Effective Cross-Jurisdictional Collaboration – Governance is Critical!
LEXINGTON, Ky., Tuesday, July 16 — States and local government are joining up in a myriad of ways to save money and leverage economies of scale in operations to deliver better government services. The recipe for successful cross-jurisdictional collaborations has been explored by the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) in its report “What Makes Collaborative Initiatives Work?” One of the key ingredients, if not the key ingredient, is governance. NASCIO has followed up that report with a new release focusing on governance. Several successful collaboratives are presented along with general guidance on governance for cross-jurisdictional collaboration. These reports are available at www.nascio.org/publications.
“With this report, we’re highlighting a key factor to the success of any collaborative,” said Sonny Bhagowalia, co-chair of the NASCIO Cross-Jurisdictional Collaboration working group and chief information officer for the state of Hawaii. “We’re developing a growing library of resources that can assist states and local governments in the evaluation of opportunities for collaboration and the successful implementation of formal arrangements. Our observations and advice on business practices present examples of highly successful collaboratives. Stay tuned to NASCIO for future publications and conference sessions on this very broad scope of cross-jurisdictional collaboration.”
“Governance is the first best or emerging practice we’ve highlighted,” said David Behen, co-chair for the NASCIO Cross-Jurisdictional Collaboration working group and chief information officer for Michigan. “We’re finding opportunities to not only form collaboratives with local government, but also with other countries. As these collaboratives become more inclusive, they also become more complex. That’s where best or emerging practices will become critical. We want to form collaboratives that will be successful right from the start – and be able to sustain that success.”
