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An in-depth white paper outlining the many possibilities of cross-jurisdiction collaboration
Collaboration is key to effective government in an era of fiscal austerity—and not just because it cuts costs. By reaching out across jurisdictions, and by involving all stakeholders, leading state, regional and local authorities are actually improving the ways in which they deliver services.
At Accenture, we have been exploring the intricacies of cross-jurisdiction collaboration and how it can enhance a shared services model. Our research comprises 90 examples of domestic and international cross-jurisdiction collaboration and in-depth interviews with more than U.S. 30 public-sector leaders. The research helped inform more than 70 case studies that reveal fascinating new models of collaboration that will help drive efficient and cost-effective government.
The operating environment for government entities has changed permanently. Local governments are operating under pressure to perform with shrinking budgets, long-term trends predict greater difficulties, and the methods used in the past are either unavailable or insufficient.
Immediate issues feeding the current economic crisis and its inherent challenges include:
Debate about the appropriate relationship, size and scope of public entities dates back to Plato’s era. The door appears to have opened again for debate, and cross-jurisdiction collaboration has emerged as a very powerful and relevant vision shaping the future of state and local government across the globe. This new phase of cross-jurisdiction collaboration is bringing together state and local entities to reduce costs and provide better or new services for their constituents. The best of these cross-jurisdiction collaboration models and efforts is the future model of effective and efficient state and local government.
Cross-Jurisdiction Collaboration discusses the possibilities and potentials (as well as pitfalls) of working across boundaries. The paper is based on more than 90 domestic and international case studies, interviews with public sector leaders, data analysis from government websites, thought leadership from several think tanks and multiple other sources of input.
We found that the current scope of cross-jurisdictional models covers a very wide spectrum—from two small towns sharing a fire chief to save $100,000 a year, to a county trying to save $500 million per year by outsourcing most of its services and shedding thousands of jobs. What we found common to all examples was an urgency among government leadership to make change before the budget levee breaks. Urgency is critical because governments cannot shrink anymore, tax anymore or dissolve. Hence, they must collaborate.
The paper covers several key areas, including:
Cross-Jurisdiction Collaboration begins with the end in mind; the vision that government leaders want to achieve. It analyzes the reasons for collaboration, the key drivers and develops a model that achieves short-term gains to satisfy financial pressures, but also puts in place adaptability and flexibility for greater and more meaningful contributions in the future. Cross-jurisdiction collaboration is innovation for government, the next step in the evolution of government.
Accenture helps states, counties, cities and higher-education institutions develop cross-jurisdiction collaboration strategies that provide a blueprint for emerging as a stronger, more flexible organization that is well equipped to handle the challenges of today, and quickly adapt to the changes of tomorrow.
Find out more about Cross-Jurisdiction Collaboration:
February 3, 2011