Organizing Government Structures Around Policy Priorities

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

• How to comprehend the complexities of splitting out a new agency from an existing one, and how to message these changes in the context of citywide policy goals
• How to overcome challenges in embedding a critical planning concept like resilience across multiple agencies citywide
• How to determine what types of evaluation approaches may be useful in addressing issues in your own agency structures, and how to link those approaches to planning and policy priorities

MORE SESSION DETAILS

This session will focus on local government structures and the benefits of restructuring. Instead of typical cost-savings or efficiency arguments, the session will look specifically at how citywide policy and planning goals have shaped restructurings, and what lessons can be drawn for other cities thinking about similar issues. Two unique case studies will cover two planning topics. The first will be transportation — learn how Denver pursued a targeted evaluation to determine whether or not it needed a stand-alone Department of Transportation. As Denver grapples with unprecedented growth and pursues a mobility agenda containing a plethora of progressive transportation goals, it questioned how a traditional Department of Public Works model could keep up. The second topic will be resilience — learn how New Orleans put forth an ambitious agenda to rebuild resiliently after Hurricane Katrina, as well as examined its government structures to better embed resilience across the board.