The Importance of Partnership in Public Administration

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.

By Nicole Wojciechowski
June 23, 2025

In public service, the primary responsibility of a public manager is to ensure the effective delivery of services for your constituents. The scope of government services is vast, ranging from education, public safety, transportation, public works and more. If you have experience working in government at any level, you understand the challenges a single unit of government encounters when attempting to meet their constituent needs.

Most public organizations are strained by a lack of resources that restricts their ability to deliver their core services without additional support. In today’s environment, the relationship between the different levels of government is one of dependence.

The model for how the various levels of government operate is no longer framed by the traditional measure of a layered cake. The state of intergovernmental affairs is more integrated than ever. As the government’s role in public life has expanded decade after decade, so has the expectation for quantity and quality of government services provided.

Given the greater demand, governments can only effectively deliver their core functions and services through partnership with their local, state and federal counterparts—no matter what the political party affiliation is. The partnership between the various levels of government to meet the needs of the public is critical and at its core reflects the true responsibility and purpose of public service.

I believe we are better positioned to deliver efficiently and effectively when we have governmental partners at the table hoping to achieve common goals. In a dream world, how we achieve them may differ but through tough conversations and decision-making, the public interest perseveres. However, we know that there are political influences at play and partnership isn’t always easy.

Although partnership can be challenging and sometimes feel impossible, you can’t effectively govern without it. While there are dozens of reasons why partnership is a critical element of effective public administration, I believe there to be three standouts among the rest.

First, there is resource sharing. State and local governments are heavily reliant on federal financial resources to support projects and program needs in their respective jurisdictions. Through formula and grant program funding, the federal government provides direct financial support to countless efforts led by state and local governments across the country. To utilize federal funding, state and local governments must be cooperative with the rules and requirements of those federal programs—which may look like meeting specific conditions of funding, project and program eligibility or performance reporting. Even with the additional administrative tasks, this funding is a necessity for public administrators and they must work in close coordination with their federal partners to ensure its availability and obligation.

Second, there are policy priorities at play. When key stakeholders involved in the administering of public services—that includes public managers, elected leaders, advocates and industry representatives—are aligned with policy decisions, it makes for a more effective and successful partnership. When you have stakeholders who differ vastly on policy and see outcomes through a different lens, the ability for public administrators to meet their constituent needs is reduced because of policy polarity.

Third, there is the importance of engagement. To truly serve the public interest, public managers must manage partnerships at the local and community level to ensure that decisions being made are in the public interest. To be clear, I think we have all experienced situations where as public managers we were advocating for a decision that we believed was in the public’s best interest, but then the concept is pitched in a town hall discussion or public meeting, it is met with criticism and resistance. Regardless of the outcome, regular and transparent engagement will inherently create a more willing and open partnership with local leaders and communities.

Successful and sustainable partnerships should have all three elements—I would make the assumption that without just one, public administrators have a more challenging time fulfilling their agency’s mission. I challenge you to think about the organization you are associated with—Could you deliver your mission without the principles of partnership?

We are currently seeing the validity and value of public administration, public managers and public service being questioned. More now than ever, it is important to lean into the partnerships that you may have with other public managers. Is there anything else you could be doing to support each other? Are there other ways that we could partner on projects or programs to make them more productive? In closing, be appreciative of your partners in government and support each other’s common goal, serving the public good.

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Author: Nicole Wojciechowski is a student at the University of Baltimore working toward a Master of Arts in Public Administration. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Salisbury University in 2018. She currently serves as Chief of Staff at the Maryland State Highway Administration overseeing the organization’s public affairs and policy functions. Her role also directly supports executive leadership with organizational change and strategic initiatives.

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