Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Local government leaders play a critical role in protecting and promoting the health of the people they serve. To face today's greatest challenges to population health - and to prepare for future challenges - requires innovative and collaborative approaches, with partners from multiple government agencies, and multiple departments within government agencies. This paper presents the results of an online survey conducted in 2019 by the Center for State and Local Government Excellence (SLGE) and the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) to better understand how local governments are utilizing cross-sector collaborations to improve population health. A total of 287 ICMA members responded to the survey, describing how local government leaders in their jurisdiction are partnering across sectors to address population health in general. They also provided more detailed information on how they are partnering to tackle three specific health issues: healthy community design; safe, stable, affordable housing; and substance misuse/prescription drug overdose. Results discussed will include governmental partners involved, maturity and formality of partnerships, champions of partnership, challenges, and evaluation of success. Gaining a deeper understanding of the utility of cross-sector partnerships can help other local government leaders identify opportunities for collaboration on key issues in their jurisdictions and share promising practices.