If you want to go fast, go alone.

If you want to go farther, go with others.

                                                               African Proverb

To address today’s challenges of decreased budgets and increased workloads,  local government  officials are embracing the concept of collaboration in new and innovative ways.  Collaboration has proven to be an effective tool for jurisdictions to join with others—including other local governments, private sector organizations, and nonprofits—to achieve goals and deliver services that they may not have been able to accomplish on their own.

While there has been a general push by residents, elected and appointed officials, and business experts, toward the use of collaboration as a key solution to governments’ problems, these proponents sometimes fail to recognize that collaborations do not always achieve the goals for which they were established. While collaboration is appropriately viewed as an viable option for local governments looking to deliver services more efficiently and effectively, the real issue surrounding collaboration is that often the costs and benefits associated with it are not fully realized, nor are strategies effectively evaluated that will support a collaborative effort.   

If you are a local government official who is looking at opportunities to deliver public services more efficiently and effectively through collaboration with others, there are many things to consider. . .

--Do I truly understand the service on which I would like to collaborate?

--Do I understand the context—environmental, fiscal,  labor climate,  partner availability,  public interest, and political—in which the service is to be delivered?

--Do I know what form of collaboration will yield the highest likelihood of success?

--Do I understand the critical success factors that are the hallmark of any collaborative effort?

--Do I have a roadmap and effective tools to help me on my journey?

In an effort to assist local governments have the necessary conversations and tools to effectively evaluate and implement collaborative service delivery,  the International City/County Management Association, the Alliance for Innovation and Arizona State University have assembled a variety of resources and tools that are designed to assist local governments considering collaboration.   Underwritten by CH2M HILL, these resources provide valuable assistance to local officials considering collaboration.    If you are considering collaboration, please review the variety of materials available at the ICMA Center for Management Strategies Documents and Articles Resource Library and make sure you ask the right questions to inform your decision making on any collaborative service delivery effort.

While much has been written that suggests collaboration is the answer to problems and issues facing  local governments today, officials must understand what collaboration is and what it is not. Collaboration can offer excellent alternatives for service delivery if the service is right and the community environment will support the concept.  Understanding the appropriateness of a collaborative effort as well as the environment in which it will occur, and selecting the right form will help ensure that the effort can be a successful and viable solution to the issues and challenges facing local governments today.