While the Fund for Our Economic Future, through the EfficientGovNow program, aims to accelerate government collaboration and efficiency efforts throughout Northeast Ohio, there are already examples of great government collaborations in the region. We’ve captured a handful of some terrific examples of local government officials who have worked together to find win-win solutions, and explored ways to be more prudent and value-added with taxpayer dollars. We just need more of them – many more of them.

When you take a look at the examples here, you’ll find many themes of successful collaboration (opening lines of communication, informing and engaging the public and other stakeholders, building trust) and an exhibition of commitment and perseverance by the collaborators to bring projects to fruition. Share these stories with your local officials and encourage them to get on the collaborative bandwagon!

We hope to capture many more such examples as we continue to talk with government officials and local university practitioners throughout the region. Our intent is to create an online repository of these efforts for future reference to others entering the collaborative chasm. If you are aware of collaborative projects that we should add to the list, please let us know. The extent to which we can bring attention to these stories is the extent to which we can inspire, educate and engage other leaders to think outside the box and aim for greater collaboration and efficiency.

In the past few weeks, representatives from the Fund for Our Economic Future have been to about every corner of Northeast Ohio to introduce EfficientGovNow. So far, we’ve met with more than 25 groups. And, before the month is over, we will have met with more than 30 groups, including chambers of commerce, local government officials and citizen groups.

Having spoken to a number of these groups, I find there are a number of local officials who are enthused by the prospect of working together to find alternative means to achieving better ends. In some instances, officials have been holding conversations for months or even years about collaboration/consolidation projects, and have been met with resistance. But, these heroes press on, and acknowledge that there has to be a better way. Some have mentioned that EfficientGovNow will give them the necessary oomph to take their conversations to the next level.

The oomph is not only the $300,000 in available grants. It is the validation by the Fund and the public that government collaboration and efficiency is important. It is the opportunity to see what ideas other areas of the region are thinking about, and potentially replicating those ideas elsewhere. As one gentleman said, “There will probably be a lot of competition for the awards – but even if we don’t win, we’ll get to see what others are doing and try to do some of that here.” In a different meeting, a township trustee commented, “We might/might not win the money. But, at least it will have encouraged us enough to work together.”

Comments like these make me want to spend every waking hour sharing the story of EfficientGovNow, encouraging local officials to “take the plunge” and find ways to work together. Given a number of stories from throughout the region (some examples below), it appears many are already on their way. For those who might be “on the fence,” we hope EfficientGovNow gives them the oomph they need to make the region competitive in the 21^st century.

Examples from throughout the region are noted in the following news stories:

New spur for government efficiency

The Repository

Ashland Commissioners Look at New Economic Initiative

WMFD-TV

Cooperation and Local Governments

WFMJ-TV

In the creation of EfficientGovNow, we envisioned a program by which the citizens of Northeast Ohio could play an active role in the region’s economic future. We wanted to create an outlet by which people became more engaged in the day-to-day affairs of their local government; an outlet that raised awareness of the importance of cooperation in a time of great fiscal despair; an outlet that, if sustained, could restructure the way local governments operate in the region and increase the region’s economic competitiveness on a global scale. It’s no small task, and the work is not easy. But we hoped (and hope) that each individual citizen of Northeast Ohio will take us up on our call to action, and begin to think: “How CAN WE make this work? How CAN WE look beyond our immediate borders, and act in a way that is beneficial for the greater whole?”

So, what can you do? You can start by contacting your local mayor, councilperson, township trustee, school district official, etc. and encourage him/her to find a way to collaborate and apply for the $300,000 in available grants. If you’d like, you can use our letter template. Whatever method you use to connect with your officials is your choice – what is important is that you connect with them and encourage them to operate in a new way.

I welcome any/all feedback and encourage you to connect with us at any point throughout this process.