Intergovernmental Relations in Transition: Reflections and Directions

The field of intergovernmental relations has changed substantially over the past five decades. It maintains a critical and evolving role in the US federal system as well as in public policy and administration. Building upon the legacy of Deil S.Wright’s scholarship, this collection of essays by distinguished scholars, emerging thought leaders, and experienced practitioners chronicles and analyzes some of the tensions and pressures that have contributed to the current state of intergovernmental relations and management.

Although rarely commanding media attention by name, intergovernmental relations is being elevated in the public discourse through policy issues dominating the headlines. Many of these intergovernmental issues are addressed in this book, including health insurance exchanges under the now-threatened Affordable Care Act, and the roles of the federal, state, and local governments in food safety, energy, and climate change.Contributors interpret and assess the impacts of these and other issues on the future directions of intergovernmental relations and management. This book will serve as an ideal text for courses on intergovernmental relations and federalism, and will be of interest to government practitioners and civic and nonprofit organization leaders involved in public policy and management.

Cite as:

Stenberg, C. and Hamilton, D. (2018). Intergovernmental Relations in Transition. Milton, UNITED KINGDOM: Routledge.

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Strategic Human Capital Management in Municipal Government: An Assessment of the Degree of Implementation Practices

Growing empirical evidence supports the fact that human resource management (HRM) practices have a direct impact on organizational performance. However, recognition that the HRM function can impact the strategic direction and performance of public organizations has been a more recent shift. Local government represents a robust area to examine the capacity of government organizations to leverage their human resources (HR) to improve performance. Using data from a 2012 survey in Colorado and North Carolina, this article examines the degree to which municipal governments have implemented strategic human capital management (SHCM) practices. Results indicate that while progress had been made, there is still significant variation on the extent to which municipalities are implementing SHCM. For jurisdictions that have seen greater adoption of SHCM practices, a number of factors appear related, including the role HR plays in broader municipal strategic decision making and the perceived importance of the HR function for the municipality.

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Jacobson, W. S., & Sowa, J. E. (2015). Strategic Human Capital Management in Municipal Government: An Assessment of Implementation Practices. Public Personnel Management, 44(3), 317–339. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091026015591283

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Reaching for Higher Ground in Conflict Resolution: Tools for Powerful Groups and Communities

A hands-on manual for learning the leadership skills that take you beyond compromise to higher ground. In this visionary book, the authors present their challenging, innovative and principled approach to problem solving within groups. Reaching for Higher Ground is filled with the practical information and illustrative examples that group leaders and conflict resolution leaders would need to achieve extraordinary outcomes with any group.

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Dukes, E., Piscolish, M. and Stephens, J. (2000). Reaching for Higher Ground in Conflict Resolution: Tools for Powerful Groups and Communities. San Francisco, Calif.: Jossey-Bass.

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The Skilled Facilitator Fieldbook: Tips, Tools, and Tested Methods for Consultants, Facilitators, Managers, Trainers, and Coaches

The Skilled Facilitator Fieldbook is based on the same proven principles outlined in Schwarz?s groundbreaking book. The Skilled Facilitator Fieldbook is the next-step resource that offers consultants, facilitators, managers, leaders, trainers, coaches, and anyone that works within the field of facilitation, the tools, exercises, models, and stories that will help them develop sound responses to a wide range of challenging situations. The book spans the full scope of the successful Skilled Facilitator approach and includes information on how to get started and guidance for integrating the approach within existing organizational structures and processes.

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Davidson, A., McKinney, S., Schwarz, R. and Carlson, P. (2005). The Skilled Facilitator Fieldbook: Tips, Tools, and Tested Methods for Consultants, Facilitators, Managers, Trainers, and Coaches. San Francisco, Calif.: Jossey-Bass.

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Teaching Collaborative Governance: Phases, Competencies, and Case-Based Learning

Collaborative governance is becoming a primary motif in public administration research and practice. There is widespread recognition of the need to develop leaders for collaborative governance, yet clear guidelines or standard operating procedures are elusive. However, while the literature is varied, a broad model of collaboration phases is distinguishable and core competencies are emerging. This article outlines a four-phase model of collaborative governance and corresponding competencies to help ground education and training for collaborative governance. The application of this approach to case teaching is demonstrated by repurposing a readily available teaching case.

