Implementing Local Government Strategies: A Framework for Action

To implement its strategy, a local government (LG) can use six interrelated activites, which we call the Six Cs. These activities comprise coalition building, citizen involvement, conflict management, compensation and rewards, cross-unit collaboration, and control. Each activity is related to one of Chester Barnard’s classic three functions of the executive (communication, coordination, and commitment to purpose). The research was based on in-depth investigations of seven European cities that had received an award for high performance by the European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA). A multiple case study “action research” methodology was used. Although each city had a different strategy, each had used the Six Cs in concert to make its strategy a reality. The Six-C model constitutes a framework that can be used by any city to help implement its strategy. Although there is no “cookbook solution” for using the Six Cs, they nevertheless constitute a conceptual framework that an LG’s management team can use to think about how it will move toward its strategic vision. An LG that wishes to achieve its strategy must think about how it will employ the Six Cs in a coordinated way. The central issues are not only the specifics of each C but how each matches and is aligned with the other five in order to assist the city to move toward its strategic vision.