as diverse as neighborhood, transportation, and water safety; thriving children; good jobs; safe work environments; healthy people; a healthy environment; mobility; emergency response and recovery; and recreational and cultural opportunities. At over $650 billion, grants to other levels of government and non-profit organizations comprise over 15 percent of annual federal outlays, about forty...
Read Full ArticleNAPA Fellow and IGS Panel member, Shelley Metzenbaum authored "From Oversight to Insight: Federal Agencies as Learning Leaders in the Information Age" in Intergovernmental Management for the Twenty-First Century, a publication sponsored by the National Academy of Public Administration. Click the button above to read the entire chapter. ...
Read Full ArticleIn the United States, most domestic policies and programs are implemented through the intergovernmental system, integrating federal, state, and local governments. Today, every level of government faces fiscal challenges that significantly limit policy options in the near term. For programs or policies that are federally funded, the overarching dilemma is how to provide sufficient flexibility to meet state and local goals while preserving appropriate accountability for the use of federal funds. The relationships among our...
Read Full ArticleSummary The National Academy of Public Administration is honored to be among the organizations served on the Advisory Council to the Speaker's Task Force on Intergovernmental Affairs. The policy proposals and outcomes are organized in these categories: The Need for Comprehensive National Solutions The Need for Cross Government and Cross Sector Collaboration The Need for Administrative Simplification and Accountability The Need for Data-driven Decision Making Click here for the full letter. ...
Read Full ArticleIntroduction Labor force participation in our country has fallen to 63 percent. Millions of working-age Americans, particularly males between the ages of 25 and 54, are neither working nor seeking work. The laws, regulations, and administration of safety net, workforce, and related programs discourage work – especially when individuals and households benefit from more than a program. Yet as Pope Francis has noted, “Work is a necessity, part of the meaning of life on this earth,...
Read Full ArticleSummary There is political consensus around the need to renew and rebuild America’s infrastructure, and President Trump has identified this as a goal. But America lacks both the funding and the governance mechanisms to meet the challenges. The proposed new approach of creating Urban and Rural Public Finance Authorities provides a path to creating a market with sustained “deal flow” for large-scale private-sector funding of infrastructure and economic development that can...
Read Full ArticleSummary 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...
Read Full ArticleSummary The number, diversity, and magnitude of disasters in the U.S., both natural and human-made, are increasing. For natural disasters, alone, there was more than $305 billion in damage in the United States in 2017, making it the most expensive year on record for natural disasters in the nation. Because each disaster, by its very nature, is unique, different protocols, responders, and funding methods cause some significant challenges during all phases of emergency management. Yet, all...
Read Full ArticleBackground In 2011, John Kincaid and Carl Stenberg co-authored a concluding article on “'Big Questions’ about Intergovernmental Relations and Management: Who Will Address Them?” (2011) for a symposium in the Public Administration Review symposium on the impacts of the 1996 demise of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations and assessment of prospects for restoring intergovernmental institutional capacity. Overall, the contributors’ views were pessimistic. Kincaid and Stenberg posed 15 questions to provoke discussion...
Read Full ArticleIntroduction Floods are the costliest natural hazard events in the United States in terms of lives and property losses. The financial costs of flood disasters are unsustainable, especially for the national government, which assumes the most costs while state and local governments have the greatest ability to avoid great losses due to their influence over land use, economic policy, and other areas that can help mitigate floods and reduce the high costs of relief and...
Read Full ArticleIntroduction There is political consensus around the need to renew and rebuild America’s infrastructure, and President Trump has identified this as an Administration goal. But America lacks both the funding and the governance mechanisms to meet the challenge. This proposal offers a new framework to supplement the current convoluted maze of appropriated infrastructure funding, public-private partnerships, and other sources. The new approach provides the path to creating a market with sustained “deal...
Read Full ArticleOn April 12, 2017 I attended an interesting breakfast discussion on infrastructure policy with the Wall Street Journal’s Washington Executive Editor Gerald F. Seib, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Bill Clinton’s first Chief of Staff and DJ Gribbin, Assistant to the President for Infrastructure Policy. Gribbin said that his team is now engaged in a wide-ranging “policy process” to shape the Administration’s infrastructure initiative. They are reaching out to the ...
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