Workshop Description

Local elected officials have a unique and important role in the development, resilience and success of their communities. Collaborations in the form of shared services, staffing, joint use and planning yield results greater than any one single agency could achieve on its own. Through partnerships, officials recognize and work within the constraints and opportunities other community leaders operate in. In successful collaborations, clarity prevails in leveraging and maximizing finite human and economic resources.

In this workshop, participants engaged with local leaders about best practices and lessons learned in building and furthering collaborations through the framework of the updated Stretching Community Dollars Guidebook.

Workshop Objectives

• When and how to pursue collaborative opportunities
• Who participates in a collaborative process
• What to do when starting and scaling up a collaborative
• How to design, evaluate, and maintain a collaborative relationship over time and through challenges

Highlights and Activities

• Welcome and Opening Remarks by L. Dennis Michael, Mayor, City of Rancho Cucamonga and President, League of California Cities
• Current Community Challenges Discussion – Experiences of Local Leaders/Participants
• Stretching Community Dollars: An Overview of Partnerships and Collaborations by Martin Gonzalez, Director, ILG
• Panel Discussion on Collaborations for Health & Safety: Successes and Successes and Benefits
  • Oscar Villegas, Supervisor, Yolo County, District One
  • Lisa Rosales, Chief of Police, City of San Pablo
  • Patrice Chamberlain, Director, CA Summer Meal Coalition
• Deeper Dive: The Ins and Outs of Collaboration featuring The Santa Rosa Violence Prevention Partnership with Tom Schwedhelm, Vice Mayor, City of Santa Rosa
• Final Group Exercise: Envisioning a More Collaborative Future

About ILG’s Healthy & Vibrant Communities Project

The Institute for Local Government’s work on Healthy & Vibrant Communities is part of its 2015-2016 work program supported by Kaiser Permanente Northern California Community Benefit Programs.  Work in this area aims to:

• Increase awareness of collaborative solutions and approaches among city, county and school officials and staff
• Develop materials on best practices for policy development and program implementation
• Support and increase collaborative efforts by cities and counties with capacity to focus on community-based solutions for safety, violence-prevention and healthy eating-active living.

Communities and partnerships are changing as local governments transform through funding and governance changes including realignments of social services and public safety, changes to funding for education and redevelopment. Impacts and opportunities are explored further in the Stretching Community Dollars Guidebook.

Event Photos