Nine fundamental principles to guide state-local information system initiatives emerged from this study of eleven existing efforts. These principles support shared vision and commitment— vision of what is to be achieved and commitment to a collaborative way of achieving it.

• Understand the full range of local and state conditions. In order for state and local levels of government to work toward the same or complementary goals, they need to understand and appreciate one another’s abilities, strengths, and limitations.
• Have a clear purpose and realistic, measurable expectations. Common understanding of a shared and clearly articulated purpose is crucial in state-local initiatives. Realistic, measurable expectations about achieving that purpose are equally important.
• Commit to serious partnerships. Active, trustful partnerships focus on common goals and support healthy interdependence.
• Choose the right people for the jobs that need to be done. State-local system projects demand a full range of management, programmatic, administrative, technical, and customer service skills.
• Expect to assemble a mixture of resources. Most state-local systems are supported by a variety of funding and in-kind resources contributed by different organizations, with different rules of accountability.
• Communicate as if your survival depends on it. Open interchange of concerns and ideas means an ongoing flow of complete, appropriate, timely, and accurate information tailored to the needs of each audience.
• Design a system that integrates with your business. A new or revised system should take account of, link with, and enhance existing operations.
• Demonstrate and refine ideas before you implement. Prototypes and demonstrations make ideas tangible to users and open to improvement throughout the design process.
• Let common sense guide you to workable solutions. Trust the experience and good sense of participants to define needs and uncover practical ways to meet them.