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Abstract

Successful interagency cooperation regarding particular infrastructure investments, notably those involving transportation and land planning, is strikingly difficult to achieve. One successful approach entails the provision of technical assistance among agencies. This article reports the results of a 16-month pilot program where the local land development authority and the state department of transportation worked together to determine how land use affects transportation performance. The pilot confirmed published lessons for interagency cooperation but led to four new guidelines: (a) imperfectly and iteratively define a problem rather than waiting for all information, (b) get feedback early, (c) maintain momentum by setting short goals sufficiently tangible that they may be accomplished yet adequately difficult that they mark progress, and (d) change the project goal if the change will better suit the needs of the recipient of the assistance. Although simplistic, these guidelines reduce the common risk among busy agencies that nothing, rather than tangible assistance, will transpire.

Keywords

interagency coordination planning administration technical assistance

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Technical Assistance

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