Succession Planning for the Future of Intergovernmental Organizations in the United States

Abstract

Intergovernmental organizations help coordinate local governments in the United States to address regional policy challenges, such as economic development, transportation, and environmental concerns. Such organizations function as intermediaries for planning, resource-sharing, and federal and state funding distribution. However, leadership stability is crucial for their longevity, especially in the face of workforce shortages. This line of research explores whether intergovernmental organizations’ boards engage in discussions about succession planning and implement executive coaching as an intensive form of succession planning to ensure future leadership stability. A survey of 583 executive directors in 2021 gathered insights into their planning efforts, with responses from 226 leaders of various intergovernmental entities. We find factors such as financial capacity and organization type influence the likelihood of succession planning, but organizational age and size do not.

Keywords

federalism intergovernmental planning leadership regionalism

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