The Public Manager Magazine Article
Member Benefit
Cross-Agency Efforts Help Manage Large-Scale Initiatives
A president's White House staff typically works with agencies to develop policy initiatives and getting them adopted. But once a policy is adopted, the lead for implementation is usually delegated to an operating agency.
Mon Dec 24 2012
This hierarchical model historically has been effective and will continue to work for targeted policy initiatives in areas where a single agency is clearly the exclusive agent for action, such as the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act by the Department of Education. However, success on really large presidential priorities—climate change, healthcare reform, implementation of the Recovery Act—increasingly has depended on extensive cross-agency and even cross-sectoral efforts.