1.1 Benefits of Coordination
Coordination aims to avoid conflicting impacts of one organization’s actions on another’s actions, goals, etc. and/or to create mutual gains and find synergistic solutions that provide benefits broader than can be achieved in the absence of coordination.6
Coordination to prevent negative impacts is necessary because organizations may have contradictory goals, may undertake actions that are countervailing, or may take actions that create negative externalities. For example, use of ground water by one agency may reduce and prevent the use of that groundwater for another agency. As another example, building a berm to protect one property from flooding may increase flood risk downstream. Not only may some actions have unintentional impacts, impacts may go unrecognized, making it even more difficult to address and mitigate the effects of uncoordinated actions.
Coordination to provide positive gains moves beyond simply avoiding harm to taking advantage of synergies between organizations. Coordination can lead to gains in efficiency by reducing redundancies or lowering resource requirements. Coordination may also allow agencies to benefit from economies of scale. Through coordination, agencies may also be able to leverage their resources and abilities to jointly address cross-cutting problems and respond to changing conditions. Coordination can also provide socio-political gains by building public confidence and/or support for coordinating agencies.
Coordination can occur between any variety of agencies including, but not limited to, government agencies, non-profit organizations, and corporations. Coordination can be vertical, horizontal, or both.
Vertical coordination occurs among organizations working with different levels of authority and is often instituted using a top-down approach. For example, a state may institute a collaborative planning process through which it brings together all agencies that manage land and water to develop a regional water plan.
Horizontal coordination occurs amidst organizations working with the same level of authority that are separated often by either geographic or sectoral boundaries. For example, neighboring municipalities may coordinate their floodplain management strategies to create consistent rules across the watershed.
Agencies may coordinate across one or more aspects of an organization.7,8 They may coordinate their higher-level missions, strategic objectives, or goals. For example, two agencies may coordinate on broad mission of achieving equity in environmental protection or the removal of an invasive species from a body of water that they both actively protect. Agencies may also coordinate their policies and programs by aligning their procedures and methods. For instance, agencies may agree upon who is eligible to participate in programs or align the service delivery activities offered. Lastly, agencies may coordinate resources and responsibilities, defining who will undertake specific actions or otherwise arranging sharing or contribution of tasks, resources, and staffing.