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Tying a Sensible Knot: A Practical Guide to State-Local Information Systems

Abstract

Acknowledgments

Executive Summary

Chapter 1. Understanding the State-Local Environment

Chapter 2. Principles for Working in the State-Local Environment

Chapter 3. Best Practices

Appendices
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Chapter 3. Best Practices

Choose a well-skilled and respected project leader

In virtually every project interview, we heard about the need for solid, consistent, positive leadership. Leadership was viewed as setting the stage for a project and ensuring timely and meaningful completion. Yet, the personal nature of leadership and our individual desire to be effective leaders often leads us to deal with it in abstract terms. The projects we studied, however, showed how specific leadership traits help produce successful outcomes. A successful project leader:
  • Is able to span the psychological and political distance between state and local governments. The project leader should possess an understanding of both state and local needs and capabilities - and be able to balance them. This balance is crucial to the success of state-local projects since buy-in and cooperation are two of the fundamental aspects of a successful project.
  • Has a good understanding of local operations. Since these systems actually run at the local level, a project leader needs to appreciate the reality of local operating conditions. Some successful leaders had experience as both state and local officials, others spent time in their careers working in field or regional offices of state agencies, and still others who did not have these kinds of work experience made it their business to understand local needs and operations from the local point of view.
  • Enjoys the confidence and support of top-level executives. Getting and keeping top leadership support is the best way to keep a project on the front burner. It is essential to maintaining re- sources and to competing well against other government goals. Support from state level leaders gives local participants confidence in the project. Support from local level leaders helps ensure full participation and joint problem solving. Successful project leaders delivered on realistic expectations and kept their top executives well-informed and enthusiastic by communicating in terms that executive leaders value: return on investment, partnerships, options, early warnings and so on.
  • Is an excellent communicator. Project Leaders must be able to articulate project goals, explain how they will be achieved, and show how the goals will benefit all the stake- holders. They need to speak the languages of different audiences and provide the right information in the right format to meet those different needs. The leader needs to know when to use formal presentations, newsletter articles, fact sheets, briefing papers, and other methods of communication. Perhaps more important, the project leader needs to be a good listener and adept at encouraging others to communicate their needs and ideas.
  • Is a resourceful manager of people, time, and money. The project leader is responsible for the effective use of project resources. Often he or she is also the person who identifies and encourages others to commit staff, money, or time to a project. Since it is unlikely that a project will be fully funded from one source, project leaders need to be entrepreneurial, inventive, and resourceful.
  • Is flexible and willing to seize opportunities. Successful project leaders have a clear vision of where they want to go, but are quite willing to try a variety of ways to get there. In some cases, they started with one kind of approach, but later modified, or even abandoned it, in order to solve problems or take advantage of a different perspective. They also had the ability to know when the time was right to act, even when they had imperfect information or scarce resources. They recognized when key factors in the environment were ripe for change and capitalized on them in order to move their projects forward.

Automated Dog Licensing: Leadership communication makes a difference
A project leader can make the difference in the enthusiastic adoption of a new information system, especially one that’s entirely voluntary on the part of local participants. In New York’s development of a system for the Electronic Transfer of Dog Licenses, the project leader was by all accounts an excellent communicator and salesperson.
She established a monthly division newsletter called "Dog Tales" to keep the Town Clerks informed, and, according to one project participant, the newsletter "helped to generate support, interest, and participation in the project." Everyone potentially affected by the new system received a copy, so there were no communication gaps while development was underway. One local official said that sometimes in dealing with the state, local governments find out about procedural changes after the fact. This project was different, he said, because the leader asked for local advice all along the way, and worked hard to make sure that the project would allow local governments to use familiar technology. Another participant said that the leader was honest and open, assuring everyone that there was no "hidden agenda" - only an attempt to save money while ensuring access to quality data.


Annual Financial Reports: Leaders bring out the best in each participant
In a project to automate the filing of local annual financial reports, project leaders at the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) worked hard to bring out the strengths of each participant. Time and again the local participants commented that the work they were asked to do was perfectly suited to their abilities. This meant that local participants were answering questions concerning functionality and were commenting on design characteristics rather than being concerned with the technical system design and software considerations. This demonstrated a leadership attribute that is essential to the successful implementation of an intergovernmental project - understanding the roles and capabilities of each participant, appreciating the limits of their time and energy, and then involving them in the areas where they are most needed. The work accomplished outside of the state-local meetings was focused on coordinating state agency efforts to apply technology to implement all that had been discussed with the local participants. Hence, when OSC and the local representatives reconvened, the technical considerations of previous proposals had been worked out, new products were on the table for discussion, and the meeting could again focus on the reactions and concerns of the local participants.
OSC project leaders also ensured a very professional work-oriented atmosphere. Meetings were held in off-site facilities that were appropriate for the kind of work being conducted. Trained facilitators were used in all meetings. Food and refreshments were provided at each meeting. Local officials felt these were tangible ways of showing that OSC cared enough to take the time to do the project "right" and to treat them as equals. Local participants commented that this level of preparation demonstrated not only concern on the part of OSC but also proved the project had considerable top management support, something which gave them even more confidence that the project would proceed to a successful conclusion.