The Institute organized a CSAC Institute Course on Intergovernmental Relations in the Fall of 2015. County supervisors and staff heard from panelists on best practices and lessons learned in building and furthering collaborations. Attendees discussed challenges within their respective communities and explored ways in which to collaboratively address them.

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 and how to adjust to leadership transitions;
• What to do when starting and scaling up a collaborative; and
• How to design, evaluate, and maintain a collaborative relationship over time and through challenges.

Panelists

• Martin Gonzalez, Executive Director, Institute for Local Government
• Trudy Raymundo, Director of Public Health, County of San Bernardino
• Pam Rogers-Wyman, Adult Services Program Chief, County of Santa Cruz

Highlights and Activities

• Overview of how to collaborate with different agencies and partners as well as the benefits in doing so
• Facilitated group discussions around current community challenges and how best to take collaborative approaches in addressing them
• In depth examples of successful collaborations from Santa Cruz County and San Bernardino County