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Public Outreach and Participation

Although city and county elected officials frequently hear from their constituents, officials and citizens often do not fully understand how public participation occurs and how it informs decision making by municipal and county boards.

This book, part of the Local Government Board Builders series, offers ideas for engaging the public, assesses the strengths and weaknesses of a variety of participation mechanisms, and provides guidance for better public outreach. It also discusses ways of developing long-term community participation.

See the Local Government Board Builders Series webpage for other books in the series and related School of Government publications.

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Stephens, J., Morse, R. and O’Brien, K. (2011). Public Outreach and Participation. [Chapel Hill, N.C.]: UNC School of Government.

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After the Election: How Do Governing Boards Become Effective Work Groups?

This article identifies some of the factors that make group development more challenging for city and county boards than for other groups, and explains the importance of establishing group norms in the early stages of a board’s development. The authors describe an intervention used to help board members establish effective working relationships. Findings show that boards and managers are better able to avoid many potential conflicts and resolve existing ones by developing early on a shared set of expectations among and for board members, presiding officials, and managers.

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Margaret S. Carlson, & Anne S. Davidson. (1999). After the Election: How Do Governing Boards Become Effective Work Groups? State & Local Government Review, 31(3), 190-201. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/4355240

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Strategic Planning for Elected Officials: Setting Priorities, 2017

The term strategic planning describes a process through which people first agree on a desired future and then organize their resources and efforts toward meeting those long-term goals. A strategic plan defines what you want to accomplish for your organization or community and provides a road map for moving forward and staying on track. The authors, as trainers and facilitators, have helped communities of all sizes and varying characteristics work through strategic planning processes. This book is their way of offering those potential benefits to others.

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Altman, L., Henderson, M. and Upshaw, V. (2017) “Strategic Planning for Elected Officials: Setting Priorities”

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Working with Nonprofit Organizations

Facing the challenges of providing more and better services while being constrained by difficult fiscal limits, local governments across the United States have increased their involvement with nonprofit organizations, involving nonprofits in service delivery and drawing on these organizations’ volunteers and private financial resources. Some nonprofits have also become skilled advocates for their local government clients, making persuasive appeals for public funding of their work or otherwise helping shape government priorities.

This guidebook focuses primarily on the basic questions North Carolina local governments should ask themselves when deciding whether and how to fund nonprofits. If a governing board is considering an ongoing partnership with a nonprofit, many of these same considerations will apply.

Part of the Local Government Board Builders series, this book was written for elected officials of municipal and county governments, but governing officials of other kinds of public entities, such as councils of government, might also find the information useful.

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Henderson, M., Altman, L., Julian, S., Whitaker, G. and Youens, E. (2010). Working with nonprofit organizations. [Chapel Hill, N.C.]: UNC School of Government.

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Strengthening Relationships between Local Governments and Nonprofits

This article is based on interviews with more than forty government and nonprofit organization staff members
in seven counties in central North Carolina. Human services agencies were targeted because North Carolina county governments are most likely to fund nonprofits in that area of service. (For a further discussion of counties’ relationships with nonprofits, see the article on page 25.) The two largest counties, Wake and Mecklenburg, were excluded from the study as atypical. The remaining ninety-eight counties were categorized as small, medium, and large on the basis of population, and counties from each category were chosen for study. The study’s geographic reach was limited initially by budgetary constraints and later by the traumatic impact of Hurricane Floyd on eastern North Carolina—no counties from the far western or far eastern areas of the state were included. However, the seven counties in the study included both urban and rural areas that represented a diversity of cultural and political traditions. During the study we asked local government and nonprofit organization staff to assess the nature of their work with each other—how they interacted, what worked well in their relationships, and what factors limited their relationships. We also asked them to describe the differences in decision-making or operational style and the ways in which those differences affected working relationships. Finally, we asked about specific changes that local government and nonprofit organization staff would like to see in relationships or in the way in which services were delivered in their counties. In every community where we interviewed, respondents candidly shared their views. The study was part of a larger project (supported by a grant from the Jessie Ball duPont Fund) to identify and create ways to help nonprofit organizations and government agencies work together to serve the public more effectively.

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Altman-Sauer, L., Henderson, M., P. Whitaker, G., (2001) “Strengthening Relationships between Local Governments and Nonprofits”

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