Intergovernmental Relations

The focus this week is an interrogation of the roles of the various state and non-state actors in the public policy decision-making process. We will carefully examine the critical role of federal, state, local, governmental, and non-governmental institutions or agencies in the United States political system. We will also explore how different administrations and regimes envision American Federalism. Particular attention of our discussion will focus on the Clinton’s, Bush’s and Obama’s doctrine and philosophy of the role of the federal government.

Objectives

1. Understanding the relationships among the many groups—public, private, and nonprofit—that drive the effectiveness of public programs and affect the work of the public manager
2. Learning about the federal system of government and the complexities of intergovernmental relations that result from federalism
3. Understanding how the relationship and power division between federal and state governments has evolved
4. Exploring the issues associated with privatization and contracting and public-private partnerships
5. Understanding the unique challenges of nonprofit organizations

What is Due?

• Post to the Discussion Board: Intergovernmental relationships remain an important but somewhat complicated concept as the relationship between federal and state governments continue to experience ongoing political friction. However, the complexity of American federalism means the political system will stall without an effective relationship between all levels of governments. Based on the reading this week and with specific examples, “under what circumstances are unfunded federal or state mandates warranted or unwarranted, and when and how should the federal government preempt state and local authority or provide waivers for state and local exemptions and experiments?” You may make reference to Kincaid’s and Stenberg’s response to this question, but use current reference and examples in your discussion https://faculty.cbpp.uaa.alaska.edu/afgjp/PADM601%20Fall%202011/Big%20Questions%20about%20IGM%20and%20IGR.pdf

Introduction

This week is concerned with relationships among public-sector organizations, an issue that has become an increasingly important focus for public administrators at all levels. Given the complexity of modern society, the work of a public administrator likely will involve an intricate set of relationships with a variety of groups external to the administrator’s own agency, including public, nonprofit, and private organizations. The readings include a comprehensive discussion about the concept of intergovernmental relations (IGR), which is defined as “the complex and interdependent relationships among those at various levels of government as they seek to develop and implement public programs,” and federalism, which is the relationship and division of power between the federal government and state governments.

This discussion addresses the changing patterns of funding for public programs, which is instrumental to an understanding of intergovernmental relations and touches on the various approaches to federalism that have been employed in the United States. This includes a description of how recent presidential administrations, from Reagan to Obama, have approached the relationship between the federal government and the states and offers insights into the courts’ influence in this area as well. The readings also address IGR from the perspective of states and localities, including funding and the use of preemptions and mandates, and include a discussion of subnational relationships, including state-to-state, state-to-local, and local-to-local.

This is followed by an examination of the relationships between governmental and non-governmental organizations in the public sector, highlighting the role of the latter in the policy process. As the authors note, not only have nonprofit, for-profit, and faith-based organizations taken a leading role in delivering public services, they also play an important part in bringing issues to the public agenda and influencing decisions about public problems. An important theme running throughout this discussion concerns a description and an evaluation of privatization and contracting and public-private partnership trends. This includes an exploration into the rationale for these approaches and the challenges and benefits associated with each.

The readings also call for our consideration of the management of nonprofit organizations. Because these organizations face distinct challenges, and because they play an increasingly important role in defining and delivering public programs, an understanding of the way in which these organizations operate is important to the public administrator in order to develop more effective inter-organizational or cross-sector relationships. Because public programs in today’s society operate through vast and complex webs of people and organizations, including public, private, and nonprofit, public managers need to develop the ability to identify the network of people and organizations that is or should be involved in a particular situation and assess the effectiveness of that network. Understanding how the various people and organizations operate is key to this ability.

Watch the Introduction Video on IGR

Assignments

Read: Read the following from Shafritz et. al:

Shafritz, Jay and Albert Hyde. 2012. Classics of Public Administration. 7th edition. New York,NY: Cengage. (Listed in readings as “Shafritz

• The American System (1966) Morton Grodzins.
• Revenue Sharing and Structural Features of American Federalism, Deil Wright
• Intergovernmental Relations: An Analytical Overview (1974) Deil Wright, Annals of the American Academy of Political & Social Science, Vol 416, Nov 1974, pp. 1—16.
• American Federalism: Madison’s Middle Ground in the 1980s (1987) Martha Derthick, Public Administration Review, Jan—Feb 1987, pp. 66—74.
• Information Technology and Democratic Governance (2002) Joseph S. Nye Governance.com: Democracy in the Information Age, edited by Elaine Kamarck & Joseph S. Nye, Brookings Institution Press, pp. 1—16.
• Inside Collaborative Networks: Ten Lessons for Public Managers (2006) Robert Agranoff, Public Administration Review, December 2006 Special Issue, pp. 56—65.