Whether managers like it or not, it appears as though the direction we are headed is just that which is described in these articles.  There is more and more of a pressure to achieve the results that our communities want and need and at the same time, such an opportunity for innovation and creativity in service delivery. 

In another Governing  article entitled "A Decade of Living Dangerously,"   Bob O'Neill suggests that this environment has created the need for:

1.  More effective and efficient local government;

2.  A platform for regional cooperation;

3.  An engaged and enlightened business community;

4.  A refocused and rightsized nonprofit sector; and,

5.  A 21st-century resident-engagement strategy.

These are the areas in which we must be focused as local government managers to ensure that we are well positioned to accept the opportunity and responsibility for innovation and creativity that is falling upon us in the wake of the government "power inversion." Are you ready for the "coming decade of local government?" 

ICMA's Center for Management Strategies and its extensive research and service provider network can assist you and your organization with leading practice and trending ideas that can make the coming decade your "opportunity" to accept this challenge.  Our leading practice areas of high performance organization strategies, priority based budgeting, civic engagement and collaborative service delivery address many of the needs of local governments moving forward.  Watch for our research findings, articles and educational opportunities, including the upcoming Summit on Leading Practices to be held July 9 and 10 in  Arlington, Virginia for ideas to move your organization forward and prepare for the "coming decade for local government."

For, as Bob O'Neill so eloquently states, "The next 10 years undoubtedly will be challenging for local government. Yet if we continue to make tough choices, explore and exploit nontraditional partnerships, and innovatively rethink the way we do business, we will emerge from the decade with a new, more efficient and more transparent model of local government. It's a long-term investment, but it is one that we must make."