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No man is an island. As President Barack Obama famously said, in part, back in July 2012, “If you’ve been successful, you didn’t get there on your own…When we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together.”
The concept of cross-agency collaboration is not new. It is, however surprisingly, rare in many park agencies and municipalities across the country. The reasons for this lack of cooperation are many: heavily institutionalized siloing, seemingly unrelated interests, too few resources and too little motivation, if any at all. But, if outcomes of NRPA’s most recent Innovation Lab, held December 3-4 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, are any indication, it behooves us all to break out of those silos, figure out how our interests align and reach across the hallway for help with some of the most pressing issues facing our cities today.
Identify a Goal
It’s difficult to ask for help if you haven’t clearly identified the goal — that’s step one to effective collaboration, says Mike DiBerardinis, deputy mayor for environmental and community resources for the city of Philadelphia. That task is made all the more difficult when day-to-day responsibilities demand the lion’s share of one’s attention. “It’s hard to collaborate when running a big city department,” he said during his opening remarks. “You’re looking down every day — at blades of grass, a paper wrapper not in the trash can, a light that’s out in the gym, a bench that needs repair. That is all very important work — quality service every day to our citizens is an essential feature of success, and we don’t want to diminish that. So, ‘How do you lift your view up and out to possibilities of the future and bigger, more complicated policy goals?’”
Philadelphia’s Green City, Clean Waters partnership — a groundbreaking approach to managing polluted stormwater runoff using natural systems like tree trenches and biosensors, rather than traditional “grey infrastructure” like pipes and tunnels — exemplifies DiBerardinis’ uplifted viewpoint. Green City, Clean Waters has led to unprecedented cooperation between a water utility and a parks department, and since 2011, has created thousands of green infrastructure projects on parkland throughout the city.
Shissler Recreation Center, located in Philadelphia’s Fishtown neighborhood, was one of the many beneficiaries of this partnership. The Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) installed large bioretention basins to manage stormwater from the streets surrounding the center, rebuilt basketball courts using porous pavement and tore up a concrete playing field, replacing it with a new, permeable surface and providing valuable recreation space in a dense urban neighborhood. These interventions are occurring on park property throughout the city, giving PWD access to the open space it needs to meet green infrastructure goals while rehabilitating open spaces for residents to enjoy.
Engaging and Supporting Partners
“What are the markings of collaboration?” DiBerardinis asked. “There are significant features that are necessary for success. Your interests must be aligned and you sometimes must work to align them. You need to change practices in order to succeed — you can’t do things the way you previously used to when you acted as single department. You must have a joint decision-making model that people think is fair and honest and looks out for everyone’s interests. You must share your resources — you can’t go in with your hand on your wallet…come in with some dough, share that resource, plan those capital dollars, et cetera, and be willing to give up a little bit. Finally, you have to invest in and engage citizens as well.”
Having the support of city leaders — in this case, Mayor Michael Nutter, who has been a steadfast advocate and instigator of Philadelphia’s cross-departmental collaborations — is critical to the success of any large-scale plan. “It’s important to balance practical with forward thinking — we are most effective when we look at what’s the best way to provide a service or program to our constituents,” Nutter said during the Innovation Lab. “That’s where collaborative public/private partnerships come in. The government can only do so much on its own. We have great expectations, but the reality is — and we certainly learned this during the recession — even government has its limits. Sometimes we lack the resources required to fully tackle problems, so the government brings together different parties with similar interests, and once they’re around the table, the possibilities are limitless.”
Nutter and his staff are unusual in that they’re accustomed to taking the long view — that is, they’re happy to develop programs that will extend well into the future and past the next election cycle. They’re putting the success of their wide-reaching policy goals and the good of their constituents ahead of any expectation of reelection. Attributes like humility, honesty and willingness to share in success have become hallmarks of how Philadelphia approaches improving the civic commons. “[Thinking] long term to me means 10, 20, 30 years down the road,” Nutter continued. “It means we make choices today that benefit generations down the road. We can’t continue to kick the can down the road for someone else. We must take the political risk to do what is right at the right time, which is often right now.”
‘Aspirational, Not Silly’
Cross-agency collaboration need not be complicated, but a certain set of circumstances should be in place to encourage success. During a panel discussion between Alan Greenberger, deputy mayor for economic development and director of commerce for Philadelphia; Mark Focht, first deputy commissioner of parks and facilities; Katherine Gajewski, director of the mayor’s Office of Sustainability; and Mami Hara, chief of staff for PWD, all identified commonsense behaviors that make collaboration easier. “No matter what you think of a person or their position, don’t burn bridges because they could be valuable at another time — be respectful,” Allen advised. “Take the high road as much as you can and accept the fact that you’re going to lose sometimes and move on from there,” he continued, with DiBerardinis adding, “Sometimes you’re going to take two steps back to take five forward.” Gajewski encouraged building a “broad tent, so everyone feels an ownership role; and encourage transparency.”
As to fears of whether such ambitious plans would discourage cross-agency collaboration, Focht reminded attendees that when a plan is well-crafted and communication is open and honest, big goals tend to inspire, rather than deter collaboration. “The key is finding something that is aspirational but not silly,” he said. “It pushes you and it also pushes funding because it’s exciting, but people can’t think it’s ridiculous or doesn’t have real value. Your plan cant’ seem minimal, and it can’t be so far reaching that people don’t take it seriously. The sweet spot is when it’s aspirational and people get excited about it.”
Learn about upcoming Innovation Labs.
Samantha Bartram is the Executive Editor of Parks & Recreation magazine.