Intergovernmental Collaboration

As local governments work to navigate fiscal constraints and growing service demands, collaboration among cities, counties, and school districts is an option to explore.

Those cities that have implemented collaborative efforts know this is hard work that can take significant political will and perseverance, and success is not always easy to demonstrate. There are also risks to be considered as formal agreements are drawn up.

So why do so many cities embark on intergovernmental collaborations? Because such cooperative efforts hold the potential for improvements in efficiency and effectiveness.

Research on intergovernmental collaboration
The League has conducted research into intergovernmental collaboration for a number of years—original research as well as contributions to the Best Practices work of the Minnesota Office of the State Auditor.

As part of the 2004 State of the Cities project, the League asked member cities to identify cooperative arrangements in which they participated with other public or private entities in service delivery. The following are examples of cooperative arrangements that were identified:

Articles about collaboration initiatives

Office of the State Auditor report on intergovernmental collaboration
The Office of the State Auditor has developed excellent resources on collaboration. In their Best Practices Review on cooperative efforts, they provide examples of intergovernmental collaborations and also identify the factors that lead to success and sustainability.
Learn more about Best Practices Review: Cooperative Efforts in Public Service Delivery (pdf) at www.auditor.state.mn.us

Assistance with Joint Powers Agreements
LMCIT staff have developed specialized expertise and assistance in the area of joint powers agreements. Cities that are advised to take advantage of our contract review services before a joint powers agreement is finalized.

Read more about Joint Powers
Read more about Contract Assistance